5 x 10 Storage Space Rental (1 month w/insurance)
Item Purchased: 5 x 10 Storage Space Rental (1 month w/insurance)
Location Purchased: Storage USA / 1255 S. Wabash / Chicago, IL
Price: $73.00 w/tax
Review: I am 27 years old and I am homeless. That's one thing I never thought I would be saying. I come from a solid family. Both of my parents are still married and have good jobs. I have been supporting myself since I turned twenty when I moved away from home. I currently work three jobs. When I was a child, I wanted to be an astronaut, an artist and a lawyer, in that order. I scored nearly all A's in high school and went on to make it onto the dean's list in college until I quit because film school was too boring and pretentious for me. I've traveled to almost every state and, had I kept the job I had before moving to Chicago, I would be making nearly a six-figure salary. After a couple of years of city acclimating depression, I find myself a bookseller, research assistant, boyfriend, highly motivated artist/writer of sorts and a sometimes DJ. I also find myself homeless, but you know what?
I love it.
Every single minute of the couch-surfing last few weeks have made me realize even more than before that homeless doesn't necessarily have to carry a negative stigma with it.
Things happen. Like having your 4000+ sq. ft. loft bought by greedy condominium developers and getting the perfect artist's wet dream pulled out from underneath you. Like a seemingly cool leasing agent (coughJasonRaidercough) giving the apartment you showed repeated interest in to some other guys and promising to get back to you about further apartments but failing to do so. Like having a great and affordable three bedroom apartment given to another couple.
Things happen. And when they do, you can do one of two things... Settle or roll with the punches.
In rolling with the punches, I've realized how absolutely lucky I am to have so many friends who will both put up with me and put me up for a few nights at a time until I find the right place where I can start the next stage in my life. Second, I've realized how little a person actually needs to be happy in a city like Chicago.
Living in a large loft like I did, a person tends to amass a lot of stuff. Books, records, silly little tchotchkes and trinkets, robots, remote control cars, etc... You name it, my roommates and I had it. When I realized that I had to move all of my possessions into a small storage space while I hobo'd for a while, I was forced to do some serious cleansing. Clothes donations, book sales, garbage bag filling and furniture adoption. After about a week, I whittled it down to a manageable roomfull of possessions and rented this space. Inside is a bed, boxes and a few pieces of small furniture. Right now I live out of three bags. One I keep with me. One I leave at work. The last I keep at my girlfriend's. Hoping that I don't wear myself out on any one person, I try to keep jumping from place to place, commuting with my bike.
Though I do occasionally feel the stress of not having a "base of operations" for my life, I am taking my time finding a comfortable apartment where I will be able to thrive, saving some money, working a lot, hanging out with good friends, getting to know my girlfriend better, revisiting an outlook on life I haven't had since traveling the country and living out of my van back in 2001 and hopefully not pissing any of my hosts off too much. I recommend a voluntary homelessness to anyone who wants to slim down their material life and revisit what is truly important. It's been almost a month and I feel great.
The only rent I pay is for this dry and cozy storage space where all of my possessions sit stacked on top of each other. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I do find an apartment and revisit these things I thought I needed to hold on to, I will weed out even more in order to make room for new projects.
The space itself is dry and well kept with security and camera surveillance all day long. Though I can only access my storage space between the hours of 6AM and 8PM, this doesn't cause much of a problem. I don't find myself needing to check up on any of my things too often and for the time being, it is nice to have them out of my hair. The first level of insurance that 123 Storage offers covers up to $2000 worth of damage or property which, with the exception of priceless memories that some of my things are tied to, is more than enough. The employees are helpful and friendly and even though I have seen a man sleeping in his storage space, the 123 Storage workers took care of him quick and I am more than assured that everything inside the facility is secure.
Do yourself a favor. Throw your stuff in storage for a month or two and see how free you can be.
Okay, so this was more of a reaction than a review... live with it.
Rating: 4.25 / 5
Location Purchased: Storage USA / 1255 S. Wabash / Chicago, IL
Price: $73.00 w/tax
Review: I am 27 years old and I am homeless. That's one thing I never thought I would be saying. I come from a solid family. Both of my parents are still married and have good jobs. I have been supporting myself since I turned twenty when I moved away from home. I currently work three jobs. When I was a child, I wanted to be an astronaut, an artist and a lawyer, in that order. I scored nearly all A's in high school and went on to make it onto the dean's list in college until I quit because film school was too boring and pretentious for me. I've traveled to almost every state and, had I kept the job I had before moving to Chicago, I would be making nearly a six-figure salary. After a couple of years of city acclimating depression, I find myself a bookseller, research assistant, boyfriend, highly motivated artist/writer of sorts and a sometimes DJ. I also find myself homeless, but you know what?
I love it.
Every single minute of the couch-surfing last few weeks have made me realize even more than before that homeless doesn't necessarily have to carry a negative stigma with it.
Things happen. Like having your 4000+ sq. ft. loft bought by greedy condominium developers and getting the perfect artist's wet dream pulled out from underneath you. Like a seemingly cool leasing agent (coughJasonRaidercough) giving the apartment you showed repeated interest in to some other guys and promising to get back to you about further apartments but failing to do so. Like having a great and affordable three bedroom apartment given to another couple.
Things happen. And when they do, you can do one of two things... Settle or roll with the punches.
In rolling with the punches, I've realized how absolutely lucky I am to have so many friends who will both put up with me and put me up for a few nights at a time until I find the right place where I can start the next stage in my life. Second, I've realized how little a person actually needs to be happy in a city like Chicago.
Living in a large loft like I did, a person tends to amass a lot of stuff. Books, records, silly little tchotchkes and trinkets, robots, remote control cars, etc... You name it, my roommates and I had it. When I realized that I had to move all of my possessions into a small storage space while I hobo'd for a while, I was forced to do some serious cleansing. Clothes donations, book sales, garbage bag filling and furniture adoption. After about a week, I whittled it down to a manageable roomfull of possessions and rented this space. Inside is a bed, boxes and a few pieces of small furniture. Right now I live out of three bags. One I keep with me. One I leave at work. The last I keep at my girlfriend's. Hoping that I don't wear myself out on any one person, I try to keep jumping from place to place, commuting with my bike.
Though I do occasionally feel the stress of not having a "base of operations" for my life, I am taking my time finding a comfortable apartment where I will be able to thrive, saving some money, working a lot, hanging out with good friends, getting to know my girlfriend better, revisiting an outlook on life I haven't had since traveling the country and living out of my van back in 2001 and hopefully not pissing any of my hosts off too much. I recommend a voluntary homelessness to anyone who wants to slim down their material life and revisit what is truly important. It's been almost a month and I feel great.
The only rent I pay is for this dry and cozy storage space where all of my possessions sit stacked on top of each other. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I do find an apartment and revisit these things I thought I needed to hold on to, I will weed out even more in order to make room for new projects.
The space itself is dry and well kept with security and camera surveillance all day long. Though I can only access my storage space between the hours of 6AM and 8PM, this doesn't cause much of a problem. I don't find myself needing to check up on any of my things too often and for the time being, it is nice to have them out of my hair. The first level of insurance that 123 Storage offers covers up to $2000 worth of damage or property which, with the exception of priceless memories that some of my things are tied to, is more than enough. The employees are helpful and friendly and even though I have seen a man sleeping in his storage space, the 123 Storage workers took care of him quick and I am more than assured that everything inside the facility is secure.
Do yourself a favor. Throw your stuff in storage for a month or two and see how free you can be.
Okay, so this was more of a reaction than a review... live with it.
Rating: 4.25 / 5
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