I agree, very concerned that she will be investing a large percentage of her net worth into a structure that will not be a long term home. I would rather see her spend more to rent a studio apartment by herself, even if it meant dipping into the down payment funds. She will be trading rent payments for lot rent payments, except instead of a one year lease she’ll have an ongoing commitment that could be difficult to end. I get wanting to have a small yard as I am an enthusiastic gardener. Yet maybe she could get a place with good light so she could grow indoor plants, or a place with a balcony – I’ve had to make do with both those options in the past.

Also, no one seems to have explored the large number of roommates over the past few years. While I think renting a room from someone is her best option, she’d need to first look at why her current and past roommate situations haven’t worked. Is she not clear about how much interaction she wants? Is she, or are her roommates, not able to set and follow rules for maintenance of common areas? Are there issues around quiet times? As someone who always had roommates before I married, I always had good roommate experiences. But I’ve known other people who did not. Knowing your lifestyle is important, as is asking the potential roommates about their lifestyles. It’s scary to state your preferences clearly and to ask about a roommate’s true way of living, but much better to realize you are not good roommate matches before signing a lease together. The nice thing about renting a room month-to-month is if you’ve made a poor decision about compatibility, you aren’t yoked together for a year. Renting a place by yourself for a year, even if it means spending more than you make, may give you the time you need to figure out another living option.

And I definitely support the idea of trying to find a live in situation! It, too, might not be long term, but give her time to access all her options.

Hi Ann. I agree that your passion for life, work, family and creative expression shines through your words. I also have a PhD in English and want to confirm the advice that community college teaching is not a financially viable path for most people without additional income sources. I teach at in a public high school (something I acquired an alternate certification to do). With my advanced degrees and the union pay scale, I make far more than I would as an adjunct instructor.

I also write novels and am pursuing publication. I write in my (small) amounts of spare time, but I do write every day. If I am lucky enough to traditionally sell one of my books, I do not anticipate earning enough to replace my income through fiction writing, and I plan to continue teaching and simultaneously writing. The sacrifice of free time is worth it to me– I love writing! But it is also a difficult and painful road full of rejection. Even with an agent helping get my work out there, the nos are still frequent and brutal.

Yes, this! => “You don’t have to take the blog ‘live’ for the world to see at this very moment. You can use it for much needed writing practice”

This is incredible! Going to incorporate these methods into my grocery shopping! ~ A fellow Ann 🙂

Now THAT’S a good reason for hating it!! What a nightmare and it really would discourage a person from ever seeking medical care for anything other than the most urgent matters, which could actually be dangerous, longer term.

UC Berkeley has an online Editors Certificate. It was the best option when I did the research. For what it is worth, I have my MFA in Creative Writing, have one published short story and have taught k-12 in California for 34 years. This is what I know:
1. Editors make almost nothing unless you throw yourself at it full time. Most of my editor friends have to bid gigs for pennies against other desperate post grads. However it is interesting work.
2. By far the most money is in k-12. My district has opened an online school. You would have the benefits of a district but it would be online. If you go this route, it might be cheaper to major in education with a built in credential. You could still edit since that requires experience and not necessarily credentials. Authorship , same.
3. All districts are required to provide free online intervention for k-12 underperforming schools. There are private companies that provide this. it is a lucrative gig. Your numbers would be small.
4. I have student teacher right now who is 42 with a PHD in Philosophy who has taught at the college level in fine institutions for ten years. He just couldn’t make a decent living so he is getting his single subject credential. He is concurrently teaching online for college. It is a lot of work.
5. I am studying Gemology for when I retire which is almost guaranteed to not make back the money I am putting into the degree. But life is too short to not pursue creative interests.
Good Luck.

So in response to this the only company hiring that teaches foreigners English right now is Cambly and it is 10-12 an hour, often even less because they do not compensate for no shows and there are a lot of no shows on the platform. But they also do not hire CA or NY teachers. Nothing like the old days unfortunately.

Hi Ann,
A blog seems so much more accesible than a book.
You can set it up easily or go the Creed-Bratton-way and even just start writing in a text document for now.

You dont have to take the blog “live” for the world to see at this very moment. You can use it for much needed writing practice & if you like what you – maybe even colaboratory – have created.

It also seems it would be beneficial for you to research earning potentials different professions entail. Best of luck.

Do you mean scholarship /applications/ take time? Independent ones might be essays, which means they are practice in writing. I’m not sure how a scholarship after being received would take time, except to meet the requirements of it, such as keeping a certain GPA.

Filing the online FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid) is not difficult for an adult and is the first step to any government money, loans or grants. It is hard to imagine a college that wouldn’t expect all its students to fill it out. This could make a difference of thousands of dollars of school costs for you.