Relocation

ESD 112 > Services > WRC > Relocation

Relocation Services

Adapted from the Washington Service Corps website. The Washington Reading Corps program is a Washington Service Corps site.

Moving to a new community is always a challenge, and that can be doubly true when you are starting a new position at the same time. Doing some advance work before you arrive can save you a lot of time and stress down the road. Ideally, every member would have the chance to visit their site ahead of time, but realistically, that isn’t often the case. To help you get started ahead of time, we have put together some information and links to resources that you may find useful.

For a more complete information, please download our Relocation Guide.

Location/Transportation

Location

One factor that often plays into this decisions is location: Do you want to live somewhere urban or rural? Sunny or rainy? Close to the water? Close to the mountains? In an area with a lot of ethnic diversity? Low cost of living? Public transportation? We’ve got a little of it all! WRC of SW Washington includes the large-sized city of Vancouver, and several medium-sized and rural communities to the north of Vancouver (Toutle and Kelso) and to the east of Vancouver (Stevenson, Carson, Klickitat and Wishram).

For more information on some of our communities, please visit the sites listed below:

Transportation

For reasons both monetary and environmental, we strongly suggest that members walk, bike, or use public transportation. Click here for a list of all public transportation in Washington. Depending on your site, you will want to look at Vancouver (listed under larger transit agencies), and then look at the following counties: Cowlitz, Klickitat and Skamania for our less urban areas; however, in rural sites keep in mind that you will probably need a car.

Budgeting

Before arranging your housing, you should create a realistic budget for your service year to determine the amount of rent you can afford. Most full-time WRC AmeriCorps USA and VISTA members take home around $750 - $850 per month after taxes (this amount varies depending on what you claim on your W-4). Keep in mind that AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps*VISTA members are eligible for food stamps, although the exact amount of the benefit will not be known until you meet with a case manager. Additionally, some programs are able to provide some help with transportation costs (such as bus passes). Make sure to ask your project supervisor about any benefits you may be eligible for, and factor that into your budget calculations.

Monthly Budget

The following monthly budgets are low and high-end samples for living in WA. These are just general outlines to use as templates to estimate your own costs. As you can see, it is possible to survive on the modest AmeriCorps living allowance (although you may have to make some trade-offs)! Keep in mind that budgets may need to be higher or lower depending on whether you live in Vancouver or a rural site such as Wishram. For example, members in rural areas may have to drive longer distances to their service site and pay more for gas, but members in Vancouver may have to pay more for housing.

You should try to estimate your monthly expenses to find the range of monthly rent you think you will be able to afford. Monthly rents vary widely, but in general rents under $300 are very rare, and few members pay over $400. Unless you have some form of outside support, anything over $350 is going to be difficult to manage, although it is doable if your other expenses are minimal. Your project supervisor and current members are good sources of information on monthly costs.

WA Sample AmeriCorps Member Monthly Budget
For Single Person (No Children)

Living Support Item

Low End

High End

Rent

$300

$450

Utilities gas, electricity, phone, cable

$50

$75

Food not including "entertainment food"

$0
(food stamps)

$150

Personal Items soap, shampoo, etc.

$15

$50

Transportation including parking, gas, insurance

$0 (no car)

$150

Laundry

$15

$50

Health Care deductibles for prescriptions and Dr. visits

$10

$50

Miscellaneous clothing, entertainment, etc.

$50

$100

TOTAL

$440

$1,075

Policies on Second Jobs

Housing Search Strategy

Craigslist – With thousands of listings, capability to search by neighborhood and price, and many housing share offerings, Craig’s List is one of the most useful housing search tools around. Unfortunately, does not serve all communities.

You can also run on-line searches for property management companies in your community and Google "relocation (your town name) Washington" to get links to lots of real estate and other information

Community Newspapers

Many communities, large and small, have begun to put out on-line newspapers. Bigger cities may have multiple papers, including alternative and niche papers. Run an internet search on the community newspapers for your service site. These may or may not contain classified ads, but they will give you a feel for the community before you arrive.

Free Weekly or Neighborhood Papers

Some communities have free weekly or neighborhood papers available in corner stands and local stores. They can often be an excellent source of listings.

Corporation for National and Community Service and WA Service Corps Disclaimer: Housing opportunities and information listed in this guide are for your informational purposes only and are in no way endorsed by the Washington Reading Corps, ESD 112, the Washington Service Corps or the Corporation for National and Community Service. AmeriCorps members reading this guide must use their best judgment, scrutinize every opportunity, and make their own informed decisions on how they will use the information presented.

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