Project Living in the Swamp

This is the drive thru and drop off my window overlooks. It's on the CVS side of our building. There is a lot of activity here even in the wee hours of the morning. I'm seriously considering installing a camera for free TV.  Lots of drama and yelling to be overheard here. One thing about poverty and project living is that it is loud, but never boring. This is also our emergency medical service pick up point and where the maintenance trucks park during business hours.

Merriam-Webster defines... housing project   noun Definition of  housing project :  a publicly supported and administered housing development planned usually for low-income families The Urban Dictionary defines it somewhat differently... "Usually a group of dirty buildings made  for really  poor/homeless people to live in.  Projects  are dangerous,very dirty,filled with gangsters,drug dealers,pimps,hookers and such" " slums /poor housing/ghetto  projects :- People Relying On Just Enough Cash To Survive.  Usually the leaset econommically advantageous people will live in  the projects .  Projects  lead to many things such as crime as a resort." "short for  housing projects ..  government-owned buildings meant for the poorer people in an area to live in.  sometimes rent goes by how much money you make, so if you have a really crap job, you can still afford to live there.  because...

Greetings! This blog is about project living in The Swamp, my daily life, food, couponing and everything else it takes to live like a queen on a really limited income. I landed in the projects after spending six months, a week, and 3 days living in the Dignity Village Homeless Camp, and five months in temporary housing with three UF students for roommates. I'll talk more about this journey later. The projects shown here is in downtown Gainesville and is run by the Gainesville Housing Authority: aka GHA. Rent is a third of your income no matter what that income is but no lower than like $25 a month. These units are also income restricted as well. So, if you make over a certain amount of money each month you cannot more in. There are 101 units in this building all studio apartments and small one bedrooms. Rent includes electricity (a/c & heat), water, parking, and free entertainment. Maintenance is also included and usually taken care of quickly once you can get s...