Alec’s Independent Living Tips: A Home of Your Own, By Alec Frazier and Autistic Reality

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Ward Sinclair Plaza in the Center of My Hometown, Takoma Park, Maryland

As you know by now, I have several disabilities. I am proud of the fact that I live on my own, and I have since at least 2008. What follows is my advice on Independent living in a safe, reliable home.

The Body

My Building, the Cambridge Apartments by HabitatAmerica in Takoma Park, Maryland

Please move to a safe, reliable, livable home. I know many people who suffer because they live in subpar apartments. This essay will assume that you will be renting, rather than owning. Ideally, you can live in a good apartment for years on end. In fact, in most of the world, people rent properties over the course of decades, and even generations. You need to know what to look for. That is where I come in.

The Common Room/Business Center in My Building, the Cambridge

It will never cease to amaze me how many people with options choose to live in slums or bad apartments. A number of these people have defended themselves by saying that this gives them the freedom to party. I know that I have never been one for much partying, but the freedom to party is, in my mind, not a proper excuse for lack of safety, comfort, financial security, and many other factors. Many of these slumlords are gougers. In one case, I knew people who were being charged over $2,000 a month to rent a house that was so bad that inspectors had appraised its sale value at $500.

Many, many slumlords run absolute disgraces, and rent them out to the public. I have seen some amazingly bad things. I have seen sinks which are made of materials that poison the water that comes out of them. I have seen doors made from cardboard and cheap plastics. I have seen houses where more windows are broken than intact. I have seen pipes made from what is supposed to be posts for chain-link fence. I have seen bullet holes, lack of insulation, lack of three-pronged wall outlets, lack of heating, lack of basic fixtures, and many, many other travesties. It is a shame that anyone would want to live in such disgusting conditions, but many people do not know what to look for. I am trying to help.

My Salon at The Wombatorium 2.0: A Capital Idea

In addition, negotiating a lease agreement on time is incredibly important. Please negotiate your lease agreement approximately a month in advance of planned occupancy. You need to make sure that the place is ready for you to move in on time. In addition, not signing a lease in advance gives the landlord an opportunity to back out of the deal, and I have known of landlords who have done this at the last moment. It is far better to be prepared.

Please make sure that you have a kind, responsible landlord. A proper landlord will have maintenance take care of issues, and will, in fact, have much less issues to take care of, if they are constantly looking after the place properly. I tend to recommend apartment buildings above all other kinds of apartments, as they are much harder for both landlords and tenants to mismanage and abuse. Please try to move to a nicer neighborhood, nothing super fancy or expensive, but not a slum or unsafe area. I discourage moving into apartments divided out of pieces of houses, as there is less incentive for a landlord to be responsible, and because these units tend to be in bad neighborhoods more often than apartment buildings. The perfect landlord has a website for online payment and maintenance requests, although not everybody has this.

Even if you drive, please look for a place near public transportation. I do not advise moving to a place without it, especially if one has disabilities. If your town doesn't have public transit, then I wouldn't advise living there. Also, sign up for Uber or Lyft. Buses are useful, and subways are amazing, since they usually run on a preset schedule. If you have mobility impairments, please make sure that you move to an area with transit stations that are accessible. Please do not overuse Uber and Lyft. They should only be used when there is no other option. This will help save the bank. If there is a public transit card for your area, please get it.

My Media Area in My Salon at The Wombatorium 2.0: A Capital Idea

In fact, please make sure that you have an easy or at least simplified way to get to the greater world outside of your city by public transit. For example, to get anywhere in the United States, all I must do is take the subway few stops to Union Station in Washington, DC, and I can take Amtrak or other train services virtually anywhere in the country. For those distances a longer way away, I take the subway to either one of the two local airports. Remember, it is best not to deal with long-term parking and your own vehicle when traveling out of town, whether by train or plane.

Please move somewhere close to a reasonable grocery store. In fact, the more food options, the better. There is something in geography called a food desert. A food desert is a place where you must travel a way to have access to proper nutrition and nourishment. Ideally, there should be a good grocery store within walking distance, even if it is a longer walk. The idea is to be able to access your food easily, even if you do not drive. Even if you do drive, please keep this fact in mind. In the modern technological age, it is good to sign up for a service like Instacart. Ideally, they will cover your local area. Instacart and other services like it allow you to order delivery of food from grocery stores online, or over a mobile app. This will help you shop when you are unable to leave the house. Be aware that services like Instacart do not accept food stamp benefits, though.

My Dining Area in My Salon at The Wombatorium 2.0: A Capital Idea

Please make sure that your apartment or home is also reasonably close to other shopping as well. It is good to be in close distance to clothing stores and places to get basic electronics, such as power cords for your devices, or Internet connection. It is also a great idea to make sure that you can easily get to a home supply store and a furniture store. Make sure to take note of your other needs, and to move to a place where they are within reach.

Don’t forget about fun! The perfect place to live will have areas within access which have restaurants, at least one movie theater, hopefully a bookstore, and places to meet and hang out with friends.

These are my basic independent living tips regarding places to move into. I hope they are helpful! When people say home is where the heart is, they mean it. A wonderful, loving home gives you fulfillment and happiness.

My Most Prized Decorations in My Salon at The Wombatorium 2.0: A Capital Idea