We moved! We actually made it. There were times where this felt so distant and so out of reach. But it worked! 1,000 miles and maybe giving our cat a little bit of head trauma later (NOT ON PURPOSE) we are residents in the Raleigh, NC area.
We’ve learned that Raleigh and Durham aren’t that close together, the Raleigh airport is probably the prettiest airport I’ve been to, and-contrary to our first 5 days here- it does, in fact, rain. Today is a nice day, I’m writing this at a table by the pool in 85 degree weather. (See picture) I’m really happy we moved.
However, making the apartment accessible enough for me has been a challenge. And I consider this apartment more accessible than any other apartment I’ve rented. The reality is, only 1% of rental units in the United States are “accessible” for people with physical disabilities. Meanwhile, around 47% of people with disabilities are renters. It’s much higher for people with physical disabilities and that causes a huge problem.
People with disabilities on average spend more of their income on rent than able bodied people at a rate of about 70% of their income. In a time where you need to make 3x the rent for many leasing companies to rent to you, and the affordable housing is most of the time more dangerous for violent crime (disabled women experience violent crime at a higher rate than able bodied women) along with the years long wait lists to even get an income based housing unit, there are fewer options still even if an accessible unit is available. I’ve never found a single accessible unit available because they rent them out to anyone, landlords don’t hold them for a person who truly needs it – and that is… frustrating… to say the least.
The cost of finding a more accessible apartment tends to be inaccessibility of older units. Newer units have wider doorways, larger bathrooms with walk in showers and open floor plans that help with maneuverability. My decision to rent my apartment was based on bathrooms. I have full range of motion and extra room when turning in my bathroom. I also have probably the most accessible bathtub I ever had in my life. The garden tub is higher which accommodates easier transfers.
So, our apartment did cost more than the average in the area, but I can fully use it and the location is so nice. Today, I independently took a stroll over to Starbucks, got an iced coffee and read a book at Starbucks while I enjoyed my coffee. Sounds simple, but I have never been able to do that in my every day routine. I have access to a Target, a grocery store, a movie theater, tons of restaurants. The location is accessible. It’s more than just an accessible unit. It’s about access to basic entertainment and shopping options.
I am so grateful we were able to get this apartment. It gives me freedom, more routine, more exercise (the hills are crazy), more socialization. I know we all went through a global pandemic, but the social isolation is very common among people with disabilities and you don’t realize how isolated you are until you’re no longer in isolation.
Now that we’re settled, I’m getting back into my writing routine. I still don’t have my office set up, but now that I have more freedom and more routine the plan I had at the beginning of the year looks easier than it did in January.