Students Left to Take in the Effects of the Housing Crisis
by Mallory West
Housing has become an increasing problem when it comes to Cape Cod. For students who must juggle education and work, finding a place to live only increases the stress. Cape Cod Community College’s (4C’s) student body is also subject to this binding circumstantial stress, having to wait in a temporary house of uncertainty while trying to decide where to go through stress and expenses.
“Being a student is difficult and expensive enough without having to worry about housing,” said Laurel Smith, a student at 4Cs. According to Lily Robinson’s “Housing affordability becoming ‘existential crisis’ for Cape Cod” in the 2021 edition of CommonWealth magazine, Cape Cod’s tourist appeal “has also driven up housing prices so sharply that its year-round community is struggling to survive.” Unfortunately, this certainly includes far too many students on the Cape with 4Cs students especially enduring quite a hit.
“There is nothing available for my children and I on this side of the bridge,” said Christina Silva-Simpson, a student at 4Cs since 2019. For students who have ties to the Cape, such as work or education, there are not many options. “My search is limited to the Cape due to my oldest daughter wanting to graduate from Barnstable High,” said Silva-Simpson, despite the eventually evident lack of available homes. This tether, like the many of the others, pains the outlook even more. “I have been searching for housing for almost 4 years” said Silva-Simpson. “Trying to find a house within the Barnstable school district has been impossible.” For people who must move often, the housing crisis is a serious problem. “I look for housing every 6 months to a year,” said Smith. “It usually takes me about 3-6 months to actually find a place.” Fortunately, some have found the process’ heavy concerns to have been eased by remote learning. Since classes can still be streamed virtually from anywhere as of now, students do not have to worry as much about a long commute to campus. For students who are fully committed to in-person classes, the stress remains. Many have turned to the Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) and the Woods Hole Ocean Institute (WHOI) for any allocated aid, be it directive words or other tangible sources.
Christina Silva-Simpson
Symmetrically to Silva-Simpson and others, Smith also has her set of search limits. “My search is limited to the Cape mainly due to no transportation at the moment and the program I’m in,” said Smith. According to Robinson, a year-round renter, “if displaced from their current residences, [most] won’t be able to afford inflated market prices.” Dislocations from one’s home can happen quickly, and it brings such seekers back to the beginning with, yet again, a difficult rebound from the cruelly contrived set prices of land and housing distributors within the market. “Places that will accept a couple because I live with my boyfriend most only want male or female only,” said Smith. “If they do agree to a couple, they change the price of the rent to outside our price range.” In addition to increased prices simply for living with someone, “the prices of rent and the cost of living [are] so high I struggle to come up with first, last, and security all at one,” said Smith.
Smith is not the only one who has multiple factors holding back any extension of commitment to house-hunting. “I’ve been facing…landlords not wanting to rent to me because I have section 8, rent prices, lack of available 3-bedroom houses, and location,” said Silva-Simpson. On the Cape, landlords play a large role in the ability to find housing, as well as the prices and even the mental health of renters. “Once I find housing, I often have to deal with the added stress of my landlord being aggressive, intrusive, or verbally abusive,” said Smith. “Most people on the Cape are just greedy and want you to pay their mortgage for them with their prices.”
Many contemplate between their current conditions, and the possibilities of selecting the way of sturdier welfare over the latter if they only could. “I really wished the college had dorms or coordinated something with the local towns,” said Smith. For students, the stress of constantly looking for a home while balancing the needs of a family, work, and education can leave a negative impact on their mental health. Even though remote learning takes away some of the pressure, high prices, lack of availability, and unfair landlords make housing a big problem for Cape Codders and college students.
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