Our Story...

We moved to the Northern Virginia area a few years ago when I was faced with a layoff back in Florida. I held a few jobs at the same time just to make our money last as long as it could each week back there. To help out, my wife, who had a full-time job already, took a part-time job. The two of us were barely sleeping and barely saw each other.

After what seemed like an eternity of multiple jobs, I landed a new job – in Northern Virginia. It was with the competitor of my previous job. It was the same line of work, but completely different atmosphere. My old job was terrible. The boss made us drink coffee (or any beverage) in a “company approved” mug. Anything else was forbidden. He would walk around just to inspect us. It’s worse than that, but I’ll spare the details. Anyway, this new company had a family feel to it. Everything felt right. So we packed up and moved up here. Later that year, during the snowy winter, my wife (now several months pregnant) took a part-time job at the local mall. Because we only had the one car, she walked in the freezing weather to work both day and night so that we could have enough money to buy clothes for our child. I’m not proud of that at all.

After living here a short time and the birth of our child, the cost of living seemed to have skyrocketed. All of our income is used for everyday living expenses – food, rent, and utilities. My wife and I are scrimping just to stay afloat here. We’ve cut back our expenses just to live paycheck to paycheck. Not a fun situation at all. There are some days where we skip lunches and other days where we spend no more than $5 a day for lunch. We’ve also cut back on dining out to maybe once a week. The cost of living here is outrageous.

For all of these reasons, we’re trying to move back home to Florida, but it’s hard to do without a job lined up down there. Also, the moving expenses alone will put us deeper into the red, unless with a new job, moving expenses will be taken care of…hopefully.

With a wife and very young child to support, we’re stretching our income as much as we can. That’s why I’m asking for your support. If you are a regular reader or find our story compelling in any way, please consider supporting the fund by becoming a “Stuck In Virginia” patron. Any amount will help.

Thank you.

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