Yes it is going to be 96 degrees today here in eastern Washington state and yes I can't see the sun for the forest fire smoke, but I have the feeling the days *are* getting shorter. Winter is coming.
We bought ~30 acres of timber land in the mountains here, really beautiful (and cheap cheap!) and have spent the entire summer here in our RV. We did not build enough structures though (just a very nice 10x10 storage shed, extremely well done but we took forever to build it).
The plan a couple of weeks ago was to bug out before winter and head to the east coast again but now we are thinking of staying in the area, both to see what a winter is like here and to save $3,000+ in fuel cost. On the east coast we would also spend a minimum of about $500 per month to park our RV as there just are not many BLM boondocking possibilities there as there are out west. I also would like to be here to keep an eye on the property and actually experience some snow (last Christmas in New Orleans it was 87 degrees and muggy).
My wife has said she is not willing to risk staying in the RV in the mountains all winter (this probably has something to do with our outdoor shower situation and the -20 degree temperatures but I could be wrong). She does want to camp out here some to see how the RV does and to ride snowmobiles around our property (I made some trails to get ready, removed stumps and such from them).
So...long story short, we need to find a cheap place to stay in the near town. I have not rented anything in decades. We have no rental history and no job (is that a problem?) but we own our property free and clear, own our truck, 820 credit score, and I can show them some of our finances if need be.
Should we go for an apartment or a small rental house? What are the pros and cons of either? Do we worry about section 8 tenants? This town has A LOT of those. We have been living in a 200 sq-ft RV (although with 30 acres of freedom and silence in the mountains) so going to even a 625 sq-ft 1 bd-rm 1 bath apartment would seem like a mansion.
The prices on the apartments seem to be $500 for a 625 sq-ft 1bd-rm, $700 for a 1000 sq-ft 2 bed 2 bath townhouse and anywhere from $600 to $1200 for a 2bd to 3bd private home.
What would a mustachian do here?