Monday, February 22, 2010
THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM
Posted on Monday, February 22, 2010 by The Observer
Confessions of a 'couch surfer'
NEW YORK - Alice Katie Dugan is a jobless, homeless New Yorker. But this crisis in her life has led her to an innovative way to keep a roof above her head—actually, several roofs.
“A couch surfer to me is somebody who doesn’t have a permanent place to stay and has to result to staying with friends or family and they end up staying on a couch,” Dugan explained.
Dugan lost her job more than 4 months ago. She can’t afford an apartment anymore, so she started couch surfing, staying at one friend’s place after another for free.
Recently, a friend agreed for her to couch surf at his luxury high rise apartment building in Long Island. US$600 a month gets her the couch and closet space. Not a bad deal, she says, considering she could never have afforded a luxury apartment.
“The benefit is being able to stay in a very nice facility that might have amenities like a pool or a gym and stuff like that,” Dugan said. “Of course, there’s clean kitchens, nice bathrooms, and it’s fully furnished.”
The biggest drawback to couch surfing, Dugan says, is the complete loss of privacy.
“You don’t have your privacy, they don’t have their privacy. It’s a necessary evil.”
In the meantime, Dugan has been working gigs as a model, actress and odd jobs here and there until she finds a full time job.
“It’s been really hard looking for a job and I’m actually very lucky. I’ve been only searching for about 4 months lately and I’ve been getting several interviews every week,” Dugan said.
Dugan says she does not intend to surf couches for long, and as she searches for a new job, her biggest motivation is to have her own comfy bed in her own bedroom.
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