A Positive Housing Post??

Yes, that's right!

Over the last almost-decade, whenever I speak with Ottawa Housing the conversation usually ends with little to no progress and me Hulking out in frustration.

This time was different though.

A few weeks ago, Ottawa Housing phoned me with an offer on an accessible one bedroom, bachelor apartment! I was so dumbfounded that I could barely answer the woman on the other end of the phone. I got all the important information, discussed things with my parents, and arranged to set up a viewing at a later date.

 This past Wednesday, after work, my father picked me up for the viewing.

The apartment is located in downtown Ottawa, in the middle of an area I am very familiar with. Very close to grocery stores, restaurants, a major bus route, and, most importantly, my go-to comic book shop! It's subsidized, so the price is geared to how much I make between work and my disability pension. In all honesty, that fact made me a little nervous about the building's residents. However, upon entering the building, that perception was immediately proven false, as almost everyone who walked by me was very polite and friendly!

The Ottawa Housing representative met me and my father and took us to see the apartment. I had been told over the phone that I was seeing a bachelor apartment, but she upped it to a one-bedroom. Very welcome surprise! Accessible, one bed, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and balcony. Simple, yet very nice!

The only negatives were a lack of air conditioning, few parking spots for home care, and even though the apartment itself was non-smoking, the building wasn't and the halls were fairly thick with the smell of smoke.

After the viewing, the rep gave me her card and asked to get back to her by the end of the next day, so the next 24 hours had me thinking long and hard. Ultimately, the smoking thing was too much of a risk with my respiratory issues so I passed on the apartment.

I have two more offers and, like my parents said, they looked at many places before buying their first home. At least now I know what I want and what I don't. Honestly, I'm just glad that, after almost ten years of being on wait-lists, the housing thing is finally going somewhere.

Cheers!