Relocation

About half of our members relocate to North Central Washington for their service year, and moving to Washington as well as securing housing are the first challenges they will face.

Moving Expenses

Like most AmeriCorps programs, we are unfortunately not able to reimburse members for their relocation to Washington state.

Housing Search

North Central Washington does not have large population fluctuations, so good places to rent that match your AmeriCorps stipend can be hard to come by. Some of the communities we serve are rural, which can mean affordable but sometimes limited options.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to provide housing for all of our relocating members. It is up to each individual member to find a place that meets his or her needs in terms of cost, location, and desired living environment. On the other hand, we want to do everything we can to make the process of finding a place to live as easy as possible. Sometimes we do hear of people interested in renting specifically to AmeriCorps members, and we will be happy to pass this information along.

Tips for a successful housing search:

Do some research on housing as early as possible. Finding a place during your first busy days of service can be challenging.

If you're interested in living with an AmeriCorps roommate, let us know. Every year, we put together a "roommate list" of everyone interested in sharing housing to cut costs.

Looking for apartments from a distance can be difficult to do, but feel free to ask us what we think of a particular location. We would be happy to make sure it's in a safe neighborhood for you. Alternately, arrange for one roommate to make the trip to our area and do a housing search.

Arrive a week early if you would prefer to make in-person housing arrangements. A whole week will give you time to look at several different places.

Using this letter may help explain to potential landlords that you will have consistent employment and income. Some property managers may express an initial reluctance to rent to someone with a low income.

Very few apartments are furnished, but there are always garage sales and several thrift stores. Generally, finding enough decent and affordable furniture is not a hard thing in this area.

Housing and Apartment Resources

Below are a few links you may find useful in your search for finding housing in your new local community.

Craigslist

Area Local Paper Websites:
Wenatchee World
Grand Coulee Star
Leavenworth Echo
Omak Chronicle

Property / Rental Management Information:
Yahoo Local Real Estate