People Who Live in Their Office

During the day, you will find the regular work bustle going on in the commercial and industrial complexes. What will you find during the night? You might find several cars parked outside of the commercial and industrial complexes at night. Are these cars parked outside of businesses that operate twenty-four hours a day? Are these cars being stored in these parking lots? Possibly! There is one other explanation that may surprise you. Those buildings that were filled with the commotion of business happenings during the day, are sometimes uses as homes during the night.

What unsuspecting outsiders often don't know, is those offices and warehouses have a double use for some people. Some people live in offices or warehouses. Why do they do this? Because it is cheap!

Some people live in their offices unbeknownst to their employer. Other people actually rent cheap office or warehouse space for the sheer purpose of living in it. Office and warehouse space in some areas can be much cheaper than conventional housing.

I came across an industrial complex that several people are using as homes. I will not mention the location of this complex out of privacy for the individuals situations. This particular complex consists of 26 units. Each of the 26 units is made up of half office and half warehouse space.

Eight people are living in this industrial complex. Some are living in the offices and some are living in the parking lot.

One unit is being rented solely for the purpose of being used as a home. The young woman has set up the front of the unit to look like a software design business. In reality, she is solely using the unit as a home. The rent for her unit is $900 a month. " I can't find regular housing for that price around here", she tells me.

An accountant is living in another unit. During the day he runs his business. During the night his office turns in to his home.

Two other units are being lived in by employees. In both units, the employer is not aware that their employees are living in the office. One of the young men says, "If my boss found out, I'd be fired. I have to make sure to wake up early and hide my stuff. In the morning, I run to the gym to take a shower and get ready for the day. When I am done, I am not the first person to show up to work, so nobody suspects anything."

An elderly man lives in his van in the parking lot. He is on a waiting list for low income housing that he can afford on his social security. "During the day, I keep it low key. During the night, I am free to move about without getting noticed. I am friends with one of the businesses here. He has given me a key to his office. At night, I can go into his office and use his restroom and kitchenette."

At eleven o'clock every night, another elderly gentleman pulls into the parking lot for the night in his motor home.

The young woman's unit has a full bathroom and full kitchen, which makes cooking and showering easy. The other residents use a gym membership to take showers and eat frozen meals cooked in the office microwave.

A business complex during the day doubles as a home during the night. The residence of the complex all share some of the same opinions on what living in an industrial complex is like. They feel it is not the ideal living situation but it is better than living on the street. Days are difficult, because they have to hide that they live there. Night brings them a little sense of peace and relief because they can forget for the moment that they have to hide their living situation. The fear of getting caught, never fully leaves their minds, but the fear shrinks during the nighttime hours.

The young woman describes her views on office living. "When night comes, I can breathe for a moment. I don't feel like I have to hide. I can relax and watch some television or even hang outside and smoke a cigarette without feeling like I am attracting attention. This place is a whole different place at night. All of us who live here come outside with a smile on our faces and chat for a few minutes. It feels good to know that you are not alone in your living situation. During the day if we see each other, we all have tense looks on our faces. I am glad I have this place because it is better than living on the street, but I sure wish I had a home."