Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu

California Dream

 

A statewide collaboration between Capital Public Radio, KQED, KPCC, KPBS and CALmatters focused on key issues of economic opportunity, quality of life and the future of the “California Dream.”

Series and Project Archive

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Having A Job (Or Two, Or Three) Doesn't Mean You Can Afford To Live In California

Monday, April 9, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Amita Sharma / KPBS

After finishing his first Uber/Lyft driving shift, Chad Bordes heads to the gym to shower and change before starting his next job selling cars online, March 15, 2018.

Amita Sharma / KPBS

Amita Sharma | KPBS

Sandwiched between California’s iconic Highway 101 and the Pacific Ocean is a parking lot in Encinitas, where Chad Bordes’ car doubled as his home.

The rain pounded and the wind blew; it was 3:30 in the morning in mid-March and still dark outside. Bordes emerged from the front seat of his gray Nissan Altima, wearing a t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops. He walked over to his trunk, that also served as his closet.

The newness of the day had him bleary-eyed. “You wake up and you’re like, Oh, I’m in my car,” Bordes said. “It’s like a bad episode of ‘Groundhog Day,’ everyday.”

Bordes lived out of his car for the month of March; it was light years from what he imagined for himself. Bordes is 46 years old. He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

He drives Uber and Lyft and has a part-time job with an online car auction company.

Still, it’s not enough to pay the bills.

For a time, Bordes was among the estimated 134,000 Californians who are homeless, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The state doesn’t keep track of how many of those people have jobs. But, as the cost of living in California continues to rise, some residents find themselves with jobs that don’t pay enough to afford a stable place to live.

Until the end of February, Bordes rented a room in a home in Encinitas for $750 a month. But the owner decided to sell and Bordes’s take-home pay of between $2,000 and $2,400 a month wasn’t enough to get a one-bedroom apartment in San Diego, where the average rent for a one-bedroom runs about $1,700 a month, according to MarketPointe Realty Advisors in San Diego.

So, he lived in his car for a month.

In April, he found a room in a home in Vista for $450 on Craigslist.

“It’s pretty small, Bordes said.“It’s an 8-by-8. It’s actually a laundry room. It’s got a closet.  It’s got windows. It’s a place to rest my head.”

He said he’s grateful for the room but “this situation is month-to-month. I don’t know how long the person I am living there with will stay there. I mean it’s a likely possibility that I might end up in my car again.”

Bordes owes nearly $100,000 in student loan debt on his MBA. His monthly payments to pay that down is $1,300.

He’s had financial problems in the past. Bordes filed for bankruptcy in 2003 after a divorce. But he said he’s worked hard to rebuild his credit.

At 3:45 a.m., Bordes work day began. “Alright, another day in paradise,” he said as he drove out to the gas station.

A full tank cost him $55. Then he checked Uber and Lyft ride requests.

“I’m looking for the longer rides, 45 minutes plus,” Bordes said. “I like to do two of those in the morning because it starts me off with $70 or $80 in the morning right off the bat.”

At 4:30 a.m., his smartphone pinged. He picked up a couple in the northern tip of San Diego County to take them to the airport. He made $40.

At 7 a.m., Bordes went to a gym to shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. By 7:30 a.m., he was out the door to start his next job. Already, he was tired.

His shift selling cars online ended at 3 p.m. and he went back to driving.

“It’s very, very exhausting,” Bordes said. “There are times during the day when I’ll just turn the apps off, if I am not working at my other job, and just try to catch a 15-minute nap because I’m exhausted.”

When Bordes was living in his car, he made sure to leave room in his trunk for his passenger’s luggage. He hid his own belongings — clothes, laptop, pillow and blanket — tucked underneath a black towel. He didn’t often talk about his living circumstances but said the typical reaction when he did, was one of disbelief.

“It’s shock,” Bordes said. “It’s like, ’whoa, why are you living in your car?’”

Bordes asked himself that same question. He thought his MBA would have enabled him to get a job that paid at least between $75,000 and $100,000 a year.

“I thought the degree would make me more marketable,” he said.

But it hasn’t paid off.

Bordes said he sneaks in time during the day to search for sales and marketing jobs.

So far, he’s only received rejections. Bordes said he hasn’t even gotten a call back for entry-level jobs that start at $36,000.

He doesn’t know why exactly. He guesses that’s because he’s not using keywords in his resume that would prompt a company to respond, or maybe there just aren’t enough middle income jobs or perhaps his MBA makes him overqualified.

“I wake up in the morning and I’m just sad and I think, God, I wish things were different. I wish I would have gone down a different track or gotten a different degree.”

The wondering. The work. The living situation. It has drained him.

“There are times I just get really emotional,” Bordes said. “I just start crying. I get really sad. One of the things I think about is, Oh, yeah my parents would be real proud of me, 46 living in my car. My parents had bigger dreams. My dad never went to college. My mom didn’t go to college either. They held bigger dreams for me.”

But, there was fire in his eyes when asked what he would like to know from California’s politicians.

“How did we get here?” Bordes wanted to know. “How did we get to a point where we devalue human life to where it’s okay if we step over homeless people? Why isn’t there more housing being built for lower income families? What are we doing to bring more jobs in?”

After another two-hour Uber/Lyft shift, at 8:30 p.m., Bordes finished his day.  His fatigue left him cynical about how the state’s politicians might answer him.

“They don’t care,” Bordes said. “Honestly, they don’t care.”

The California Dream series is a statewide media collaboration of CALmatters, KPBS, KPCC, KQED and Capital Public Radio with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the James Irvine Foundation.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

 CADream

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More California Dream Stories

Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

Dream Big, Live Small: Why The Van Life Is Taking Hold In California

June 29, 2019

Chris Bruno /  CapRadio

California’s Big City Mayors Say More Political Will Needed To Solve Homeless Crisis

November 16, 2018

Adrienne Hill / California Dream

How California Initiatives Went From 'Power To The People' To A Big Money Game

November 1, 2018

View All California Dream Stories  

Most Viewed

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.