She decides that if she could make $7 an hour, then she could afford $500 in rent. She found a place to rent 45 minutes from work. In order to meet her financial responsibilities, Ehrenreich took to the streets in search of other unskilled employment because she did not want to use her car as a place of residence. She continued her experience in a new environment which led her to Maine since the region is predominantly a Caucasian community. When she realized Portland was just another $6 or $7 an hour city, she found two jobs to be practical. She began her search for accommodation at Motel 6. After several disappointments looking for a place to lie down; she found a cottage for $120 a week and is determined that the poor cannot compete with the rich in the real estate market. Ehrenreich moved to Minnesota to complete her experiment, where she hoped there would be a satisfactory harmony between rent and wages. She finds an apartment with a friend for a short time until she finds somewhere to live on her own. She found housing difficult as there seemed to be a housing shortage; as a result, it was transformed into a hotel. His hotel stay turned out to exceed his estimated expenses despite the fact that it was his only safe.