Spring break just got awesome. Staying in a 5-bedroom house on Myrtle Beach in SC for a week. It's owned by a friend's uncle, and we're only paying the cleaning fee of $150 for a group currently of five and will likely be closer to 8-10 by the time we actually go. It will be even cheaper than going to my parents' house near Albany for break would be, as overall between that, gas, and food this way I will be paying about $100 as it currently stands, more likely closer to $80, and round-trip train tickets are about $150.
Friends that are a married couple can't afford to go, and I would just pay for them but then they would be losing a week of pay for her, and that I couldn't part with because I need to save what I can to relocate after school or else I'll be sunk.

For them going on such an inexpensive vacation would mean homelessness. He is currently unemployed and has been applying to various jobs for months now, and he needed 30 hours more of work to qualify for unemployment insurance so he doesn't even get that. After they depleted their savings buying food they were able to get food stamps, but they honestly have nothing with no chance of improvement any time soon and I wish I could do more to help them. The situation angers and saddens me, and it's created the ability in me to rage whenever I hear someone openly advocating the cessation of things such as food stamps. My friends would starve. Other friends who graduated in May don't have employment yet despite best efforts (that unemployed friend graduated in May with an IT degree as did another friend, and still nothing) and argh I don't want to be graduating this year. when everyone's in the same boat it's kind of difficult to do anything about it, to help each other out.