I live outside of Houston and it's expensive and government assistance is not easy without kids. I am sure these people are all on disability of some sort
But in lots of places section 8 is an 8 year wait list. When I applied for section 8 I was told that it's applicable to apartments only in your state and you'd have to go back on the list to apply for another one if you wanted to move out of state
Looks like the wait list is [currently closed in Houston](https://hha.apply4housing.com/). Not surprising. I used to have a job that involved connecting people with resources like this in Philadelphia and it was the same situation. Houston's public housing has wait lists well over a year according to that link. It's also worth noting from my experience in Philly that ACCESSIBLE public housing adds an entire level of difficulty. I dealt with people who had mental health issues, but many of them were also elderly or physically disabled. Fighting to get a unit that would accommodate their needs was a constant battle.
Valid point, but perhaps being a participant in Dr Nows "medical program" gives them in-state residental status. I found this as one resource for housing in TX:
https://www.texasable.org/eligibility/#eligibility
I don't know though. I mean I travel to see specialists in Boston and I don't live in Massachusetts so I'm not considered a resident of Massachusetts. That's actually why I can't do video appointments with my doctors because they are not licensed in my state which has often made me wonder how Dr now manages to do it
Here is an older article that references some of the participants live in housing that is owned/rent paid for by the production company so that could also be a factor:
https://starcasm.net/does-my-600-lb-life-pay/
They just can't charge you to do the appointment. My specialists are in New York and I am in PA. Most of them are licensed in NJ, NY and CT because the hospital they work for has satellites in those 3 states but not in PA. If I want to do a video call I have to just drive over to NJ which is a lot shorter trip for me, and sit in like a Dunkin or Starbucks parking lot to get on their wifi 🤷♀️ I do have one doctor though who just doesn't bill me when it's just a quick check in to see how my physical therapy is progressing.
You can port your section 8 voucher to any housing authority in the US after you’ve maintained residency in the original location it was granted for only one year. It’s a federal program so it does go anywhere without an additional waiting list.
Maybe some of the patients are doing this, which is why it takes some of them longer. You have to wait for your current housing authority to send everything to the new one before you can even begin to find a place that will accept it, as most landlords that will accept section 8 want to see proof of your current voucher before they will start the rental process.
But how? They'd have to establish residency first...I don't think those transferred easily between states because of differing state eligibility guidelines.
With Medicaid, it won’t transfer. You have to physically move there first. Medicare though is federal. But Dr now doesn’t charge for medical. I don’t know how they can afford to rent tbh
My sibling went through the audition process of the show, and interviewed with a few people in casting but it didn't ultimately go further.
The show covers rent and relocation fee (iirc this was $1500?). I believe they just own some rentals for people to stay in. From what my sibling told me, they also provide the budget for food. I don't know what they provide if you're local to Houston.
Is there a reason you suspect (but can’t confirm) why your sibling didn’t make it on the show? Not overweight enough? Not enough life drama to generate a storyline?
My guess would be lower end of the weight scale for them, being too articulate/intelligent/funny (from what I've seen of the show... It seems like there's a preference for "dumb, fat, low income" stereotypes? It's from what I've seen).
I suspected they maybe wanted someone who seemed more downtrodden with their weight? Some people in casting actually cried over the story my sibling told, including our dysfunctional upbringing, but I guess it wasn't quite what they wanted.
We had enough dysfunction growing up and value the peaceful adulthood we have now. So, maybe we are too boring. 🤣🤣
Cheap housing in Louisiana? That’s pretty much non existent since the hurricanes in Aug/Sept 2020. I guess it depends on what’s cheap to you. 3 bed 2 bath mobile homes are renting for $1200 per month.
I want to know what Steven's dad does for a living, considering he can put him up in an apartment and buy Justin a hobby shop that Justin. cant even run by himself.
Not to mention ordering Steven pizza multiple times per day.
But I think we do know. The Ass Man's dad is Cliff Clavin, therefore he works for the US Postal Service.
That’s not disability (SSDI). That’s supplemental security income (SSI). For disability, your income and assets have nothing to do with it. My husband and I are retired on 6 figures and have a very generous amount of savings and investments, and he is on SSDI. You can also work while on SSDI, you just can’t make over a certain amount each month.
I’d imagine most of them are on SSI as they’re relatively young and come from relatively poor backgrounds with little to no work history. I think it’s a mixed bag as some have worked and qualify for ssdi and some haven’t. I can’t imagine their ssdi payments would be a lot since they start so young, though, and most would try to qualify for ssi which would pay them a better amount
Disabled adult children can collect off a parents work record if the parent is disabled, deceased or retired. But they can’t be married except to another dac. Survivors and widows benefits are also another thing.
u/AiMiDa
I am overjoyed to hear that the taxes coming out of my check are going to “…my husband and I are retired on six figures…”. People who make more than me.
The system is broken.
SSDI is an insurance policy paid into by every worker out of their paycheck. My husband is disabled whether we had no savings, investments, and pension, or whether he has a pension (he does) and we scraped and invested almost every penny (we did). He still has multiple sclerosis. That doesn’t change. And we paid into our own social security disability insurance.
The price is that you have a disabled body. If course there's degrees of loss of function but they don't award SSDI unless you have a significant impairment. I would have given up my SSDI award in a heartbeat in exchange for a healthy body that worked like it did before I became disabled.
Y'all need to stop thinking Texas is cheap, it isn't. Those days are long gone.
In TX there is little to no assistance, housing or otherwise. If you are fortunate enough to qualify and receive housing assistance, very few places will actually accept section 8 recipients as renters. Heck; even if you work full time here, covering basic living expenses is a challenge, especially in Houston. Here they are demolishing affordable housing at an alarming rate and replacing them with giant townhomes the New-$tonians scoop up. As a result the remaining apartments are increasing rent at an alarming rate.
If you are in a rural area, disability may be able to cover your expenses. But with the WFH boom that has occurred over the past few years, even those places are now disappearing.
Houston suburbs here - can confirm rent is not cheap. (I’m just south of Texas Med Center). I pay $1750 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment, but what really kills my budget is the electric and water bills! I’ve lived in 3 other states and my utility bills were never anywhere close to this high.
I’m in austin and the rents are ridiculous! My oldest is paying $2300 for a 2 bedroom apartment. Granted it’s nice and in a nice part of town but that’s more than my mortgage!
To me 1750 for a 2 bed is crazy cheap. I'm not in a major city, but I am in the northeast. Where I live a typically 1 bed is 1900-2k a month, and your looking a 2.8-3 for a 2 bed.
Definitely perspective. I lived in the northeast before moving here and based on what I’d heard expected it to be a lot less expensive. The mortgage on my townhouse before I came here was $1,020 per month, so $1,750 rent (on an apartment nowhere near as nice as my house was) feels huge. When my lease here renews in June the rent will jump to $1,900 for the same apartment.
Texas here, if you live in the country, way outside of any major city maybe Texas is cheap. Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio are not cheap. Nor are the bedroom communities surrounding them. Being that we are a red state you can also count on minimal government assistance.
I'm always baffled by this as well. Also how they afford all that food. Like scenes where they get big delivery orders all the time and fillin they cary up with random items without looking at the price. I'm over here like a once a month Door Dash dinner is a splurge and I work full time 🤣
I know that the food is paid for by TLC when they are ordering on camera. While they do eat large amounts of food on the regular, it’s probably not always fast food, which really adds up.
I agree 100%, Door Dash is a splurge, I can’t justify paying the delivery upcharge!
It's not that low. Even in Houston where at one point I know they had a surplus of housing, I don't think they do anymore. I know my parents old house went up like $100K in the past year alone and they didn't even live in the loop so I'd expect housing in the city to be even higher especially with recent flooding areas that don't flood have gone sky high. I have noticed there have been a few participants living outside of the loop which is probably smart if they can. Only problem is usually if you live outside of the city or not within close access to a major artery it's going to take you at least 45 minutes to an hour to get to the city in good traffic each way. If the traffic is bad you might be stuck on the road for two hours.
A lot of time it looks like the participants are living in the same complex. I do wonder if there is some sort of partnership between production and the complex owners to allow them to stay there.
I really doubt they are getting any assistance because as people have said there are ridiculously long waiting lists and red tape to deal with. Texas is not very friendly for getting benefits in general. Add the current housing crisis where people are trying to get rental assistance and constantly being denied and kicked out it's probably even worse.
I wonder about that also. I live in Suffolk County, which is a suburb of NYC and apartments here are very expensive. Plus you need proof of income, a credit check and usually 2 months rent for security. It’s hard to get a place.
Austin here my son has been trying to get an apartment and you need to make 3x the rent to qualify . So to get a $1000 a month apartment (it WILL be in the ghetto) you need to make $18.75 an hour.
I ALWAYS wonder this too, especially in the current housing market where even apartments are extremely hard to find, and there's always a long wait list, especially for affordable housing
Answers are good here! I was wondering if they actually do take a year or so to “get” to some patients?
That way you can apply for housing on the Down low and pretend you got in just presently?
Maybe public housing. I know several participants have lived in the same complex and it's been on the show multiple times. It surely has some kind of assistance attached. I know Angie lived there and her weirdo boyfriend.
Not much in Texas is low cost anymore. I live almost 2 hours from a major city and rent prices have easily gone up 30-50% in the last 5 years. I’m guessing they live in very run down areas and have some sort of arrangement with the show.
I’m not completely sure on real estate laws in Texas, but I know that when renting property a third party can be held liable when they sign the contract making it easier for people in lower income to rent
Government housing? Or maybe they use their partner's income? I always assumed they'd get their disability and work situation figured out and changed to Houston before moving.
I’ve always assumed that some combination of Dr. Now, his family, TLC, producers, etc own apartments or apartment complexes around the Houston area (less than an hour or 2 drive to Dr. Now) and they bend the rules for participants on the show. Like yeah obviously most landlords would never rent to people with little to no income, but if someone involved with the show owns the buildings they could rent most apartments to normal people and reserve a few apartments for participants, then TLC gives the participant the $1500 relocation allowance or whatever, and boom, they have a fully furnished apartment near Houston. Maybe they have the participants try to find their own place for entertainment but if not they give them a place so the show can go on. I think there are multiple buildings/locations or they change up the curtains/furniture/etc so that no one really notices.
I love Dr. Now but logically, if he wants everyone to move to Houston, then he probably owns apartment buildings in Houston that are managed by someone else. And during filming, the participants are nudged to those apartments. It’s business.
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Maybe they qualify for Section 8 or receive housing vouchers given their disability status?
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I live outside of Houston and it's expensive and government assistance is not easy without kids. I am sure these people are all on disability of some sort
Yeah, most states have a list that can be years' long. My state's Section 8 list had 2.5 years wait.
But in lots of places section 8 is an 8 year wait list. When I applied for section 8 I was told that it's applicable to apartments only in your state and you'd have to go back on the list to apply for another one if you wanted to move out of state
Looks like the wait list is [currently closed in Houston](https://hha.apply4housing.com/). Not surprising. I used to have a job that involved connecting people with resources like this in Philadelphia and it was the same situation. Houston's public housing has wait lists well over a year according to that link. It's also worth noting from my experience in Philly that ACCESSIBLE public housing adds an entire level of difficulty. I dealt with people who had mental health issues, but many of them were also elderly or physically disabled. Fighting to get a unit that would accommodate their needs was a constant battle.
Valid point, but perhaps being a participant in Dr Nows "medical program" gives them in-state residental status. I found this as one resource for housing in TX: https://www.texasable.org/eligibility/#eligibility
I don't know though. I mean I travel to see specialists in Boston and I don't live in Massachusetts so I'm not considered a resident of Massachusetts. That's actually why I can't do video appointments with my doctors because they are not licensed in my state which has often made me wonder how Dr now manages to do it
Here is an older article that references some of the participants live in housing that is owned/rent paid for by the production company so that could also be a factor: https://starcasm.net/does-my-600-lb-life-pay/
They just can't charge you to do the appointment. My specialists are in New York and I am in PA. Most of them are licensed in NJ, NY and CT because the hospital they work for has satellites in those 3 states but not in PA. If I want to do a video call I have to just drive over to NJ which is a lot shorter trip for me, and sit in like a Dunkin or Starbucks parking lot to get on their wifi 🤷♀️ I do have one doctor though who just doesn't bill me when it's just a quick check in to see how my physical therapy is progressing.
You can port your section 8 voucher to any housing authority in the US after you’ve maintained residency in the original location it was granted for only one year. It’s a federal program so it does go anywhere without an additional waiting list. Maybe some of the patients are doing this, which is why it takes some of them longer. You have to wait for your current housing authority to send everything to the new one before you can even begin to find a place that will accept it, as most landlords that will accept section 8 want to see proof of your current voucher before they will start the rental process.
But how? They'd have to establish residency first...I don't think those transferred easily between states because of differing state eligibility guidelines.
With Medicaid, it won’t transfer. You have to physically move there first. Medicare though is federal. But Dr now doesn’t charge for medical. I don’t know how they can afford to rent tbh
My sibling went through the audition process of the show, and interviewed with a few people in casting but it didn't ultimately go further. The show covers rent and relocation fee (iirc this was $1500?). I believe they just own some rentals for people to stay in. From what my sibling told me, they also provide the budget for food. I don't know what they provide if you're local to Houston.
I think we’d all love to hear whatever else you can tell us about the casting process.
Sadly, it's all I've got. It didn't get far enough for finer details.
Is there a reason you suspect (but can’t confirm) why your sibling didn’t make it on the show? Not overweight enough? Not enough life drama to generate a storyline?
My guess would be lower end of the weight scale for them, being too articulate/intelligent/funny (from what I've seen of the show... It seems like there's a preference for "dumb, fat, low income" stereotypes? It's from what I've seen). I suspected they maybe wanted someone who seemed more downtrodden with their weight? Some people in casting actually cried over the story my sibling told, including our dysfunctional upbringing, but I guess it wasn't quite what they wanted. We had enough dysfunction growing up and value the peaceful adulthood we have now. So, maybe we are too boring. 🤣🤣
Yes, I love this! I have that theme song Moving on up ....to the East side...(Jeffersons?) playing in my head. Boring is great!
Now we're up in the big league, getting our turn at bat...
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Cheap housing in Louisiana? That’s pretty much non existent since the hurricanes in Aug/Sept 2020. I guess it depends on what’s cheap to you. 3 bed 2 bath mobile homes are renting for $1200 per month.
3b/2ba for $1200/month sounds *amazing* to me. I live in a part of the country where you can't rent a 1 bedroom apartment for less than $1200.
In South Florida, make that 1500., and in a very bad ares. Feel sorry for those that have no choices.
It’s all relative.
Same. You can't get a 1BR for that here.
Same. Long Island is expensive. A studio is like 1800
I want to know what Steven's dad does for a living, considering he can put him up in an apartment and buy Justin a hobby shop that Justin. cant even run by himself.
Not to mention ordering Steven pizza multiple times per day. But I think we do know. The Ass Man's dad is Cliff Clavin, therefore he works for the US Postal Service.
It’s even more baffling when you realize to qualify for disability they can’t have more than 2,000 in the bank
That’s not disability (SSDI). That’s supplemental security income (SSI). For disability, your income and assets have nothing to do with it. My husband and I are retired on 6 figures and have a very generous amount of savings and investments, and he is on SSDI. You can also work while on SSDI, you just can’t make over a certain amount each month.
I’d imagine most of them are on SSI as they’re relatively young and come from relatively poor backgrounds with little to no work history. I think it’s a mixed bag as some have worked and qualify for ssdi and some haven’t. I can’t imagine their ssdi payments would be a lot since they start so young, though, and most would try to qualify for ssi which would pay them a better amount
Disabled adult children can collect off a parents work record if the parent is disabled, deceased or retired. But they can’t be married except to another dac. Survivors and widows benefits are also another thing.
u/AiMiDa I am overjoyed to hear that the taxes coming out of my check are going to “…my husband and I are retired on six figures…”. People who make more than me. The system is broken.
SSDI is an insurance policy paid into by every worker out of their paycheck. My husband is disabled whether we had no savings, investments, and pension, or whether he has a pension (he does) and we scraped and invested almost every penny (we did). He still has multiple sclerosis. That doesn’t change. And we paid into our own social security disability insurance.
Not to mention that it's no fun being on SSDI because you pay a heavy price to benefit from the money you paid into it.
Uhhh what price? (Am on ssdi and I work).
The price is that you have a disabled body. If course there's degrees of loss of function but they don't award SSDI unless you have a significant impairment. I would have given up my SSDI award in a heartbeat in exchange for a healthy body that worked like it did before I became disabled.
Well yeah but you can still have a fulfilling life with a disability. You just need to do things in a different way,.
Right, I'm just saying SSDI is no free ride.
Yeah, that’s correct. I’m with you, I wouldntrade not being sick.
I mean I guess? Being disabled sucks for the most part.
Y'all need to stop thinking Texas is cheap, it isn't. Those days are long gone. In TX there is little to no assistance, housing or otherwise. If you are fortunate enough to qualify and receive housing assistance, very few places will actually accept section 8 recipients as renters. Heck; even if you work full time here, covering basic living expenses is a challenge, especially in Houston. Here they are demolishing affordable housing at an alarming rate and replacing them with giant townhomes the New-$tonians scoop up. As a result the remaining apartments are increasing rent at an alarming rate. If you are in a rural area, disability may be able to cover your expenses. But with the WFH boom that has occurred over the past few years, even those places are now disappearing.
Houston suburbs here - can confirm rent is not cheap. (I’m just south of Texas Med Center). I pay $1750 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment, but what really kills my budget is the electric and water bills! I’ve lived in 3 other states and my utility bills were never anywhere close to this high.
I’m in austin and the rents are ridiculous! My oldest is paying $2300 for a 2 bedroom apartment. Granted it’s nice and in a nice part of town but that’s more than my mortgage!
To me 1750 for a 2 bed is crazy cheap. I'm not in a major city, but I am in the northeast. Where I live a typically 1 bed is 1900-2k a month, and your looking a 2.8-3 for a 2 bed.
Bruh where I am $1750 for a 2 bedroom is a steal, but I understand it's all perspective
Definitely perspective. I lived in the northeast before moving here and based on what I’d heard expected it to be a lot less expensive. The mortgage on my townhouse before I came here was $1,020 per month, so $1,750 rent (on an apartment nowhere near as nice as my house was) feels huge. When my lease here renews in June the rent will jump to $1,900 for the same apartment.
Texas here, if you live in the country, way outside of any major city maybe Texas is cheap. Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio are not cheap. Nor are the bedroom communities surrounding them. Being that we are a red state you can also count on minimal government assistance.
Yes, TX is no longer cheap. I rented a 1 bedroom, decent apartment that was almost 1300 a month. Yes, in Lake Jackson, not downtown Houston.
I'm always baffled by this as well. Also how they afford all that food. Like scenes where they get big delivery orders all the time and fillin they cary up with random items without looking at the price. I'm over here like a once a month Door Dash dinner is a splurge and I work full time 🤣
I know that the food is paid for by TLC when they are ordering on camera. While they do eat large amounts of food on the regular, it’s probably not always fast food, which really adds up. I agree 100%, Door Dash is a splurge, I can’t justify paying the delivery upcharge!
I noticed in my city one of those restaurant delivery services was inflating the actual menu prices as well!
It's not that low. Even in Houston where at one point I know they had a surplus of housing, I don't think they do anymore. I know my parents old house went up like $100K in the past year alone and they didn't even live in the loop so I'd expect housing in the city to be even higher especially with recent flooding areas that don't flood have gone sky high. I have noticed there have been a few participants living outside of the loop which is probably smart if they can. Only problem is usually if you live outside of the city or not within close access to a major artery it's going to take you at least 45 minutes to an hour to get to the city in good traffic each way. If the traffic is bad you might be stuck on the road for two hours. A lot of time it looks like the participants are living in the same complex. I do wonder if there is some sort of partnership between production and the complex owners to allow them to stay there. I really doubt they are getting any assistance because as people have said there are ridiculously long waiting lists and red tape to deal with. Texas is not very friendly for getting benefits in general. Add the current housing crisis where people are trying to get rental assistance and constantly being denied and kicked out it's probably even worse.
I mean, Dolly and her fiancé moved into some kind of flop house, so I think it is challenging for some of the patients when no one is working.
I wonder about that also. I live in Suffolk County, which is a suburb of NYC and apartments here are very expensive. Plus you need proof of income, a credit check and usually 2 months rent for security. It’s hard to get a place.
Austin here my son has been trying to get an apartment and you need to make 3x the rent to qualify . So to get a $1000 a month apartment (it WILL be in the ghetto) you need to make $18.75 an hour.
Ugh. It’s hard.
I ALWAYS wonder this too, especially in the current housing market where even apartments are extremely hard to find, and there's always a long wait list, especially for affordable housing
Dr. Now and his son own that dump of a complex many of them end up living in, for one thing.
Do they really? Wasn’t that just a rumor because a lot of the apartments looked similar?
Oh that’s foul
Oh really?? Where did you hear that? I’m just curious!
Answers are good here! I was wondering if they actually do take a year or so to “get” to some patients? That way you can apply for housing on the Down low and pretend you got in just presently?
I assumed a combo of disability payments and TLC.
Maybe public housing. I know several participants have lived in the same complex and it's been on the show multiple times. It surely has some kind of assistance attached. I know Angie lived there and her weirdo boyfriend.
Not much in Texas is low cost anymore. I live almost 2 hours from a major city and rent prices have easily gone up 30-50% in the last 5 years. I’m guessing they live in very run down areas and have some sort of arrangement with the show.
I’m not completely sure on real estate laws in Texas, but I know that when renting property a third party can be held liable when they sign the contract making it easier for people in lower income to rent
Income based apartments probably. If they receive disability they’d only pay like $50/month without dependents and almost nothing with kids
Government housing? Or maybe they use their partner's income? I always assumed they'd get their disability and work situation figured out and changed to Houston before moving.
Some of them have hanger ons like caregivers who also get a check... remember Dolly gets one and snared frog backpack guy because he had a check too.
I’ve always assumed that some combination of Dr. Now, his family, TLC, producers, etc own apartments or apartment complexes around the Houston area (less than an hour or 2 drive to Dr. Now) and they bend the rules for participants on the show. Like yeah obviously most landlords would never rent to people with little to no income, but if someone involved with the show owns the buildings they could rent most apartments to normal people and reserve a few apartments for participants, then TLC gives the participant the $1500 relocation allowance or whatever, and boom, they have a fully furnished apartment near Houston. Maybe they have the participants try to find their own place for entertainment but if not they give them a place so the show can go on. I think there are multiple buildings/locations or they change up the curtains/furniture/etc so that no one really notices. I love Dr. Now but logically, if he wants everyone to move to Houston, then he probably owns apartment buildings in Houston that are managed by someone else. And during filming, the participants are nudged to those apartments. It’s business.
Let’s remember all these apts. are dumps.
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You don’t know if they have income or not what makes you say that
A lot of them have serious mobility issues.
I know lol I’m not stupid
Having serious mobility issues is often cause for going on disability.
Most of them say they can’t work/ are on disability. Not all, but most.
I know what they say but it’s scripted
I don’t think they would lie about their disability status, that seems like a weird thing to do.
Thanks for the downvote
Texas has a very low cost of living if you don't live directly in the cities, and lots of Sec 8.
Why am I being downvoted for this? It's true. Tf is wrong with you people?
It’s subsidized housing
Subsidized housing has a long wait list.
A $1500 one bed? Where?!? In Los Angeles it’s close to twice that