Trigger warning: This post contains descriptions of acts of domestic violence.

When her husband threw a knife in her direction during the summer of 2021, Emily Courter knew she needed to escape. But, because he was financially abusing her — keeping money from her, tracking every dollar she spent, and more — leaving wasn’t so easy.

Courter, who’s now a freelance writer in New Hampshire, had no idea what to expect for the costs of living. “When I started to do my research, the only words to describe how I felt were overwhelmingly distressed,” she says. Without money or a good credit score, she felt there was no way she could afford the high cost of rent and everything that comes with it. 

She’s far from alone. “One of the most common obstacles that domestic violence survivors face when considering leaving an abusive situation is financial dependence upon their abuser,” says Michelle Jewsbury, a survivor and the CEO and founder of Unsilenced Voices, a global domestic violence nonprofit organization.

Because of her predicament, Courter experienced a near-constant headache, trouble sleeping, irritability, and brain fog. “The mental stress of finding and affording a place to live gave me new gray hairs, and I’m not even being hyperbolic,” she says.

There are two main culprits behind the concerning rent increase, according to Anthony Martin, the founder and CEO of Choice Mutual. One is supply and demand: More people want to rent units than there are units available. The other is the expiration of affordable leases that were offered during COVID, which are being replaced by longer-term, more expensive leases.

Clearly, that’s a terrifying thing. “With rent and home prices increasing, people are feeling stuck in abusive relationships, and reports of domestic violence reached an all-time high during the pandemic,” Jewsbury adds. “My concerns are that more people will die from domestic violence or wind up homeless.”

So, will landlords be empathetic to survivors? Martin says it’s unlikely — but there is hope. “Organizations exist all over the country who do offer victims of domestic abuse housing support,” he adds. “One such organization is Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV) with their Helping Hearts with Housing initiative that offers rental and other financial assistance to get survivors into their own community-based apartments, as well as providing additional resources for escaping the cycle.”

Jewsbury recommends reaching out to domestic violence organizations, too, or asking someone to do it for you. “You can also directly apply for financial assistance grants for housing or other basic needs on our website,” she adds. “If you can get to a phone, give us a call, and fellow survivors will help point you in the right direction.”

Courter’s mentor gave her a different suggestion that other survivors can consider: being a housing director or “house mom” for a sorority — a job that offers room and board. “She linked me to a couple of jobs as well as the Indeed page for similar roles, and I started to apply,” Courter shares. After getting two job offers, she moved into the sorority house three weeks later.

Domestic violence is a scary, serious situation in which leaving can be incredibly hard for many reasons — including the increasing cost of rent. But with the help of organizations and loved ones who can share resources and draft plans for leaving, living freely is possible.

If you’re experiencing domestic violence, you’re not alone. You can call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), message them over the chatline, or text START to 88788.

An apartment, by definition, is a room or set of rooms fitted with housekeeping facilities and usually leased as a dwelling. But under this all-encompassing definition lies a dizzying range of apartment options and styles. Here are seven of them and how to tell them apart.

Railroad apartments feature a long, narrow layout where one room leads directly into the next. There is no hallway, so the space resembles a line of train cars, thus the name. This style of apartment can inspire purposeful and minimal living to make its unconventional layout work. But because windows are usually located at both ends, with none in between, the space can be dark and create privacy issues if you’re living with roommates. 

Typically under 600 square feet, a studio apartment brings the living, dining, kitchen, and sleeping areas into one room. It’s a good option if you’re looking to save money because it’s usually more affordable than traditional apartments. Even though everything is found in one large space, studio apartment layouts can vary, with some incorporating half-walls or built-in storage.

An alcove studio apartment has a similar feel to a studio, with the kitchen, living, and dining area all in one large space. But an alcove apartment creates a separate area for the bed. While it’s not a true one-bedroom, an alcove studio features a nook or L-shaped area where the bed can be positioned. This layout can also allow for a curtain or other partition to give the sleeping area more privacy.

An efficiency apartment is essentially the same as a studio — with living, sleeping, kitchen, and dining areas in one room. But the key difference is that an efficiency apartment is smaller, usually under 400 square feet. Appliances may even be smaller to accommodate the available space. Mini-fridges and cooktops instead of ovens are common.

Open and airy, loft apartments come in a variety of shapes and sizes, featuring different numbers of bedrooms and ranges of square footage. Loft apartments are often found in converted commercial buildings, like factories, and are defined by their open-concept architectural style in which some dividing walls don’t go all the way to the ceiling. There is usually exposed brick, metal or wood beams, or ductwork. 

In a bigger city where rent is high and space is limited, a convertible apartment affords the opportunity to get creative with your living space while saving a little bit of money. A convertible apartment is essentially an alcove studio where most of the living spaces are in one room, but with a designated space for a sleeping area. This space can be separated with an alcove, partial wall, a small hallway, or a separate room with a sliding door or curtain. A one-bedroom convertible apartment means the apartment is a studio with the option of adding a bedroom, and a two-bedroom convertible means it’s a one bedroom with the option of adding a second, and so on.

Similar to a convertible apartment, a flex apartment allows you to add bedrooms if needed, but the terminology is a little different. A one-bedroom flex means that the apartment has one bedroom with the option to add a second. A two-bedroom flex means there are two bedrooms with the option to add a third, and so on. 

The aptly named garden apartment is an apartment that is at ground level or partially below and opens into a garden or courtyard area. Typically found in older apartment buildings, like the classic Brooklyn brownstones, these units are less expensive, sometimes up to 30 percent less than the above ground units.