Now that we have all of our finances squared away, it's time to start talking about living situations. There's a couple options you can go with - each with their own positives and negatives. You should think carefully about where you'd like to spend your money on living because chances are that you'll be staying there for the next 12 months.
LIVING AT HOME:
Living at mom and dad's place can seem tempting to anyone. They've probably provided you with shelter for the past 18 years, have fed you, clothed you, given you a bed to sleep in, and all in a comfortable and safe environment. So it seems pretty appealing to keep staying with them, right? Well, yeah, but the whole reason you're reading this is hopefully because you're ready to move out and move on with your life. To be quite honest, you start to look pretty silly and or pathetic when you're in your mid to late twenties still living at home. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people in situations all over where this works fine. Some people have medical issues. Some people didn't spend and save their money wisely before and are now forced to live with mom and dad. What I'm trying to say is that if you need to live with mom and dad, that's totally fine, but you should limit yourself to how long you're going to do it. You should also check to make sure it's fine with them in the first place. Lot's of parents I know allow their kids to live at home after college but ask that they pay rent. It's a much lower rent cost than usual, but it's still rent. If you're still worried about making regular rent payments, check out my previous post on budgeting here.
RENTING WITH ROOMMATES:
This is a fantastic option for those of you looking to move out of your parents house but either still want to save some money or don't feel comfortable all on your own just yet. Or, you know, both. It's also a great transition between college life and the real world as it gives you a bit of a padder from the safety net of university and being a real grown up. Renting with roommates generally lets you live in a bigger and or nicer place in a nicer area. If rent for a cute two bedroom apartment in a really safe neighborhood is $750 to $800, then you're only paying $375 to $400 a month per person! Of course you'll have to share the living space and kitchen (and possibly bathroom) but it'll be a nicer place and probably closer to more interesting things. You can either choose to live with a friend or with a stranger also looking for a roommate. If you're looking in a place or at a time when none of your friends are looking for an apartment, there are these sites here where you can search for a roommate the way you might look for a date online: roommates.com easyroommate.com roomsurf.com The last one is generally for students still in college but I included it anyways. With any sort of situation like this, please be sure to be careful with who you choose to live with. Do a quick background check. Ask for references. Ask how they like to live at home and see if it matches up with you. All in all, just use common sense and be safe!
RENTING ALONE:
Renting your first apartment alone can be scary and exciting all at the same time. You get to decide everything about where you want to live and what it looks like inside and out. Well, within what's available to you and what you can afford. But still, everything inside that apartment will be yours for the duration of your lease and you won't have to share it with anyone! No roommates to steal your food from the fridge, no annoying siblings or parents to play loud music when you want to sleep, it's just you! Sure, it might be tiny and stuffy and not have a dishwasher but you can claim that dinky little place as yours and yours alone and be proud of it! The best resource I've found when looking for an apartment is padmapper.com. It compiles together a list and map of all the apartments for rent around you through all sources such as Craigslist, PadLister, ApartmentSearch, ApartmentFinder, and more. You can also change filters based on cost, # of bedrooms and bathrooms, full leases/sublets/rooms, pet friendly and more. It's a great way to search all the apartments around you without having to go through ten separate sites and filtering all those other things on your own.
BUYING A HOUSE:
This is a stupid choice - don't do it.
So those are your main choices for living situations now! If you find yourself homeless, please check out this site for links to finding a shelter near you or talk to a friend or mentor about your next move. It's okay! You can do this! Check back for the next post on finding, applying for, and renting your first apartment! We'll get into the nitty-gritty on things like deposits, contracts, and more!
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