Poll of the Day > What's your living situation?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just curious.

I live alone (with my cat)

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Other: SO and 4 pets.

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I rent a basement for $575 a month, so I have roomates but never see them (cause they are upstairs).

Was just talking to a friend who was like "people in their 20's can't afford to rent their own place anymore".

I literally found him an apartment in the bay area (1 block from bart) for $1000 a month within 2 minutes. It's only 300sq feet mind you, but since min wage there is $15 an hour, you can easily afford it.

Most places where apartments are $900+ have min wages of $13+ at this point which means about $2200 a month take home, or less then 50% needed to rent an apartment, still totally doable.

Not as easy as it was 20 years ago, but doable.

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I live with my old man. He's often doing his own thing so this means I have a house to myself at cheap rent. It's fine for now.

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I am technically alive

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i live in a van down by the river

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If you combine this with the poll of how old you are on this board, then that's a lot of oof.

miki_sauvester posted...

If you combine this with the poll asking how old people on this board are, then that's a lot of oof.

I wish I included

I live with my parents (over 25)
I live with my parents (under 25)

DirtBasedSoap posted...

i live in a van down by the river

Do you have candy???!!!

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wolfy42 posted...

Do you have candy???!!!

He's a motivational speaker for troubled teens. Geez

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i live with my parents it's pretty bad, but the alternative is giving up like 2.5 paychecks or 3 if you get a random room


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No just children option? That's might be a normal one, as well. Anyway, I like with my roommate and three pets. If I move, I might have two roommates. Possibly even three, if I choose to...
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wolfy42 posted...

I rent a basement for $575 a month, so I have roomates but never see them (cause they are upstairs).

Was just talking to a friend who was like "people in their 20's can't afford to rent their own place anymore".

I literally found him an apartment in the bay area (1 block from bart) for $1000 a month within 2 minutes. It's only 300sq feet mind you, but since min wage there is $15 an hour, you can easily afford it.

Most places where apartments are $900+ have min wages of $13+ at this point which means about $2200 a month take home, or less then 50% needed to rent an apartment, still totally doable.

Not as easy as it was 20 years ago, but doable.

You have to remember there more stuff, as well. Tax, Car, insurance, car insurance, food, car payment (if they have one), bills, etc...
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LinkPizza posted...

You have to remember there more stuff, as well. Tax, Car, insurance, car insurance, food, car payment (if they have one), bills, etc...

It leaves over $1000 in additional expenses easily after rent, so yeah, I factored all those in. Also I didn't start driving/get a car till 19, you don't HAVE to (depending where you live of course), have most of those.

Taxes are also less then 10% total under 35k or so (first 12k no taxes, 10% for up to 35 or 39k whatever), so min wage pays VERY littte in taxes.

Car insurance isn't too bad if you don't get tickets, but yeah, car +insurance can definately add up.

Point is basically with a 13$ min wage you can easily afford $1k a month for rent, and even still save a bit. You just have to actually not blow your money like crazy (which EVERY one of my group of 50 friends besides me did when I was in my 20's). I was the only one saving, and I made a decent amount, but many made twice as much as me (25-30$ an hour at the time (late 80's), and saved nothing.

Most jobs pay min $14 an hour (min wage is 13.50) here for instance which is $560 a week. You can pay your rent in 2 weeks pretty easy, and have a full 1 bedroom apartment (not even studio). Even in the bay area, you can get studios for $1000 (min is $15 there, most at least $16 an hour).

So yeah, ain't saying it's as easy as the 80's/90's, but you can still move straight out of your parents house at 18 and into a 1 bedroom if you want.

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Ooops was wrong on the tax brackets, sorry.

It's 0% for first 12k

10% for 12-22k a year

12% for 22k to 52k a year (basically rounded a bit).

So someone making 15$*40= $2400 (about per month) or $29k a year total.

The would pay 10% on 10k oo that and 12% on the last 7k. About $1840 total in taxes.

So about $150 or so a month before SS etc (maybe about $200 total per month.

Take home is about $2200 a month like I said.

Rent $1000....leave $1200 total to spend on everything else. Not rich, but doable, and if your frugal, you could save at least $400 a month (maybe 500). Eat on $300 average ($10 a day), $200 for entertainment/fun, $50 for insurance, $50 for gas, $100 for other expenses (utilities/internet/phone etc). Would leave $500 left over (gotta be real careful on bills though.)

No wasting money at starbucks, no blowing tons on concerts, magic the gathering cards, getting hair colored etc...so yeah, not easy, but also, you don't have to stay working that job forever, you can move up and get better ones over time.

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wolfy42 posted...

Most places where apartments are $900+ have min wages of $13+ at this point which means about $2200 a month take home

13 an hour does not give you 2200 take home a month. Take home is what you actually take home. You know? After taxes and health insurance. 13 an hour doesn't even give you 2200 before taxes, unless you get some overtime and you'd need a shit ton of over time to actually have 2200 take home in 13 an hour.

Even at 15 an hour I don't have 2200 a month that I take home. State and federal taxes take 20% from every check I get.

Edit: $50 for insurance? Lol. Maybe if you're driving around in a piece of garbage that's only worth $1500 so you forgo anything beyond the absolute minimum required by law.
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yeah 12/hr is 1600 a month
13.5/hr is 1840 a month

if you make10/hr under the table
it's 1760 a month :)

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How to actually accumulate wealth quickly doing the above?

It varies by state, but you are legally allowed to sell 4 vehicles per year in Wa for instance, without a dealers license.

While working your full time job, go to 2 car shows a year with the money you have saved (even starting off with just $500-$1000 would work).

But cars at auction, and then sell them for a significant profit.

Don't need to do it too often before you can start buying/selling mobile homes (possibly just 4 cars, and not even wait a year to switch).

Buy cars for $500-$1000 and sell them for $3000-$5000 (yeah it's really that extreme...check any auto auctions).

4 of those can net you a nice $20k profit if your lucky. Add in the $500 per month you have been saving and you can quickly have 30-50k saved.

That can actually buy cheap mobile homes out right, not forclosed on or auctioned from parks.

Think is mobile home parks are allowed (and do) auction off the homes if the lot rent is not paid (as soon as it gets to $5000 in arrears I believe). Go to those auctions and you big on mobile homes, you can get lucky and get 30-50k mobile homes for $5-10k.

Once you do that a few times, you don't even need your min wage job and can just buy/sell for massive profit to time invested.

Course if everyone did it, it wouldn't work, but it's still totally doable right now.

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wolfy42 posted...

It leaves over $1000 in additional expenses easily after rent, so yeah, I factored all those in. Also I didn't start driving/get a car till 19, you don't HAVE to (depending where you live of course), have most of those.

Taxes are also less then 10% total under 35k or so (first 12k no taxes, 10% for up to 35 or 39k whatever), so min wage pays VERY littte in taxes.

Car insurance isn't too bad if you don't get tickets, but yeah, car +insurance can definately add up.

Point is basically with a 13$ min wage you can easily afford $1k a month for rent, and even still save a bit. You just have to actually not blow your money like crazy (which EVERY one of my group of 50 friends besides me did when I was in my 20's). I was the only one saving, and I made a decent amount, but many made twice as much as me (25-30$ an hour at the time (late 80's), and saved nothing.

Most jobs pay min $14 an hour (min wage is 13.50) here for instance which is $560 a week. You can pay your rent in 2 weeks pretty easy, and have a full 1 bedroom apartment (not even studio). Even in the bay area, you can get studios for $1000 (min is $15 there, most at least $16 an hour).

So yeah, ain't saying it's as easy as the 80's/90's, but you can still move straight out of your parents house at 18 and into a 1 bedroom if you want.

First, at $15 /hr, it might not be over $1000. I was making about a dollar within that amount, and I still got about $1000 per paycheck after taxes and medical were taken out. Assuming I made all my hours. And a little overtime. I don't know about how your tax work, but I got a lot taken out of my paycheck. Taxes and medical were what knocked me down from over $1000 most of the time. And medical was like nothing. So it was mostly taxes...

Car insurance can be bad for many other reason, as well. You can get discounts certain ways, but in the end, car can be cheap or expensive for many different reasons. Idk your friend or anything. But I won't say it's cheap for everybody.

When I made that amount, it was still a little rough living where I currently am, which is pretty cheap and in an area with a lower cost of living. And my rent was cheaper. And I barely bough anything and had a roommate. There are always unexpected cost for things, as well... I think living there on that price could end up being hard for many people.

Of course, that depends on how they want to live. If they like the paycheck to paycheck life, and eating the cheapest foods possible to save money, then go for it. I only do that when I need to.

Also, moving straight out of your parents house at 18 is a dumb idea if they are willing to let you stay a little longer. Especially these days...
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Bugmeat posted...

13 an hour does not give you 2200 take home a month. Take home is what you actually take home. You know? After taxes and health insurance. 13 an hour doesn't even give you 2200 before taxes, unless you get some overtime and you'd need a shit ton of over time to actually have 2200 take home in 13 an hour.

Even at 15 an hour I don't have 2200 a month that I take home. State and federal taxes take 20% from every check I get.

Edit: $50 for insurance? Lol. Maybe if you're driving around in a piece of garbage that's only worth $1500 so you forgo anything beyond the absolute minimum required by law.

Sorry the $2200 is for $15 an hour, and you get money back at the end of the year if your paying 20% out of each paycheck (or should). I broke down the tax code above.

And insurance is even cheaper than that depending on your car. I pay $50 right now, but have a dumb ticket (it waa 35) for the state minimums. My car is only worth $3k though.

If you have an expensive car it's much more to insure, but you don't NEED an expensive car...and it's a waste of money to have one.

Also I forget about state taxes since I live in WA (no state tax here), which does take a bit more out. The two states I have worked in had either no state income tax, or 1% (until you made alot of money at least), so it wasn't really a factor. There are 7 states I think with no income tax, and 14? I think with flat income tax (which hurts the most since it isn't reduced if you make min wage or close etc).

Anyway $13.50 is the min wage here, but.....most make at least $14 which is why I said $2200....I just used $15 since it's a fairly common average pay for areas that have rent around the $900-$1000 for a 1 bedroom.

There are of course many areas with lower min wage, but usually the rental costs are lower there as well.

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wolfy42 posted...

How to actually accumulate wealth quickly doing the above?

It varies by state, but you are legally allowed to sell 4 vehicles per year in Wa for instance, without a dealers license.

While working your full time job, go to 2 car shows a year with the money you have saved (even starting off with just $500-$1000 would work).

But cars at auction, and then sell them for a significant profit.

Don't need to do it too often before you can start buying/selling mobile homes (possibly just 4 cars, and not even wait a year to switch).

Buy cars for $500-$1000 and sell them for $3000-$5000 (yeah it's really that extreme...check any auto auctions).

4 of those can net you a nice $20k profit if your lucky. Add in the $500 per month you have been saving and you can quickly have 30-50k saved.

That can actually buy cheap mobile homes out right, not forclosed on or auctioned from parks.

Think is mobile home parks are allowed (and do) auction off the homes if the lot rent is not paid (as soon as it gets to $5000 in arrears I believe). Go to those auctions and you big on mobile homes, you can get lucky and get 30-50k mobile homes for $5-10k.

Once you do that a few times, you don't even need your min wage job and can just buy/sell for massive profit to time invested.

Course if everyone did it, it wouldn't work, but it's still totally doable right now.

First, that's if you can even save money. Which you might not making the amount you mentioned, while paying for the place you mentioned. So, you may not even be able to buy the car in the first place. Also, you may not have car auctions where you live, or can win the cars. If someone else wants it, they may outbid you for it. And then, you have to be able to sell it. Not to mention, you would probably have to know something about cars to make sure you get it at a low price, and know what you could get for it. And working up to other stuff doesn't happen fast. It could take years to work your way to mobile homes or bigger. If they even have any other auctions for those... The most we have is people selling their own. And they aren't cheap for what they are... For the amount of years it takes to get there, people could just find a better job... it's not as doable as you say. And without proper knowledge of certain things, it doesn't work. You can just tell any regular joe out there to go and do it. If they could, they probably would have already.
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wolfy42 posted...

And insurance is even cheaper than that depending on your car. I pay $50 right now, but have a dumb ticket (it waa 35) for the state minimums. My car is only worth $3k though.

For you, maybe. I know people on base without tickets who pay more than that in insurance. Not everybody, but some. And the ones that pay less are usually paying the bare minimum and have basically a junk car to get them to work and home.
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LinkPizza posted...

Also, moving straight out of your parents house at 18 is a dumb idea if they are willing to let you stay a little longer. Especially these days...

Yeah, many don't have a choice though. I graduated on my 16th birthday and my mom kicked me out right away lol.

Taxes can suck in some states, a few actually have like 6% income tax for the state, with no smaller amount based on income. CA is 1% up to a certain income range (well above min wage), WA has none, etc.....so that can certainly hurt, considering Fed tax on your first 30k is somewhere around 8% total (0% first 12k, 10% for next 10....so it's 5% for first 22k basically and 8% for first 32k).

If you add 6% from state (harsh states) then your almost doubling it...which is hard.

But yeah $15 an hour SHOULD let you pay $1000 in rent + have a good $1000-$1200 left over for expenses.

I currently live on $1000 a month TOTAL lol.....and have for a year (was easier at the last place I lived since we split a 3 bedroom apartment that cost $1100 (in Lacey WA). Here I pay $575 but rent a whole basement (living room/bedroom/bathroom, fridge etc). It's a good deal but more expensive, but means I spend (or at least try) less then $425 a month on other stuff.

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Live with my brother, my parents, and my aunt and uncle in a nice big house.

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Like I said, not everyone can do it, or it wouldn't work.

As far mobile homes, finding auctions is a gift, they happen, but it's hard to find em. You CAN buy low and sell high in every field though (even cars, without auctions).

I bought a 2012 Cherysler Town and Country mini van for $900 from someone who got it because they were owed money and they guy had no other way to pay. It's worth $3500-$5000. I had it fully checked out by a mechanic (I used to be able to do it myself but it's been too long) before purchasing it). This was not from an auction but from Facebook marketplace.

That was a GREAT deal, but there are tons of good ones where you can buy something low, and sell it high. Auctionn though are common near any major cities. Even if you have to drive a bit to get near that city, it can be worth the time, since the profit is large.

Auto-dealers/used car lots go to them all the time, that is who you compete against ....BUT ...they have about a $1000 mark up, due to having the lot etc, so they have to buy the cars for less basically. You can, usually, out bid them and still get a great deal.

Car insurance is based on the cost of the car (value), driving record etc, you shouldn't have to pay more then $50 unless you have a nice car (parents gave it to you or something) or your making payments on a car etc (already a bad idea if your making near min wage).

You can get a good, reliable car for $1k-3k, and the insurance on it is pretty cheap on them usually.

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With my mom. But it's my place; I lived here alone first and she moved in later.

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wolfy42 posted...

Yeah, many don't have a choice though. I graduated on my 16th birthday and my mom kicked me out right away lol.

Taxes can suck in some states, a few actually have like 6% income tax for the state, with no smaller amount based on income. CA is 1% up to a certain income range (well above min wage), WA has none, etc.....so that can certainly hurt, considering Fed tax on your first 30k is somewhere around 8% total (0% first 12k, 10% for next 10....so it's 5% for first 22k basically and 8% for first 32k).

If you add 6% from state (harsh states) then your almost doubling it...which is hard.

But yeah $15 an hour SHOULD let you pay $1000 in rent + have a good $1000-$1200 left over for expenses.

I currently live on $1000 a month TOTAL lol.....and have for a year (was easier at the last place I lived since we split a 3 bedroom apartment that cost $1100 (in Lacey WA). Here I pay $575 but rent a whole basement (living room/bedroom/bathroom, fridge etc). It's a good deal but more expensive, but means I spend (or at least try) less then $425 a month on other stuff.

You're very different, though. Most people's parent at least wait until 18. Y'know, the legal age? And even then, most won't kick them out unless they have to for whatever reason. Though, most won't kick them out because they usually like their kids and want them to be successful. Trying to do that while living in a shitty apartment working a minimum wage job. Especially when you don't have enough and have to keep calling them for help. At that point, they might as well let you stay...

Anyway, $15 an hour for me was not really like that. It was close to about $1000 after taxes, medical insurance, and rent. But that still left money for bills for utilities (electric, gas, & water), internet, car payment, car insurance, phone bill, food, etc... It can seem like a lot extra until you start adding it all up. And that can make it hard to have an extra, which makes it hard to save. Not to mention, you may need to use a good amount if something unexpected comes up. Or if you can't make the full hours, for whatever reason. And losing a job could be bad, because with that amount, you'll most likely be working paycheck to paycheck like nearly 80% of the US...

Zareth posted...

Live with my brother, my parents, and my aunt and uncle in a nice big house.

My mom wanted to do something similar once. She wanted to get a house big enough for her, my brother, my sister, my grandma, and me to live in. And all our pets. And maybe her SO. Or something like that. It would have had to been big, though...
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wolfy42 posted...

Like I said, not everyone can do it, or it wouldn't work.

As far mobile homes, finding auctions is a gift, they happen, but it's hard to find em. You CAN buy low and sell high in every field though (even cars, without auctions).

I bought a 2012 Cherysler Town and Country mini van for $900 from someone who got it because they were owed money and they guy had no other way to pay. It's worth $3500-$5000. I had it fully checked out by a mechanic (I used to be able to do it myself but it's been too long) before purchasing it). This was not from an auction but from Facebook marketplace.

That was a GREAT deal, but there are tons of good ones where you can buy something low, and sell it high. Auctionn though are common near any major cities. Even if you have to drive a bit to get near that city, it can be worth the time, since the profit is large.

Auto-dealers/used car lots go to them all the time, that is who you compete against ....BUT ...they have about a $1000 mark up, due to having the lot etc, so they have to buy the cars for less basically. You can, usually, out bid them and still get a great deal.

Car insurance is based on the cost of the car (value), driving record etc, you shouldn't have to pay more then $50 unless you have a nice car (parents gave it to you or something) or your making payments on a car etc (already a bad idea if your making near min wage).

You can get a good, reliable car for $1k-3k, and the insurance on it is pretty cheap on them usually.

You can only buy them low if they're being sold for low. If not, then you're kind of out of luck. And they don't sell low where I live. The ones that do aren't that good, based on the people I know here who deal with them. The others are pretty expensive. We were looking through a bunch the other day. One guy was buying one to live in for a short time. All the cheap ones were kind of trash. All the good ones were expensive, and some were even close to the original price.

As for selling cars, just because you can get a good price doesn't mean everyone can. For example, if someone wanted that car, then they might just outbid you if they also go to that auction. And probably wouldn't pay you more unless there was a specific reason. Also, you have to be able to sell the car. And that can be hard if others in the area know the place. Also, you would have to be cheap enough that they would buy it from you instead of all the other sellers selling something for much cheaper. And you won't be able to BS the people around here. Most know a little about cars. And if they don't, they can find someone who does...

I'd rather have a new car and make payments knowing it'll get me from point A to point B. I've had new and used. And Used sucks up more money in a shorter amount of time, and over the longer period, as well. Constantly replacing stuff (especially harder to find and older parts), and having to get more checks and fix things often. Having problems more frequently than new. Things like that. In the end, I remember having to get my car fixed like 6 times in the last few months before it finally shit out. Had I had a new car, I could have just been making payments and not having a problem. I've had my current vehicle for 5 years. I've only had a problem with the battery as far as car issues go. And that was cheap. And it's only happened once, where I had to get multiple batteries for my used one, which I had for much less time... As for insurance, there's a lot more than age, sex, and crappy car or not that goes into it... Which means the price can raise high, even for good drivers. Things like location, job, and payment method can also affect things...

In the end, none of this matters because you actually have to have money to start it in the first place. And working paycheck to paycheck doesn't really allow that...
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Live in my dads cabin just a bit outside of town, have the place to myself because he lives in another place for work.

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Live with my brother and 2 cats in a house, mortgage is all paid off.

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Yeah, it was kinda worse than that, my mom was on Section 8, and had a 2 bedroom apartment for free, I was supposed to be able to live there till I was 23 (when my brother would have turned 21), because she still claimed him as well, even though he had been put in the system when I was 11 and he was 9.

She kicked me out so she could rent my room. She never took care of me or my brother, but it still basically caused me to withdraw and live on rooftops and not socialize much for a year. My uncles wedding broke me out of that, and I joined the AF on my 17th birthday.

Anyway buying a new car unless you have plenty of money is really a bad investment. My first car I got for $1000 (waaay back in 91 or 92? When I was 19). It was a Licoln continental and it was AWESOME. I got it up to 140 multiple times lol. Drove it all over for years before it broke down. Me and my wife bought a used (but not that used) 1999 Toyota Avalon in 2001 I think it was, That car was amazing, we put like 100k miles on it. Never had to have any work done on it till the end (then had to get the belt replaced which was $1000, and the drivers side door snapped and that was another $1000.

My current car is a Saturn, I've had it almost 4 years now. I don't drive it a ton, but have had no work done on it, other then oil changed in all that time. Bought it for $4k.

Basically you can buy decent cars for $2k-4k that won't need work done on them and are reliable to get to and from work. You don't have car payments and you don't have much higher insurance costs.

And that is saying you even go with having a car, which onestly, if your working min wage oo 15$ an hour or so, you can probably get without needed a car for transportation (at least to work). With uber etc, it's often cheaper (depending where you live) to use that occasionally when public transportation isn't an easy option.

But shrug, I'm just saying it's doable, you don't have to convince me that most young people have lots of other stuff they spend money on, llke I said, all my friends did. It's not a generation thing, it's an age thing, most people have a hard time saving money in their 20's and often even in their 30's unless they are making significantly more then the cost of living.

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wolfy42 posted...

I rent a basement for $575 a month, so I have roomates but never see them (cause they are upstairs).

Was just talking to a friend who was like "people in their 20's can't afford to rent their own place anymore".

I literally found him an apartment in the bay area (1 block from bart) for $1000 a month within 2 minutes. It's only 300sq feet mind you, but since min wage there is $15 an hour, you can easily afford it.

Most places where apartments are $900+ have min wages of $13+ at this point which means about $2200 a month take home, or less then 50% needed to rent an apartment, still totally doable.

Not as easy as it was 20 years ago, but doable.

$15x160 (most minimum wage jobs arent full-time IME) = $2400 - 20% (low guesstimate) = $1920. So youre left with $920. Now $300 for food, $300 vehicle payment, $150 insurance (low guesstimate) $100 gas (low guesstimate for me) $50 credit card, $50 phone bill, assuming $1000 isnt all-in so say $50 utilities... not a lot left over to do much with, if anything.

Oh, you posted the brackets earlier. Man cost of living in the US is cheap compared to here.

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I live with my wife, son, 3 cats and 1 dog.

I mean yeah, this is for the US lol.

And I'm sorry but this is about not being able to actually afford to rent a place. When I got out of the AF I worked full time at night at carl's Jn and then after that at Jack in the Box WHILE going to a vocational school 8 hours a day for 9 months to get my eletronic techs degree.

So yeah, you can work 40 hours, it might not be all at one place, but you can do it. I'm not saying you gotta do 80+ like I did, or anything like that, but 40? You can pull off 40 hours a week if you want.

And everyone is like "Car payments".....it might be different in other countries, but here, you can get a good car for $1000 (often less), that will be reliable to get to and from work, it's far less to insure that car as well.

There are literally people who don't even have a license, that just keep getting their cars impounded if they get pulled over, because it's cheaper for them to buy a new car every time that happens, then to have insurance/register their cars etc (I do not condone that, but it happens often).

I'm not trying to tell people how to get rich making $15 an hour mind you, I'm just saying...you CAN rent your own place on that much. How much you save, depends a ton on you, but you can do it.

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Live with my wife and daughter, ok?

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Aculo posted...

Live with my wife and daughter, ok?

Your daughter supports you both doesn't she?:)

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wolfy42 posted...

I rent a basement for $575 a month, so I have roomates but never see them (cause they are upstairs).

Was just talking to a friend who was like "people in their 20's can't afford to rent their own place anymore".

I literally found him an apartment in the bay area (1 block from bart) for $1000 a month within 2 minutes. It's only 300sq feet mind you, but since min wage there is $15 an hour, you can easily afford it.

Most places where apartments are $900+ have min wages of $13+ at this point which means about $2200 a month take home, or less then 50% needed to rent an apartment, still totally doable.

Not as easy as it was 20 years ago, but doable.

LMAO. No.

SpeeDLeemon posted...

LMAO. No.

Yes:)

The take home is for $15 an hour mind you, but that is a good average for entry level/starter jobs that you can get fresh out of HS in most areas (or reach pretty fast if you start at min wage). Again for areas with rents of $900+ for one bedrooms (which means major cities etc).

If you can't live on $2000 a month, your not trying. I live on $1000, and I'm spending more then I have to (still a good deal). Last place I lived was $200 less a month. I could have lived on $800 or less a month there. I also have a car, pay insurance etc, which is additional expenses not actually needed (but sure are nice).

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I live in an apartment.

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I honestly wouldn't suggest most people live in apartments right now in major cities, unless they are making at least 40k a year. At that point I'd say you have enough free money to blow for privacy.

Obviously if you have a SO and your sharing costs, that is different.

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A little scary that nearly half are children, or remain functionally children.

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I mean, if I had the option to live with parents, I might not ever have stopped. You don't have to be a child, maybe many of them actually pitch in towards costs.

Being roomates with parents is probably better then with random people (I wouldn't know, no parents).

I prefer living with friends, or family, or people I love. If I had the option, I wouldn't stop.

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dancer62 posted...

A little scary that nearly half are children, or remain functionally children.

If you're talking about them living with their parents, that doesn't make them children. They could be going to college or even working to save up money for their own place. It's a lot smarter than just moving out because you're 18. That can turn out pretty bad for most people. I stayed with my parents for 2 years after graduating. I would have stay longer, but I joined the Air Force...
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dancer62 posted...

A little scary that nearly half are children, or remain functionally children.

Based on living with their parents? Reach any further and you'll break your fragile hip.

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You cant put a price tag on growing up.

when i was in highschool if you found a room yes a room for 700$ you were lucky and the min wage was 7$

Now it's 13.50, your lucky if you get one for less than 1400$ and even then you still probably have to pay utilities unless it's in someone elses house or something

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I live with my girlfriend and friend

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I live with my mom her boyfriend and my younger sister. Working on having my own place by next year though I don't mind staying with my mom and sister but I do want to just have some privacy.

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