It totally kills my social life and dating is not exactly easy (but since I have been a bit bitter towards the institution I am not minding it so much) but the financial gain and savings really is helping.

It’s not an option for everyone, and living in a room about the size of a dorm room (with the use of some shared family area) does seem better than $700+ for an apartment.

I graduated college and found a job several states away (from Florida to Michigan). I had roommates throughout college and wanted to get a place of my own and really feel independent. That, and I didn’t know anyone in Michigan.

I found an apt about 2 miles from work that the HR dept at my new job recommended. I was making a little over 40k and the apt was 725 a month (about a third of my monthly/after tax take home pay). I recommend taking the annual pay, multiply it by 0.7 to estimate take home pay

I drove from FL to MI in my pickup truck with a couple wardrobe boxes of clothes, some dorm items (a desk lamp, computer, a cooler, a pair of pots, a pair of pans, some flatware, etc), and a TV. I didn’t have a bed as my dorm had bunk beds provided. I did have a twin sized inflatable mattress pad cover (about 3 inches think) and slept on that for the first couple of weeks. I used the cooler as a TV stand and that was all the furniture I started out with.

After a few weeks, I had saved enough to buy a queen sized “EZ bed.” ( http://www.grandinroad.com/jump.jsp?&itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=10731&k=ZZ50882 ) Bed, Bath, and Beyond used to sell them and it was on sale (significantly less than a mattress and box spring combo). It comes in a suitcase on wheels. You simply unzip, plug it in, and turn the knob. It then inflates and expands and folds out of the suitcase on its own. Throw on a sleeping bag (and later some sheets) and you are in business.

I was always on the lookout on Craigslist under the free section. Because I had a pickup truck, I could pretty much take anything…and usually did. Before you knew it, I had a grill, patio furniture, and a dining table and chairs for the price of gas. I would’ve also used freecycle.org if I had know nabout it at the time.

I then asked around work about some used furniture stores. My company was large and had a bunch of short term contract workers, I made a few friends and offered to buy stuff from people whose contracts were up. And since they were leaving anyway, they would offer very good deals. Bulletin boards at work often displayed peoples’ stuff for sale. There was also a large Salvation Army that had an entire basement full of furniture. In fact, I bought a couch from Salvation Army, got a better one for free off Craigslist, and sold the SA couch for more than I paid for it.

If you decide to live alone, there will be a few sacrifices along the way, but there is a great feeling of satisfaction to seeing just how far you’ve come. Also, if you live rockin to Norwegian death metal, you will only interrupt the people who live below you (and who really cares about them anyway…only kidding).

I then got a new job in another couple states away. It took a Uhaul and a car trailer, but I had accumulated a lot of good stuff. I had lived alone and knew what I wanted in an apt, but the cost of living in my new location was a lot higher. I got a 2 bedroom apt and immediately went to rent.com, roommates.com, and craigslist to find a roommate. I met with a bunch of people and had brought a contract I had written up about what I expected from the roommate and what they could expect from me. Things like no dishes in the sink longer than X days, vacuum every Y days, split utilities 50/50, this cable package and that internet provider. Whether live in boyfriends/girlfriends were allowed, how they would pay rent, number of friends over, smoking vs not, who takes trash out…everything I could think of. Both roommates I have had have been absolutely perfect. My utility bills were reduced a bit, the cable and internet was split in half, and we had a bigger apt which was nice.

I later wanted to buy a house. For what I was paying in rent, I could just as easily buy an adequate condo/house. I looked and looked, but at the time, prices were too inflated for what I wanted in a house. My real estate agent then casually mentioned renting a house. This was something I had heard of, but never looked into because I thought it would be too expensive. It turns out that I was able to find a house that was twice as big as my apt, was 4 miles from work, and had a 2 car garage (which is nice in the Northeast). It was also $245 less than my old apt, affordable if I wanted to live there alone. My roommate moved out there as well and we are both happier in the new place. The only downside is that I have to cut the lawn, but overall I am much happier. Guitar Hero is much more enjoyable at 120dB, something unattainable at the old place. On the plus side, if/when I buy a house, I will have all the furnishings, lawn eqpt, washer/dryer I need. Several less expenses to worry about down the road. I’m surprised Trent has not done a post about items that he bought after buying the house (besides CFLs and the deep freezer).

In summary, both options have their advantages. With the right roommate, living with roommate is great in a financial and personal aspect. This is even better when the roommate brings good furniture and kitchen supplies. Living alone is great for listening to Enya with impunity, walking around in birthday suits, doing whatever…whenever…with whomever. You also collect some of the items you need when/if you ever decide to move to something bigger like a condo or house.

Good Luck!

CBus

I would say, however, to not simply discount living with roomates because of apprehension of living with a stranger or if you’ve never lived with roommates. Many people do, and within a couple of weeks, they’re not strangers anymore. If you really want to live alone, yes, fine. But wanting to live alone and being apprehensive of living with roommates is not the same. Living with roommates is an experience that I think everyne should have, honestly– teaches you a lot about people and cooperation and communication.

Also, @Tom: that’s because those are bad roommates.

But down here in the TX, not really. I work from 8:00 to 5:00 (sometimes later) every day. Last month we hit 100 degrees a couple of days, so my electricity bill was a whopping $44.00 (yes the decimal is in the right place), I don’t think I could have pulled this off with a roommate.

But, I live in San Francisco. My half the rent in a two bedroom apartment is $950/month. If the whole place was $800/month, I’d pay for it myself no problem, but I have a hard time coming up with $1800/month to rent an 850 sq.ft., 80-year-old apartment.

I’ve lived through so many bad roommate situations and currently living with two guys which is always challenging and a constant learning process.

How often would you be home? Have you talked to your roommates? Communication really helps.

when I moved in my roommate neglected to tell me his girlfriend would also be living with us. they were always in the kitchen and no one likes to be living with a couple – it’s just awkward. i didn’t say anything for a month and it bothered me. it wasn’t until I got really pissed and threw a fit ( that was a bad move on my part) my roommate and i sat down and talked about what needed to happen to make the living situation bearable.

My roommates were extremely messy – leaving dishes stacked in the sink for days unwashed or my other roommate who would leave the bathroom floor wet after showering. Or there was the time my roommate neglected to tell me a few times he was having guests over for dinner like his parents and I just came home from the farmer’s market about to cook dinner. And I’m usually pretty tolerant having lived with guys before but this time it was much worse. And I never said anything. It wasn’t until I finally brought up the issue and communicated and see if we could find middle ground that things started to slowly change. Granted my roommate turned around and complained I was leaving dishes in the sink, it didn’t matter.

I tried to make the conversation about working together. Luckily we don’t have a common area – it’s just three bedrooms and one bath. But my roommate emails me if he’s having guests over so I’ll usually eat out that night or go out and come back late. It’s not the most ideal situation but I realized I’m usually home for dinner and to sleep and work on my own projects in my room so paying more to live alone isn’t worth it right now. And I can’t afford it.

But if you can afford to live on your own and if it’d make your life a lot simpler and less stressful, go for it and just furnish your apartment with the bare necessities. sometimes you can’t put a price on your own freedom and sanity.

Good luck!

Just think of it –

You buy a ton of groceries, come home a day later and find them half gone.

or your roommate decides to have a bunch of people over the night before you have to wake up early.

The list could go on…

I could not agree more. I have some real roommate horror stories and even though I spent more each month my last year of college, I could not have been happier or more productive because I chose to live alone. I had more time to relax, TONS less stress and total privacy. It was very much worth it. Like I said, it made me a more productive person. Instead of spending time trying to entertain my roommate’s guests, I was spending time on studying. Instead of getting woken up by my roommate coming home late, I was getting more sleep.

In the long run, it helped me financially because I got better grades that year, and had more time to myself to work on my professional portfolio and resume. I ended up getting a great job that’s making me more money than I would if I would have had lots of distractions a roommate would have caused my senior year of college because I wouldn’t have had the time to spend on my professional development.

As Trent mentioned- “I’ve lived in all varieties, from what amounted to a college place with several people jammed into a two bedroom apartment and all my possessions existing in two Tupperware tubs in the corner and a sleeping bag to the family home I live in now.” I am sure that experiencing this variety of different living conditions has made him a better person in the end.

Without knowing more specifics or motivation, it’s hard to say. There’s a case for peace of mind, but how bad is it? I mean, there’s annoying because they whine about their problems every night. And there’s dangerous and you have a gun under the pillow. If it’s not as bad as breaking the lease to get out, then I’d take a chance on another roommate who sublets from you so you can kick them out if they get crazy. If it’s bad where it’s creating trust issues and effecting relationships with other people, then maybe it’s time to try living alone.

I wish your reader luck! I’ve been stressed out by my roommates before, but it was always bearable and even those roommates are still friends of mine.