First Apartment
Not counting a dorm or apartment at college, how old were you when you moved out of home for the first time?
How long did the planning and saving take?
Did you have a roommate?
Was it a positive and exciting experience?
Any downsides or words of wisdom?
Plus any other stuff you want to share....
Left parents at 16 to go to boarding school for 2 years, then uni for 4.
So not counting those, I had various rentals and shared apartments while I fucked around casual jobs, travelling and being dole scum.
The first apartment I rented when I got my first serious job in Bethnal Green, a shitty east end part of London, was sharing a rental with a random dude called Wayne Diezel.
Was a miserable 6 months - he was a tossy boring tossing tosspot that I didn't get along with at all so I'd just fuck off with my mate Ali to get drunk in local pubs laughing at the local losers and trying not to get beaten up. Apartment was a cheapy in a red-brick tenement and there'd be night-time shouting and weekly gang-fights.
Soon after that I met my first love, moved in with my mate Ali and his French girlfriend at the time in a leafy suburb in SW London, and had one of the best 12 months of my life.
And so on and on and on
Just recounting quickly in my head I have had 13 or 14 shared rentals, 3 solo rentals, owned 2 apartments and 1 house.
Not counting uni:
26
About 2-3 weeks once we decided to get a house
Yes, my girlfriend
Yes definitely
More expensive than I expected! Had some savings but ate into them buying furniture etc and took a while to realise what all the running costs are (eg electricity was more than I'd expected), so don't plan to go in on a shoestring budget that's the most you can afford.
What's that mean Tim, your parents' dole or the state? And how long before you got tired with that lifestyle?various rentals and shared apartments while I fucked around casual jobs, travelling and being dole scum.
20
3 months, no saving as it was a (equivalent) of a controlled rental
no roommate, I did have a cat
It was positive, somewhat exciting and sad, because the reason to move was the death of my mother.
helped me grow up real fast, taught me the importance of paying your bills on time, also taught me that spending more than comes in is not a wise thing to do.
Any downsides or words of wisdom?
From there I moved three times, buying the second time, today I own this place (most of it anyway) and the house in Istanbul. So it seems not to be all that bad to start living on your own early in life.
Congratulations America
dole scum = UK vernacular for receiving social welfare, income support, unemployment benefit - whatever you wanna call it - from the state.Originally Posted by GGT
That sorta drifiting along lifestyle went on for maybe 2-3 years.
Yes I did get sick of it. I needed to grow up so I did. I got my first serious job at 23, a 12 month contract, which kicked off the start of my career.
Last edited by Timbuk2; 02-06-2010 at 10:48 AM.
22. No time at all, I moved from campus housing to there, I had my own room of a house I shared with others who were in college or had graduated in the last few years, it was a crappy experience and I frequently crashed at the on-campus apartment some friends who had not yet graduated had.
Words of wisdom, do not rent a place where one of the other tenets is the landlord's son, unless you KNOW he is meticulous and disciplined. Otherwise you can be sure he will fuck you over somehow.
Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"
Couple of stories so far make me ask....would you say the roommate is more important than the actual dwelling/area/cost?
And how did you research the landlord or super. situation in advance....word of mouth or reputation or what?
18
Took about 3 months planning. I saved about $1500 before I did it.
I moved in with my brother and his girlfriend.
It was exciting at first. Then I realized I lived with slobs. When my brother lost his job it went downhill.
Word of wisdom: live with people who clean up after themselves and aren't lazy.
Also applies to lovers co-habitating and prospective marriage/mates.
I'm moving into an apartment in fall, but it's not affiliated with the school in any way. Does that count? Two of my future roommates went to high school with me and the third is one of those friend's current roommate. Luckily, they're all very responsible and I trust them to do their part and be awesome roommates.
Your search had no results.
1) 23 but moved to my girlfriends mothers house, 24 yrs old when i moved into my own apartment.
2) Planning took 4/5 months, savings was done within a month but we went on a shopping spree every month to get the basics.
3) Girlfriend
4) It was a positive experience especially from my girlfriends POV. Her mother was reliant on her far to much, the daughter and mother had swapped roles which IMO was far to dangerous and just rude to expect it. Furthermore i was getting angry/resentful at her for using my girlfriend all because she didn't want responsibility for anything in her life. So moving my girlfriend into her own space, with freedom and room to grow up into a independent women was my target and thankfully a successful one i feel. Plus it rocks being able to shut your front door and be in your own little world. Oh and being able to walk around in the nude - damn thats nice.
Another exciting thing was being able to decorate and buy things to your style, especially a nice plasma TV.
5) Words of wisdom which helped me:
- Always study your finances in detail, use multiple bank statements and get a general average of how much disposable income you'll have to put towards rent/food/utility bills.
- When forecasting how much rent/food/utility bills would be per month i always added MORE on to each, this just allowed me to have a buffer to ensure if i go over my limits i got enough in the bank.
- If you are living with your partner I've found having a joint account away from your personal account is a added bonus.
- Start basic if you are unsure: Don't have the internet straight away, don't have SkyTV or a home phone. Get used to paying monthly bills, if you feel you've got enough for luxury items then go for it.
- Hidden costs: Many hidden costs on things like getting a new phone line installed or getting a new internet account set up. Check the small print!
For those in the UK looking to move try this place for washing machines etc - http://www.clearance-comet.co.uk/
I managed to pick up a £250 washing machine for £90 all because of a tiny dent on the side that makes zero difference to how it works. Brand spanking new, clean as a whistle and further more with the usual warranty. Not saying you'll be as lucky but worth considering IMO. The dent on mine is on the side panel which you can't see and it's really pathetically small.
I'm sure there is more things but i'll post as and when i remember them.
Hmm. Well, I officially moved into an apartment when I was 18, but I suppose I was still in uni, then. Never lived at home after that, though, so I don't know if that counts or not. Otherwise, it would be 20 when I moved to Baltimore. Stuck around a cheap 3 BR with some guys for four years until moving in with wifey. Money wasn't a big issue - student housing wasn't too bad given my work-study arrangement, and I figured I was already blowing plenty of cash on school, so a few extra thousand dollars a year wasn't a big deal. In grad school, it was even easier - rent is dirt cheap in Bmore and the stipend easily covers costs (for some values of 'easy').
Generally, I've found that roommates are a good idea for splitting costs, but you always need to choose wisely. I had pretty good luck (not including wifey, I think I've had 9 or 10?) - most of my roommates were pretty boring and not too messy. We generally each had our own lives and went about that, rarely seeing each other much. I do remember one sketchy Israeli I lived with for about 6 months, but that was an unexpected development and even he wasn't that bad.
One weird thing I noticed: there's an entirely different order of magnitude of apartment-related costs when you're living somewhere temporarily compared to making a real 'home'. My total furniture/capital costs (and running costs for that matter) were quite low prior to wifey - I figured I wasn't likely to move with most of my stuff, so got stuff for free or very cheaply through friends/craigslist/whatever. It didn't particularly matter if it matched or was good quality. In contrast, for the whole 'wedded bliss' place, while rental and utilities costs are similar to previous places, the capital costs are a whole different league - even for cheap furniture/artwork/whatever, it still costs quite a bit more. It's largely silly, since we're still likely to leave most of it behind in just another year or two, but I guess it's all a matter of perspective on how much like a home a place is.
Besides furniture, the kitchen things can add up too. Not just a cheap microwave and paper plates, but condiments and spices. Ketchup mustard mayo salt pepper salad dressing cooking oil BBQ sauce soy sauce herbs spices garlic onion
It's all different in context if it's a temporary place with odd roommates, like a flop house between family home and next "home" or somewhere you may live for a few years alone but not consider Home.
I was 18, summer after I finished high school, moved into a 3 bedroom house. Step Aunt's uncle died, and she wanted someone to stay in the house cause it was SOG, while it went through probate.
upside: I got to keep all his stuff, except for the 3000GT and the almost $2,000 we found in a suitcase
downside: Probate happened when Florida's housing bubble took off, house had 3 offers in 24 hours. Instead of being in there for 6-8 months, I was in there for 4.
After that I moved into a 2 bedroom apartment for $690 a month. The only time I wasn't SOG. Stayed there tilll the owners tried to sell the complex for condos. Some families had lived there for almost 40 years.
To bad Tampa stepped in and marked the undeveloped waterfront property a birds sanctuary, and this was towards the end of the housing bubble, so the entire project went bankrupt. My apartment still stands, boarded up and behind a chainlink fence.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 02-03-2010 at 06:10 PM.
My first "apartment" was boot camp. That didn't take any planning or money at all.
When I got my first game job, I moved from my mom's apartment in Reno to my own place in Berkeley (the job was in downtown San Francisco). By that time I'd been doing remote contract work for them for a few months so I had the money, but I needed to get my grandparents to cosign since I had no credit history. It was a tiny 1 bedroom right around the corner from Shattuck and pretty close to Telegraph. It still holds a special place in my heart because it's where I met my bf for the first time.
22. graduated and rented a little mother-in-law apartment a block from campus while I worked as a technician for a year. The next year, traveled around Europe with a backpack for the summer, then rented in a shared housing situation in Seattle when I started grad school.
No saving for either. No roommates in first, shared housing in second (but not really housemates, since we had locked doors and only shared the common kitchen/bathroom.) Later (24) moved in with gf for a year. At 25 she went to grad school in Vancouver, and I moved into awesome shared housing place with a view of Lake Washington, the Cascades, and Mt. Rainier.
Angel: I lived on Oxford about 3/4 mile north of campus--right before it gets into the swank hills neighborhoods. Love them Berkeley Burritos! Did you go to the place with the salsa bar?
Last edited by ']['ear; 02-04-2010 at 12:42 AM.
Same here. I left my parents' place when I was 17 to go to college. First I had a crappy, but very cheap room for four years. It was in a house with 5 other people, we got to pick the new ones ourselves. I've always been pretty independent so I had no trouble, just sucked the first time I was sick without parents. About a year ago I moved to a more expensive, but much bigger and better place. I have a pretty big room, small private bathroom, and then I share a kitchen and living room with 7 others. They're mostly nice, and we usually eat together with at least 3 people. And if I want to I can just stay in my own room, eat my food there, no need to be social if I don't want toThey are also about as clean as I am, or slightly cleaner, so that's good. They are fun to drink a beer and watch a movie with, but to be honest, they're not really the type of people I go out partying with.
No hidden costs, rent is all inclusive. Found out that in a tight month you can save a lot ofn food, while still eating properly and tasty! The chaos at the administration of the company I rent at can be frustrating at times, but that's about it. They may be slow with that, but at least they are quick with repairs, unlike my last place.
When I graduate (~ 2 years), I'll probably rent an apartment somewhere near my job.
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
25
It didn't, I just decided one day and that was that. Never had to save at the time because I earned more than I could ever spend
Yes, 5. All random people that I met on the day I moved in.
It was definitely a lot of fun for the first 6 months.
Don't live with women.
If you have a bunch of students living next door who like to play music as loud as it goes till 5am, buy an electronic drum kit, put it on at 9am on a Sunday, put the amp up against the wall, and go apeshit for 2 hours. Best payback ever.
How do you expect to run with the wolves at night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?
- Omar Little
If my girlfriend goes to the pub at lunchtime, she'll grab a few sachets of condiments for me. Usually ketchup, brown sauce, salad cream, mayo, etc. Free stuff woo!
How do you expect to run with the wolves at night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies?
- Omar Little
20
My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I shared a 2BR apartment with a buddy of mine and his girlfriend. That's when Becky realized she couldn't stand my friends or their "slutty bitches". Well, to be honest, she wasn't too fond of me very often during this time either. At least everyone was clean, just really noisy and usually obnoxious. Trust is the #1 issue when sharing a residence. you've got to trust house/apt. mates to have their share of rent, to be clean, to respect your property and privacy, to not bring people into your home who can't be trusted, the list goes on and on.
The worst job in the world is better than being broke and homeless
On that note, it takes 36 Taco Bell packets to fill the jar of Taco Sauce they sell in the stores.
Why would you put them in the jar?
The worst job in the world is better than being broke and homeless
I was 16. If you are old enough to remember the song...my first place was kinda like the AD/DC song Night Prowler!
I shared it with a stripper, and occasionally her pimp!
No, I would never have a roommate again!
I paid for it outta my bank account. I had just left the ranch and could afford it then!
I don't have a problem with authority....I just don't like being told what to do!Remember, the toes you step on today may be attached to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow!RIP Fluffy! 01-07-09 I'm so sorry Fluffster! People who don't like cats were probably mice in an earlier life! My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely!The nice part about living in a small town: When you don't know what you're doing, someone else always does!
Atari bullshit refugee!!
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