Young Professional's Living Arrangement... - Page 2

TheRealJuliane · #16 Apr 17, '12, 10:08 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESMDHokie77

oh my! The first dissenting comment is a real zinger! Failure to launch! It runs in my family I guess, but it certainly is a different time we live in now then back when my parents and their siblings lived at home until 28-30.

Just ignore it. I vote you stay put and not do an interim move into someone else's place, most especially not a co-worker. What happens if there is a dispute of some sort at home? Then both of you are miserable at work AND at home...Not a great idea. Moving is hard work. Save it for when you really move out of your parent's home and you can be sure you will be nicely settled in your new place.

ESMDHokie77 · #17 Apr 17, '12, 10:21 am

I didn't take offense to it so I didn't mean to be seen that way, but I lol'd at "failure to launch". That movie was about a 35 year old not a 24 year old

Tabone · #18 Apr 17, '12, 1:28 pm

No offense meant...

Moving is easy when you're 24! At least, in my experience. Took maybe two carloads and a pickup to fit it all. Especially if you're just renting a room. Limited space = limited stuff.

It's not a terrible thing to live with your parents, I understand that. That said, living on your own is just well worth it. If it doesn't work out, it's not like your parents will rent out your room.

Unless your parents are much older than mine, there is no elder-care involved in the situation. Heck, at my age, my grandparents live alone without someone caring for them, and they do fine. So did my great grandparents, up until two or three years ago. My parents certainly can manage on their own for the next few decades. If and when they do need help, I'll be happy to.

Of course, it all depends on your life; If you need to move six grand pianos and four sleeper sofas... Moving is a pain. If you make $700 a month, the money will be prohibitive. (I would limit rent to no more than 30% of your pay). If your parents are struggling with their health, that's another issue.

I suppose I do come from a different family. My parents moved out after getting married, a few weeks after my father graduated college. They promptly moved to the other side of the country. My sister got a job in another city shortly before she graduated, and never moved back. My brother got married in the same city he went to college in, and then promptly moved across the country with his new wife. And I ventured out to work in the same place where he does, the summer before I graduated college. When I did graduate, I was at home for a few days, packed, and headed out. I suppose we're just odd like that; well before I entered college I was well aware that when I graduated I was moving out. Staying would only be an act of desperation, and temporary. The idea of living as an adult with my parents just seems... weird to me.

Having moved out, all I can say is, highly-recommended. Even if you love your parents.

Also recommended - look for a dirt cheap 1bdrm house. (Very dependent on how stable your job is, of course) but a great way to spend a few years before kids show up. And there are some excellent under 100k options out there. (Very dependent on where you live) But that puts a mortgage payment very close to (or under, depending) $400 a month.

TheRealJuliane · #19 Apr 17, '12, 1:49 pm

Better investment is a 3 bedroom house, even if he doesn't need the 2 extra bedrooms at present. He might marry at some point. Also, a 1 bedroom house is TINY and would be harder to resell. 3 bedrooms 2 baths is what everyone wants, minimum.

Tabone · #20 Apr 17, '12, 2:23 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRealJuliane

Better investment is a 3 bedroom house, even if he doesn't need the 2 extra bedrooms at present. He might marry at some point. Also, a 1 bedroom house is TINY and would be harder to resell. 3 bedrooms 2 baths is what everyone wants, minimum.

I disagree. There is a price difference between 3 bdrm and 1bdrm houses, to be sure. Actually, it's a large difference. But here in lies the trick to it; it has the same effect on the purchase as the sale. Certainly, a 1bdrm house bought a 1bdrm house prices will not sell at 3bdrm house prices. But it will still sell at 1bdrm house prices. Which is to say, it breaks even. I have seen no data suggesting that 1bdrm houses take longer to sell. Poorly priced houses of any size take a long time to sell. Provided the proper price, they will sell in the same timeframe.

And even if he gets a gf this week, gets married in a year, and his wife gets pregnant right away, we are still talking about three years until one needs a second bedroom. It could easily be four, five or ten years.

In the mean time, a 1bdrm house is cheaper upfront, has lower taxes, lower utilities, and requires very little time to maintain. It ties up much less of your net worth and your income. The risk in market fluxuations is much less. If you buy a 300k house and the market drops 10%, you lose 30k. If you buy a 90k house, you would lose 9k. Granted you could make more money on the upswings - but you also have much less risk of losing your shirt. Besides, at 24, you have no stuff. Empty rooms look silly. Then you feel you need to buy things to fill them, which is also expensive.

Anyways, just a thought. A lot of people never consider it.

manualman · #21 Apr 20, '12, 3:25 pm

I vote go roomate. Learning to deal with living with new strangers is great life experience and trains you up for marriage, makes you a person that can be lived with.

Men, especially REALLY ought to experience life in an environment in which they learn first hand that dishes don't wash themselves, laundry doesn't do itself and bathrooms and rooms in general get disgusting if not regularly cleaned vigorously. Otherwise we men end up taking advantage of wives without realizing it or intending to. Face it, we just don't care about grime as much as the ladies do, so if we don't learn just how important cleaning is, we won't participate OR value it. IMO, that's a major fast track to divorce and misery. Learn it now, appreciate it and remember to keep up the appreciation by DOING it. It's a lot harder to learn if mom's there doing it for you...

This CAN be learned at home, but an awful lot of moms in my experience don't cut the apron strings and crack the whip when the age arrives.