6 months after college graduation into an apartment in a three story house.

All the little costs add up.

You need to shop for stuff

Roommates are a fucking pain in the ass sometimes

Utility companies are surprisingly friendly

A good landlord is a godsend a shitty landlord means you're counting the days til you move

A cheap maid service is worth it

IKEA is cheap for a reason

Edit to clarify I lived on campus in a different city during college so that was kind of a stepping stone this relates to my first fully autonomous living

17

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who's smarter than you're? i'm!

<<How old were you...apartment/house/condo>>


Age 18. Dorms in college for first few years, apartments/rentals thereafter.


<<what do you wish you knew before hand looking back>>


A good pair of headphones is invaluable in college so you don't have to listen to your roommate having blackout drunk sex with the beer-goggles-hot girl from upstairs. Only took me 2 times to learn that lesson, which was 2 times too many.


On a more adult & serious level:


I used to think a place to live was just that, a place to live. I found out it can have a significant effect on mood and general outlook on life. I am frugal but learned that it's worth paying a premium (up to a point) for a space that you like to be in.


Having a washer & dryer in your place (or at least in the building) is great.


Having a roommate is a good experience when you're younger but you don't want to do that shit past your mid-20s if you don't have to.

Summer before I went to college, age 18, I lived at the beach in a house with other guys. Freshman in college lived in the dorms, and then apartments after that.

I don't remember feeling like I wish I had known something I was missing. Somehow figured out how to do laundry, shop for food, cook, etc.

Oh hell yeah I forgot about the washer and dryer... once you have one in unit you'll never go back. (If there's not one in the building I'd pass). Also a dishwasher is close to a necessity

Definelty a good point on the landlords, I'll remember that.

Yesterday I sat down and made a list of everything I would need to furnish and live in an apartment. For every room, cleaning supplies etc. I'll have triple that in my savings account for this purpose by the time i'm thinking of taking off, so I know even if I go a little over budget I'll be safe. I know my job and what I make.

I feel like I have a good grasp on what it will take but just want those extra little things that i'm overlooking.

Two weeks or so after HS graduation. Went straight into the workforce, wish I knew more about budgeting for monthly bills, especially food. I never missed any bills, but lived paycheck-to-paycheck for quite a few years.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

Oh yeah, i'm not looking at anywhere without one :)

I plan on moving out in roughly 9-10 months, and I've started living with a rough budget in the pst few months, and i'm starting the full budget and living by it in September. I figure I'd rather get used to it before I have actual expenses

Permanence? later.

First - 18.5, 3 months after HS graduation I moved into a dorm 2000 miles from home.
But after one year there, I saved money by transferring close to home, stayed at home for 9 months, moved back out middle of sophomore year.
Moved back home midway through junior year (at a different college close to home - Michigan, where i graduated from) and stayed there until for a while - my dad got diagnosed with cancer during my senior year. He sold the house and moved up north with my mom a year or two later, about a year before he died.
I moved up with her after he died, went to grad school locally, then moved 3000 miles away at 26.

TL;DR - 18-19, 20-21, 22-25, 26 permanently.

I just got a dishwasher for the first time in 7 years.
The last apartment my wife and I had didn't have one. The house we bought almost two years ago had the original 50's kitchen (single sink basin, no dishwasher).

A couple months ago I did a full kitchen replacement for some people. They had a 1 year old higher end Bosch dishwasher in the old kitchen we were removing. They didn't want to keep it. They couldn't even be bothered to sell it. So I built an end cabinet for my kitchen, and just installed it last week.

I have no idea how we lived without one for so long!!!

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Long Chile was a silly place.

18 when I moved to college. I moved back in with my parents for 2 months while looking for a job and once I had one I immediately rented an apartment near my job with a friend that had a job in the same area. Moved back in to parents house(they had moved out but not sold house) and saved some money to get an apartment on my own.

Advice: Make sure to get a place near where you work(if you're in a city with traffic issues) losing 2 hours a day to driving sucks. Don't fall for the cute apartment sales girl who tries to upgrade you to a nicer model, near the pool. Don't go out and buy a new car as soon as you have a real job. Try to drive that beater for as long as possible and save money. Get renters insurance. Yes, it's money you may not have but well worth it.

I'm 39 years old and got my first dishwasher last fall when we moved into our new house. As in I have NEVER lived in a dwelling with one my entire life.

I don't do that many loads in it, but I do love it. With two boys who are going to keep getting bigger/eating more I'm expecting it will get more use in the future.

At 17 into an apt complex with a lot of singles around my age. It was a blast, but I had to work two jobs as well as school to afford it. Didn't get a dime from the folks but I wanted so bad to be on my own I just couldn't wait. It was fine, things were cheap and I worked in a restaurant at night till 1am as well as pool lifeguarding and teaching lessons during the daytime. And as I recall the college I eventually went to gave me some stipend for teaching mentally challenged folks to swim...

This is a great time in your life, enjoy it to the max. By that I don't mean binge partying, but just taking in the last time that you will probably have where responsibilities will be limited to just you..Break some hearts, get your heart broken, and try and learn something in the meantime.. (-;

Utility bills and whatever local taxes you have to pay were the biggest shock.

Cost of buying stuff to kit out a place is a one off and you can pretty much spend as much or as little as you want - my first apartment I bought with a friend, for the first 6 months our cooking and eating utensils were all scavenged hand me downs from family and our only furnishings were inflatable armchairs, cheap ikea futons, a TV and a beer fridge.

Grocery costs you probably have a handle on already, and again you can cut this right back if necessary.

<<I have no idea how we lived without one for so long!!!>>

That was my experience when I first had one too. Never had one growing up, never had one in my own place until I was into my 30s. Wouldn't want to go back now.

Conversely, I'm indifferent to having a microwave. I've been in places with one and places without, and there's no significant difference from my perspective - I've occasionally nice to have but that's about it.

Yeah, we don't have a microwave, or a tv for that matter.

It's like we adopted the 50's lifestyle along with the 50's house. Only, with the internet :-).

When we moved in here there was one phone line, in the unfinished basement, with a rotary dial phone! The lady who lived here was 96, original owner, and hadn't done a single thing to the place. It was like stepping in to a time capsule.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

19, hitch hiked from Toronto to Calgary on a whim with a crazy maritimer I only knew for 2 weeks, had a blast and wouldn't change a thing.

The day I joined the Navy, which was 3 months after I graduated High School. I was supposed to go to college but didn't want to, so I went to the recruiter's office in Indy and enlisted. I left a few days later. To say my parents were unhappy would be an understatement.

Unlike by brother and sister, I never lived at home again. I made a clean break, and retired 23 years later as a Senior Chief with a BS in Mathematics. It all worked out in the end, but it was one hell of a jump into the deep end of the pool for a farm boy from Indiana that had never seen the ocean except on TV.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

Graduated high school on a Saturday. Woke up from my hangover sometime Sunday night. Flew to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Never spent more than 2 consecutive nights in my parents house after that.

The biggest thing I had to learn was that when shit really hits the fan you can pull off quite a lot. You can go to school and work two jobs if you need to. If people you thought would be your bail out plan don't come through you can still do it yourself.

Oh, the really biggest thing I had to learn. Just because there is a 2.5 gallon bucket of beer that you already paid for in front of you, you don't have to drink it all. Having no one to answer to gives you a lot of freedom. Don't use that freedom to get hammered every night.

To go beyond appliances and bank accounts. When you are young, think about where you want to live, don't just end up some place, actually mean to live there. Having no real responsibilities lets you take chances with careers and location that you won't always have later in life.

Learn to do basic car repair. If you are broke you will have a crappy car. It will break, you can save a couple week's salary if you can fix the brakes yourself.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

My story is much like many others already shared. I moved out right after high school and started with room mates. There's been good advice given. I'll add that you can completely set up your kitchen at thrift stores and save a ton of money.

21.

I've never had a roommate (aside from living with girlfriends).

Building a good relationship with your landlord is important. Knowing your rights and responsibilities as a tenant is important. Treat your place as if you owned it, and you will always get glowing references.

It's cliche, but time really is money. Think about that when thinking about commuting, proximity to services (groceries, work, school).

Live well below your means if you can. Money in the bank gives you options. It gives you freedom. It gives you power over your destiny. Nice things and debt gives you burden and weight and your enjoyment of them is very fleeting.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

after HS* graduation. Into an apartment.

What do i wish I had known? Don't bank with US bank. scum of the earth.

Between Junior and senior year of high school.

If I knew then what I know now, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, and it was a fucking blast. Only real regret is being an asshole in most of my romantic relationships.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

I dunno

The few times in adult/married/home-owning life when our washer or dryer conked out, forcing a few trips to the laundromat, I realized that I kinda missed those Thursday evenings when I would schlep my laundry around the corner [weather permitting, of course]

I guess that I was lucky to live in pretty decent neighborhoods where the wash & dry facilities were fairly tidy and the patrons were rather nice; not the stereotypical/cliched chain-smoking boozy hobos who would load a row of washers with their entire worldly wardrobe, only to refill the trash bags in which they brought everything when they were done

OK, maybe I saw that a couple times, but it was the exception

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

In and out of parents home age 20-23 during college. Officially out age 23. Married 4 months later. Same room mate for 36 years.

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_________________________________
I'll be what I am
A solitary man

My father and stepmom moved away from me a couple days after HS graduation. I was 17. Father got a big promotion and he'd stayed a couple extra months only to simplify my life. I had a job so it made more sense for me to stay in town for the Summer before college started in the Fall.

In the 8yrs of college that followed, I moved on average every 6 months.

Lessons learned.
Go easy on $$. One can live on not much money if you try hard, but if you start spending too much, you'll be screwed. You don't need a nice place to live in, you need a place that you can easily afford. But you also can't spend a bunch of time each day commuting, because time is very precious.

Try hard not to own any more possessions that you can pack into 2 trips in your car.

I should have gotten more sleep. The combo of a brutal homework load, the need to work, and me chasing after hobbies meant that I rarely got more than 5hrs sleep/night. I did not understand that the lack of sleep was making school harder than it needed to be. 6hrs sleep/night would have been better for my memory retention.

Be a nicer person. Now that I'm older and less of a dumbass, I really regret the stupid things that came out of my mouth.

Be a neat person. Once you move away from your folks, being a slob is a complete nogo. Whether or not you have a roommate, be neat.

Either learn self discipline, or you're screwed. No longer is there anyone prodding you to do what you need to do. You've got to find it in yourself to put out the effort necessary to succeed.

TV is a complete waste of time. There will always be things that need doing. See above re. self discipline.

It's a big change between 1 roommate and 2. When there are 2 in the house, the responsibility for everything is always clear. If your chicken disappears from the fridge, you know who did it. This clear relationship brings out the best in everyone, so everything works better. But with 3 in the house, this dynamic breaks down. Now responsibility is more diffuse. No one is sure who did what, who left the bathroom a mess, who failed to take out the garbage, who ate the chicken, this really brings out the worst in folks. 2 in the house works 10x better than 3 in the house.

We have 3 boys. Whenever 2 of them are together, any 2, they get along fine. When all 3 are together, it's constant war. Welcome to humanity.

Getting out of your folk's house will be a total blast. It will be hard work, sure, but still a total blast. Just don't be a slug.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

I have lived in places that had decent laundromats nearby. What I didn't like (besides the cost) was having to dedicate the time to sit there and babysit the clothing, or be back by a certain time lest my clothes end up stolen or on the floor. It's really nice to be able to throw a load of laundry in the washer and then go to bed, or go grocery shopping, etc., or to be able to leave the clothes in the dryer for a little bit if I'm busy doing other stuff.

Later in my life in the 90's or so several of the laundromats around me went to beer bars. Suds and duds was the local one, made waiting around a little more appealing. And they seemed to draw in some of the hotter beach chicks too, so kind of a prequel to internet dating for us pre match.com folks...

Two weeks after my 18th birthday I found a job (literally stumbled into it (and I mean literally in the literal sense)) and rented a room in a house.

I was making $12k a year.

One of my dreams is to someday buy that house. I'm getting closer to that goal.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

True, but I was among the Creative type back then, so I would bring a journal/sketchbook with me and pass the time that way

There would also be similar people from my neighborhood there, so it was a social time as well

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

18 dorm. 18 overseas work america

Only moved back in to parents at 29 , but given i had nearly died viewed it as acceptable

Moved outagain before i was 30

Yup, I remember when those came to town, haven't seen one in years. Never frequented them; the one closest to me was in an already-dying strip mall and it (and the clientele going in and out) seemed really depressing.

Ha - excellent clip, and it's a phrase I still use pretty regularly :)

I used to do a lot of reading in the laundromat, I guess that was a side benefit of a sort.

college dorms/frat house at 18, and apartments thereafter.

Debt sucks. Don't fuck around with it, it creates a noose around your neck and it takes a LONG time to dig out. My first apartments I had no money and menial jobs looking for my first entry-level job. I was frugal but had no money and so piled up CC debt. Not sure my parents would've been in a position to help but at least having the conversation with them would've helped. Don't put yourself in a hole, even if it means moving back home for a bit make sure you pull in more than is going out.

Roommates are important! You want people you know you'll get along with and won't cause issues, obviously, but also consider things like: are they a slob and you generally keep things clean? Do they work at a bar and you have a 9-5? Do they have a job, a solid source of income and you know their portion of rent will be covered? Do they have a significant other and this is a small apartment with tiny shared space? These types of things are important, life can turn pretty shitty when you ahve roommates you can't stand and/or who aren't holding up their end of the bargain.

As others have said, the little things add up. Toiletries, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, apartment furnishings, wall hangings, plants; when you live at home, or even in a dorm, you're not thinking about these types of costs but they add up and cut into your available cash. When money is tight--and it generally is when you're young living in your first apartment, you have to consider the $20-40 a week you'll spend on miscellaneous stuff, never mind things ilke cable/internet and utilities.

Try, as much as possible, to create a budget and SAVE - even if it's $50 a month. Savings account, company-offered 401K, doesn't matter, if your money runs out before you're able to save some dough then you're not balancing income and expenses properly--living above your payscale, too expensive an apartment, too much partying, whatever. If you're young this is the time to start saving, you'll be 30 before you know it (and 35 and 40 come even faster) and if savings isn't in the budget you'll be costing yourself tens of thousands in compounding earnings on that early money.

Learn the important things - how to do the laundry, how to properly clean your apartment, how too cook a real meal, how to budget and save, how to hold down a steady job while living on your own, how to take care of yourself when you're sick, how to manage bills and pay your phone, utilities, cable on time, taking care of your vehicle (if you have one). Being on your own the first time is a learning process but a lot of people still rely on parents to figure a lot of this stuff out. This is your time to learn how to be independent before the real serious stuff happens (real jobs with real consequences; a house; kids; taking care of parents when they're older), you'll fuck things up but the stakes are pretty low, better to screw up some bills now than when you're applying for a mortgage, or how to cook some meals before you find someone you actually want to impress with a nice meal!

How old is complicated. I was in and out until I was 28. (Moved back in at 27 to take care of some financial issues).


Which leads to the second question. I wish I valued sensible finances more when I was younger.

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-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485

Yeah, sometimes that would happen organically, if there was a decent gathering on a particularly spectacular Summer evening and someone would get a take-out 6-pack from the nearby bar or deli


So you'd see their underwear before you see them IN their underwear

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

This is really, really solid advice. Having the self discipline to take pride in the things that need doing, that you don't want to be doing, is huge. Keeping a clean house. Accomplishing mundane tasks first thing in the morning (running, making the bed, etc).

Develop that discipline when you're young, and it will set you up for life. Also, while it sounds like eye rolling drab adult talk, it's really not hard to do when your list of responsibilites is relatively small.

Reading this thread really makes me think of that quote: "youth is wasted on the young".

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Long Chile was a silly place.

16 when I first lived at the beach with a bunch of roommates. Full time in college, from school straight to beach and then back to school. After school I moved back home. After renting for a few years between beach and college I realized how much it sucked being broke. I worked 2 jobs most of the time so I was never home. Would crash at friends places on the weekend. After awhile when bank account started building up I decided I wanted to buy a place rather then rent so I stayed at home a little longer and then bought a place. Which worked well because then friends moved in and helped ease the first few years of home ownership.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

About 2 days after graduating from HS I joined a custom wheat harvest crew and was gone. When wheat harvest was over I took off to college and lived in dorms the next 4 years, going to school in the morning and working all afternoon and sometimes all night. After college I got married and we got an apartment. Married a motivated woman like me who, like me, also had a job since she was old enough to work. We both invested in graduate degrees and that paid off in spades. We are now both looking at early retirement (57 working days left) and will then get odd jobs just because we want to, not because we have to. What worked for us was never ever taking on debt (except for our homes and short car loans) and we always maxed out our employer deferred comp programs. I think one of our retirement challenges will be switching from saving/investing to spending. That's going to be tough after being so frugal for the past 30 years.

tim

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Freshman year of college I was in the dorm.

Sophomore year I lived at home to save money (I paid for school myself after freshman year).

Junior year I bought my own home (it was a condo close to campus) and moved out permanently.

I'm going to throw out another idea. If you have the ability to work 30 hours a week while in school or whatever you are doing, and have that job for a while, you can buy a small home or condo, as well. Rent out a room to a friend. They'll pay the mortgage while you get the benefits of it.

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speedySTATES

mentally challenged people to swim. Do you mean triathletes?

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I moved out 1981 when first Panera opened. Did you know they've got places to stay all over?

19. After an argument with my mother about the Fiat Spider I had purchased. She thought it stupid: I thought it awesome. Turns out she was right.
Regardless I was gone and had a roommate in a crappie apartment.
Learned a lot over the first few months. Including don't invite men you meet on the bus over just because they can buy beer. They might have motives you are not comfortable with.

So what was Duffy like back then?

18 and nothing. Learning to live in a house/apt alone or with roomates was not one of life's challenges for me.
I lived back at home in the summers while I went to college (for the most part).

18. Graduated high school. Moved to Purdue for undergrad and lived in the dorms freshman year. Lived in a fraternity the rest of the time except when I was on co-op at Sundstrand Aerospace where I lived in a house with 3 other guys.

At 20, dropped out of college and enlisted in the Army. When Desert Storm fizzled out, I did green-to-gold and returned to the fraternity at Purdue. Graduated and went to law school, living in an apartment. Graduated law school and entered the Army first living at the JAG School at UVa, then an apartment near Fort Riley then a townhouse near Fort Riley.


What did I wish I new? Not much. Life was pretty cushy until I enlisted. After that, life was a bit more difficult, but, the Army took care of me for bit, then I went back to my fraternity where school was very hard and I had to work to pay my living expenses, but the Army paid for the rest of my school so, life overall was pretty cushy again.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Pay the rent on time and when your lease is up, continuing to pay the rent isn't the same as renewing it

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Not sure it was Duffy, but the guy did have a bald spot on his chin.

I did university in the same town where my parents were living so was on/off bouncing between my own places and my parents place from the time I was 19 until 24. I then moved to England for a couple of years, got married and went to chiropractic college back in Canada for four years. When I went through my divorce at age 42 I moved back into my parents house for a few months while they were in Florida for the winter. They weren't there but it still sure felt a bit strange being in their house for those few months while they were away.

If you don't mind, what part of Indiana. I grew up in Southern Indiana, down around Louisville.

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_____
TEAM HD
Each day is what you make of it so make it the best day possible.

Carroll County. 60 miles north of Indy.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

19 or 20. I moved out, then back in, then back out a few times during college.

Learn early if roommates are the way you want to go - I see a lot of people recommending that. They are not for everyone, myself included, and it took three attempts for me to realize. Nothing crazy happened, I was just so much happier living solo. Wasted a lot of energy trying to make other people happy and cleaning other peoples' messes.

Pretty much that. Left home at 18. Came home first summer never went back. Love my parents but had things I had to do that could not be done at home.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot