Moving out?

Well, I was accepted into a Law School in New Hampshire and went there for a week to do house hunting and we were outraged and the cost of renting and owning.
I don't see how it could be more expensive than Mass. though. New Hampshire was full of 100 year (at least) old homes that were divided into 3-6 apartments with rent easily $1100/mo. The horrible part was that these places were totally run down, no central air, no dishwasher, etc.. One place had a living room floor that wasn't even close to being leveled and the windows had no frames around them and you could look into the walls and see the lack of insulation.

Have you considered moving off the east coast?

Briana Dawson

The best advice I ever got on saving money was from my older brother. He said whatever you decide you must spend on entertainment, put that equal amount aside to save it. In other words, if you go out to dinner and spend 40 bucks, then you must also put 40 bucks in your savings account every time. If you spend 10 bucks a month on SL then 10 bucks a month goes into savings, etc. If you can't afford to do that, then you are spending too much on entertaining yourself. I won't lie and say I've always followed that advice but the times when I have it paid off and felt good.

About housing. It is a general rule to follow that housing prices no matter where you live will never go down and will always go up. A house you like that you might be able to afford now will be out of your price range five years from now. That said, renting in my opinion is not throwing your money away, it is providing a roof over your head. Buying a home is less easy than you think. Often young people need to spend a few years building up their credit first. If you CAN buy thats wonderful and the better option. One option is to talk to family members, like your parents, and find out how willing they might be to co-sign a loan for you or even loan you part of a downpayment. That downpayment thing goes back to saving though. If you do buy, the more saved money you have to use for a downpayment, the lower your monthly payments will be and the better your interest rate will be, which will save you money on the final purchase price in the long run.

As for stories..hehe. Well I moved into my first apartment when I was 16 and already a parent of a baby boy. Yes it was much more expensive than I expected but it was also necessary. My original plan had been to rent a small one bedroom apartment. But I found that a two bedroom was only slightly higher in price and that by getting a roomate I could save hundreds of dollars a month. Splitting rent in half on a two bedroom home turned out to be a lot less expensive than trying to pay rent by myself on a one bedroom. So that is another option for you and your fiance, consider renting a slightly larger place and sharing it with another person or another couple. Just be very careful to ensure that everything is in your name and you have control of the bills and that you find people you are compatable with and can live with and know are fairly responsible.

Oh and one more peice of advice from experience.... always measure the height floor to ceiling of your living room BEFORE you go out and buy the christmas tree. *smiles at the memory*

Hey there...

Just my own experiences, so take it as you wish...

I moved out on my own when I was 19, moved in with my best friend who was living with her Mom. They had space and her Mom said it was ok. I paid rent, albeit not, much, $200, but that's all I could afford at the time. I was a FT college student without a job, but did have FA coming in. After that, I moved in to my own place in San Francisco. It was the pits, only a room, but hey it was my own space and I was proud. It was only $300 a month and since I lived right on Mission Street, I could be cheap and take the bus into downtown SF where I went to school and worked as well.

Hmm...as far as moving in with a bf, the first time I did that, I was almost 22. We didn't last long, but it was fun. It was a bit like playing house, only more expensive. We were lucky as to have some pretty good paying jobs (I was still in college then as well) so we had our own one bedroom apartment south of SF...and that cost us $850 a month. When that went south, I moved up to Seattle and moved in with my ex-bf. We lived together up there for 8 years...the most we've paid on rent is 950 for a two bedroom apartment.

As far as owning a house goes, I don't know how much houses go for on the East Coast. My ex and I moved back to Cali in 2004 (Dec) and bought a house here. BELIEVE me, it is MUCH more expensive with SOOOOOO many more expenses that YOU will have to pay for. There are pros and cons. Write them out. PONDER them carefully. Owning is a VERY big decision and can change your life - if only with the amount of headaches you'll be getting with getting together ALL the paperwork the bank will need (Oy!).

I think the most important to consider though is both your levels of maturity. Moving in with a significant other is a big step. You'll be sharing space with someone you THINK you know. So my advice, do a lot of thinking, a lot of weighing. Talk it over with your parents to see if they'll let you stay there? I don't know how open they are to having you live with your bf. Heheh, I know mine would have seizures...I mean I'm 32 now and they still ask me why my ex never made a decent woman out of me, lol!

Congratulations if you guys DO get to work it out. And don't rush into anything!

Ciao

Move to South western part of PA. Cheap cost of living- cuz it really sucks here!!!

Heh, I had an apartment once.... once. Thanks to the shady hire & fire practices of many companies around here, I'm back home with the parents. Anyone have a large blunt object I may hammer my head with????

We didn't really talk about moving outside of New Engalnd, but we did decide high risk natural disaster areas were out of the question! ^_^ One problem is that I would love to live in/near a city like Boston or New York City but Jon doesn't like the "busy" city setting. Rent in a city would be way too expensive for us but I wouldn't mind living up to an hour away from a major city. I don't know much about places outside of New England but I'd like to. I would love to live in a lower crime rate area!(I live near one of Americas top ten high crime rate cities-Lawrence)

Ashley
A.K.A. DragonChiq Thereian

This is a great idea thank you for sharing!

Ashley
A.K.A. DragonChiq Thereian

Thank you, this seems to be the most frequent advice "don't rush into anything!" I agree, as much as I love Jon I'd rather wait and make sure we only move in together when our wallets and minds are ready(I know our hearts are already there!) We have been sleeping over eachothers houses for a while now(the parents don't mind) and I think we are really starting to figure out eachothers pet peeves(which is good). I'm glad I have the opportunity to see how we get along when we see eachother everyday. Though times may get rough when we are both tired and have to pay bills, thats life, but it will be life well lived with the one I love! A few years ago i was convinced I would never find true love(i wasn't looking and was very discouraged because of my parents ugly breakup when i was 9), I happened to find a man who would remind me how wrong i was about that everyday!

Ashley
A.K.A. DragonChiq Thereian

When my parents died (I was 15) I started buying all the things I would need for a household in the sales - linen, kitchenware etc. By the time I was 18 and ready to have my own place the only thing I needed was a sofa! I moved in with my (now) ex husband. Although it was rented and a complete shambles, I loved redecorating and turning it into home. unfortunately I was only there a few months

I now have my own house (thanks to the second ex husband), which I co bought. I have had to do this all alone with no parents as a backup. If you can enlist the help of others, I would suggest you do. Dont let pride get in the way. I cant suggest anything else. Now as for weddings I can help with that no problem.

hmm I was in a similar situation when I moved out, kinda. I got married at 19 (still together) and once I was through Basic Training we lived on the various Marine bases where I was stationed, since it is alot cheaper. We saved all we could to buy a house when I left the Corp. We never were able to save alot because kids are expensive You should consider moving down here where housing is relatively cheap. Its hot as hell, but otherwise its great. You should consider moving to say Charlotte or Atlanta where you can have the "Big City Bustle" or the quiet country life by simply driving 5 miles.