View Full Version : Back To Living Alone, Once Again
My awesome house mate and his equally awesome cat have moved on...I am sad, to say the least. He was one of my best roomies and I love his cat, Mort. Mort is one of those large, sturdy black & white tuxedo cats with funny facial markings and a goofy personality. My cat eventually learned to get a long with him and I think they ended up liking each others company, despite some scuffles and chases now and again.
The house seems empty and quiet without all his stuff around. Instant de-cluttering, and I didn't even have to do it! I guess I have been looking forward a little to having my place to myself, at least for a little while, until I start missing that extra $335 per month. It has been very nice to have an extra $2000 or so this year for all my little extras, and help paying off bills.
In the meantime, I guess I will clean and re-organize some of my stuff and reclaim a little space back...
Nice when it was a positive experience and gain some $$ as well.
Good roommates are really hard to find. Enjoy the quiet and space before looking for a new one.
Tussiemussies
10-6-14, 12:55am
You are so lucky that you had such a great roommate. Now you know what traits made you happy and you can take your time in looking for those same qualities. Hope you enjoy you space for yourself! Chris
seedycharacter
12-30-14, 4:09pm
SiouzQ: It's been nearly 3 months since your roomie and Mort moved out. Are you enjoying your solitude or wanting companionship and more cash flow again?
I have been living alone since a break up and am still (1 1/2 years later) so glad to be free of all the compromises/interruptions that come with shared living. But my pocketbook does suffer! I have been experimenting with having paying guests in my spare bedroom. Kind of like AirBnB but with known guests (referrals from friends). I live in a university town and am thinking of having a faculty person sublet--they need just 2-3 nights/week.
Big announcement here at Chez SiouxzQ! I have a new house mate moving in this weekend; he's getting the keys today! I really dragged my feet on this for many, many months; my last housemate moved out in October and it's just been me and my kitty all this time. I have really enjoyed being alone here, even though the first few weeks I was a little lonely. I have gotten very used to (probably a little too used to) being a hermit and only going out to get to work and groceries. But I've really been missing having the extra cash and this seems like a good time to get someone in my extra bedroom. I am busy planning my June road trip and could use that extra money!
So instead of a young man in his twenties just out of college, my next roomie is a 48 year old married man who works here in town but whose family lives three hours away (daughter's are in high school and they didn't want to pull them out to move up here, plus the housing market for selling is still not good in Clevelandl). He will be going home every weekend, right after work on Fridays, and returning Monday mornings. So that means he will only be here four nights out of the week! He is very nice, normal with a good job type of family guy. I will be charging him $350 per month and if it all works out the way we think it will, he is committed to keeping this arrangement for several years until his youngest is ready for college. This is going to be a HUGE win-win for both of us!
Okay, gotta go and start cleaning and rearranging stuff to accommodate a new tenant!
Wow, that is a good arrangement. Nice to know he is stable. I would send a little gift to wife and daughter to let them know you also are stable and normal. Want them to be comfortable letting you know of any problems, delays, etc.
That is perfect. That give you income and some hermit days.
That sounds perfect. I have been on the decision edge of either moving or getting a roommate for the spare room I have now. My income will drop seriously in a year without child support and I want to plan ahead. I have been putting as much into savings as I can to test what I need. I kinda don't want to move, and I need help with yard work so that could be part of the deal. It sounds like you have had good situations which makes me feel better.
iris lilies
2-20-15, 11:12am
That sounds perfect. I have been on the decision edge of either moving or getting a roommate for the spare room I have now. My income will drop seriously in a year without child support and I want to plan ahead. I have been putting as much into savings as I can to test what I need. I kinda don't want to move, and I need help with yard work so that could be part of the deal. It sounds like you have had good situations which makes me feel better.
Really? A roommate? In your situation the very last thing I would do is to be looking to drag another human into your sphere of responsibility.
Of course you don't want to move, but I can't help but think that is the cleanest and easiest-in-the-long-run solution. A small 1 br apartment with a couch for whichever one of your children needs a place to crash should you decide to offer that as a possibility. Just the child, not his/her SO. Just room for ONE child, and not a very comfortable place, hint hint.
But that's my view from thousands of miles away and from knowing only a little about your situation.
I have one child who lives with me, he would be part of the decision if he feels better moving or having a roommate. However we have a good location and he can go to school/college easily from my house. That is one thing I would like to support since he is doing what he needs to. Most of the time I spend alone frankly, if I meet another adult 2 times a month that is good but it often is nothing. I post here a lot, not too much human contact outside of work.
My daughters do not live with me, right now they are not communicating so on a day to day basis I don't have much to take care of. I worry a lot and hope I can help but other than that my son and I get along well living together. He cooks and is cleaner than his sisters, has a job, his girlfriend is over a lot, I guess I have not described my basic day to day very well.
Really? A roommate? In your situation the very last thing I would do is to be looking to drag another human into your sphere of responsibility.
Of course you don't want to move, but I can't help but think that is the cleanest and easiest-in-the-long-run solution. A small 1 br apartment with a couch for whichever one of your children needs a place to crash should you decide to offer that as a possibility. Just the child, not his/her SO. Just room for ONE child, and not a very comfortable place, hint hint.
But that's my view from thousands of miles away and from knowing only a little about your situation.
+1000 to this reply. You seem to have enough just to keep yourself together let alone anyone else.
rodeosweetheart
2-20-15, 5:27pm
Why would Zoe be "dragging another human into her sphere of responsibility" by taking an adult roommate in to share the bills? I always thought on Kate and Allie they had the idea living situation. Of course with a child still at home, one would have to take his wishes and needs into account, and that might be an excellent reason to stay in the neighborhood, keep stability in the situation.
I thought Zoe still had a son at home--probably not a good time to change apartments if she can avoid it, if he is only there for one more year.
I don't understand why having a room renter, like SiouzQ, is taking responsibility for another person? And congrats,. Siouz, he sounds like an ideal renter. A good situation for both of you.
Living together is rarely a simple unemotional money changing hands only situation. There are new responsibilities to meet the terms of whatever the agreement requires and adds another human beings needs and feelings (even if only about the housing issues) to an already overwhelmed situation.
The whole room mate thing works for me at this stage because my personal life has settled down so much and I am in a great space, mentally and physically. I never would have been able to handle having a non-family member live here when I was going through the addiction thing with my daughter. A little back story here - I HAD to kick her out of my house when she was just fourteen (she is now 22); she went to live with her dad at the point, and is still there. Her bedroom remained empty for many years. I entertained the idea of having a house mate for a very long time; I couldn't quite get up the guts to actually do it until about two years ago. My first renter was a girl I worked with and it turned out that she was a closet alcoholic. Even if she hadn't moved out when she did, I would have asked her to leave because I felt like she was a major intrusion into my life with her crazy hours, having guys over, etc... She ended up getting the help she needed and is doing really well now; I went to visit her last summer when I was driving through Colorado where she ended up.
The three guy room mates I had after that were all so nice - "K" was someone I worked with as well, but he didn't stay very long. After that I got "M" who was a friend of a Facebook friend and a drummer (not that he practiced in the house, mind you). He was an all-around nice guy who worked hard and went to school. After that I got "R" and his cat, Mort, who I found through a Craigslist ad I posted (more about that later). Again, a nice, well-mannered young man who had just graduated from college and worked full-time in a career-type job. I really missed them when they moved on!
So after a bit of trial and error over the past few years, when I write a Craigslist ad, I am VERY specific about who I am (anonymously, of course) and what I can offer and what I need in a house mate. One of THE most important things that they must respect and understand is that I go to bed very early, as I get up at 5am to be at work by 6am. I don't tolerate partiers - no drunkenly coming home at all hours stumbling up my stairs, none of that, period. I list what anemities I can offer - a fairly large bedroom, share bath, kitchen, common area, laundry and parking on premises, internet connection. I list that there is NO cable (and never will be) and no air conditioning and no smoking. Then I had to learn how to read the responses to the ad. I usually get a lot, as I live in a college town and the rent on this room is only $350 . A lot of scammers reply and try to weasel out personal information so I've learned to pick up on that and never, ever respond. A lot of people respond with very little information about themselves so I kind of disregard them too. Then I'll pick out one to three candidates and start an e-mail conversation with them, and if THAT seems promising, I give them a call. If I like what they have to say and feel like I want to meet them, I will invite them over to look at the room.
So this new guy was the only one I showed the room to during this go-round because his situation of just needing a place during the week while he's working totally works out with my need for privacy and alone time. As of this afternoon I am $150 richer (he's moving in a week early) and can look forward to an extra $350 the first week of every month! This is making my June road trip planning even more fun because I'll have a lot more money to work with!
Why would Zoe be "dragging another human into her sphere of responsibility" by taking an adult roommate in to share the bills? I always thought on Kate and Allie they had the idea living situation. Of course with a child still at home, one would have to take his wishes and needs into account, and that might be an excellent reason to stay in the neighborhood, keep stability in the situation.
I thought Zoe still had a son at home--probably not a good time to change apartments if she can avoid it, if he is only there for one more year.
I don't understand why having a room renter, like SiouzQ, is taking responsibility for another person? And congrats,. Siouz, he sounds like an ideal renter. A good situation for both of you.
thank you, i guess i am surprised by the responses i got. i don't want to hijack this thread but i am not sure what to say. i appreciate the good information Siouzq. I want to be safe and careful but there are a lot of eco friendly people now who may want a simple room in a house with composting and a clothes line and meditators. through the type of work i do i could probably screen and find someone who is known. Many of us in social service and non-profit type jobs don't make a lot and choose to live simply. My son is very independent so it would be nice to have someone around. i would not have thought about all those things to look for on Craigslist.
i am not sure what is the best way to answer the rest of the responses. i am not taking it well, it feels harsh and judgmental. i am no longer comfortable with what i have shared about my life if it means that i am seen as a person who cannot make reasonable decisions. it is an active step to look at my aloneness and isolation and consider creative options. my day to day life can be as stressful as anyone else's but until my daughter, the police or the hospital calls i just have some worry.
We've had some fun renters. I do better with male renters than female. We rented a room out before children arrived in our life and after. I think we've had 3 girls and 5 guys. I would consider it again. One guy was too floppy for me, very irritating to have him not understand we don't flop on the furniture. He was the only one I asked to move before our agreed upon time. The most interesting one was Gil from France who decided to have an American experience - flew to Chicago, took a bus to Springfield, MO, called Silver Dollar City and said "Hello, I am here to work".... One girl, I didn't charge rent. She was working to save money for her career mission work (She is in S Africa now). She payed us by being our nanny for the year she lived with us.
Zoe, I don't think you should take anyone's comments as harsh. Just concerned.
rodeosweetheart
2-21-15, 4:08am
"i am not sure what is the best way to answer the rest of the responses. i am not taking it well, it feels harsh and judgmental."
I thought that, too, which is why I posted. Good luck with exploring your options with respect to a renter, sounds like you will come to a good decision.
Zoe Girl, knowing where you have come from and what you are going through right now, I do think some of the responders are just concerned about you taking on too much by getting a renter. I understand that you come here, as I do sometimes, to be able to vent and bounce things off to other people in order to get some perspective on things. I think as long as you feel grounded in your ability to pick the right house mate (someone mature and responsible with their own life and not someone who will suck you and your son into their negative orbit of dram), it can be a very great thing! One of the things I list in my ad is I will tolerate NO DRAMA in my house, as I raised a teenager and have had enough of that to last a lifetime! That is why someone older (though you can't discriminate with age, race, orientation, etc on Craigslist) is often a good bet. I would avoid renting to anyone under twenty-five, or someone around the age of my daughter. And I do better with male room mates, for some reason.
I guess in regards to the other thread we've been posting on in Family Matters, my life is very different than it was when my daughter was in my immediate care. The day she turned eighteen was the biggest day of relief for me, because it meant I was no longer responsible for a minor child. It doesn't mean that I don't care and won't help, obviously. There have been some major bumps in the road along the way with her, but I can handle them better. It's taken a long time, but I have changed and gotten healthier too. I am really loving my 50's and loving being able to have my own life, FINALLY! I get to do whatever I choose and create the life I always dreamed of. And being the practical frugal simple-liver that I am, I love thinking up creative ways to earn money outside my day job, whether it's active like selling my jewelry, or passive, by having a renter.
ZoeGirl, I am really glad you are back on the boards because I have always felt we have a lot in common - if you would like to PM anytime feel free. Perhaps taking on a "good" renter is just the thing you need to help you move forward, help with the bills and create your own life beyond the sphere of the kids. I do wish you all the best.
thank you siouxq, i want to balance my own feelings with the idea that no one meant anything bad. i don't know if you ran into issues of how people saw you as less than capable because your daughter had issues, i had two things to deal with when my kids were having problems and under may care. one was their care and the other was maintaining the authority of myself as capable so that i could care for them. that may not be the case for others but i have had many direct attacks on me for what my kids are going through which means my judgement has been questioned a lot and the educational, legal and mental health professionals have been used (i am beyond proud to say that it didn't go far because i was always prepared and grounded and professional). i am working hard to use that experience in developing my next career as a mediator, and that takes some financial ease to build that business up.
So i don't want a bunch of drama, disagree with me or express concern but please remember that all caps and agreeing 1000 times can come across way different than you intend. maybe ask me a question, point out pitfalls in regular type, engage in a discussion, okay?
iris lilies
2-21-15, 12:19pm
thank you siouxq, i want to balance my own feelings with the idea that no one meant anything bad. i don't know if you ran into issues of how people saw you as less than capable because your daughter had issues, i had two things to deal with when my kids were having problems and under may care. one was their care and the other was maintaining the authority of myself as capable so that i could care for them. that may not be the case for others but i have had many direct attacks on me for what my kids are going through which means my judgement has been questioned a lot and the educational, legal and mental health professionals have been used (i am beyond proud to say that it didn't go far because i was always prepared and grounded and professional). i am working hard to use that experience in developing my next career as a mediator, and that takes some financial ease to build that business up.
So i don't want a bunch of drama, disagree with me or express concern but please remember that all caps and agreeing 1000 times can come across way different than you intend. maybe ask me a question, point out pitfalls in regular type, engage in a discussion, okay?
okay, I will ask you questions. I don't care if you answer, but I hope you will think about these issues.
Are you seeing this roommate as a potential friend, a person with whom you will socialize, getting adult contact? I ask that because multiple posts from you indicate this.
Can you afford your rent without a roommate? I ask because anyone approaching a landlord situation as you are would be counseled 100% of the time to not take on real estate obligations if the mortgage or rent can't be paid without it. You are in that same situation.
Is it realistic to think that someone will share your yard work chores? How will you asses that? What will you do if that roommate who said he would rake leaves up doesn't do it on your schedule?
I find SiouzQ's description of roommate experiences to be very useful. Each roommate stayed less than an average of 6 months (according to the math of 4 roommates in 2 years and a spell of several months without a roommate.) Would that schedule be ok with you?
Finally, I will ask a question from the point of view of the roommate: what if one of your daughters comes back to your house with the intention of staying? What happens then? As a tenant who signed up to live with 2 other people and then someone else comes in to crash on a couch (and bring drama) how's that gonna work for me?
Anyone who reads my posts know how tenant adverse I am.
I think there are additional pressures for having an on-site tenant in your living space, but there are also additional controls --you can see quickly things going bad. Tenants are a real mixed bag. While I think that renting out a room is a good way to monetize an asset, for me it would never be worth all that living with a stranger entails. I'd rather live in 450 sq feet than 1,000 sq feet with a roommate. I have a hard enough time sharing space with DH, and presumably we share goals and values. :)
Zoe, although I'm not one of the respondents that you're reacting to I was also concerned with the idea of you taking in a housemate. From what you've told us you seem to have plenty of stuff going on in your life currently and, as sweetana pointed out, living with someone even if they are just an unrelated housemate for whom you have no responsibility, is rarely simply a matter of money changing hands in exchange for a chunk of living space. Every relationship has issues, whether it's a love relationship, friendship, business partnership, shared living situation, or whatever. As human beings interacting with one another that's inevitable. I do believe that you are capable of selecting a good person. I do worry, though, that your kindness and your caring personality might lead you to take someone in who is a good person but is a little down on their luck in some way which, while potentially beneficial and fulfilling for everyone involved, would also have the risk of turning out badly if that person wasn't as far along in figuring out how to solve their problems as they seemed when you first met them.
If you do decide to move forward with this I would definitely suggest looking into Colorado's landlord/tenant laws to make sure that you aren't potentially setting yourself up for taking in a houseguest who simply won't leave if you want them to or if they can't pay the rent. I'd also suggest reading your lease to make sure there's no clause in it stating that you can't take in additional non-related people, and if there is talk to your landlord and get aggrement from them to modify it if you do decide to take on a houseguest. I'd hate to be reading a thread six months from now that you were being evicted for violating part of your lease.
ApatheticNoMore
2-21-15, 12:47pm
I don't have any opinion on rooommates on how emotionally draining they could be as I've never had them.
Are you seeing this roommate as a potential friend, a person with whom you will socialize, getting adult contact? I ask that because multiple posts from you indicate this.
I think this is perfectly normal, many people DO have roommates rather than living alone for precisely the having social contact reason. Not everyone has a roommate out of financial necessity, although obviously there are undeniable financial benefits. You don't necessarily have to plan to do a bunch of leisure activities with a roommate, to have social contact, it's built in to living with someone, that you get more social contact than say living alone.
Tenants are a real mixed bag. While I think that renting out a room is a good way to monetize an asset, for me it would never be worth all that living with a stranger entails. I'd rather live in 450 sq feet than 1,000 sq feet with a roommate. I have a hard enough time sharing space with DH, and presumably we share goals and values.
well I don't think Jane's idea of sharing a duplex with one's sweetie or having a house nearby is a bad idea so :laff:
Everything that Iris Lillies just posted is a great way to ask yourself some questions about motives and expectations. I would definitely go through and make a pro and con list and really think about the reality of sharing space with someone. I think I found that renting to someone who I work with on a daily basis (especially someone right in my department) is not ideal because the potential for drama looms too large. I don't want to have gossip-fests at home about people from work. I've found that I can have a good tenant relationship because I'm quite a bit older than my last two tenants so I wasn't hanging around doing stuff with them, just sharing the space. Even though the drummer and I shared a large common group of musician friends, we never "hung" out like friends. I'd go to his gigs sometimes but that was about it.
I think between all of us who have responded you've got a boatload of good information and advice to see if you want to pursue this idea further. You can take all the time you with it too, there is no deadline, right?
iris lilies
2-21-15, 1:08pm
I don't have any opinion on rooommates on how emotionally draining they could be as I've never had them.
I think this is perfectly normal, many people DO have roommates rather than living alone for precisely the having social contact reason. Not everyone has a roommate out of financial necessity, although obviously there are undeniable financial benefits. You don't necessarily have to plan to do a bunch of leisure activities with a roommate, to have social contact, it's built in to living with someone, that you get more social contact than say living alone.
well I don't think Jane's idea of sharing a duplex with one's sweetie or having a house nearby is a bad idea so :laff:
"Not a bad idea"= my dream situation, haha. The potential of one of our properties with two tiny houses on it is for that scenario. Unfortunately, less-than-stellar residents surrounding it precludes me realistically moving there.
That sounds perfect. I have been on the decision edge of either moving or getting a roommate for the spare room I have now. My income will drop seriously in a year without child support and I want to plan ahead. I have been putting as much into savings as I can to test what I need. I kinda don't want to move, and I need help with yard work so that could be part of the deal. It sounds like you have had good situations which makes me feel better.
Zoe Girl, I think moving to an apartment might be a really good thing for you financially. No yard work and utilities are usually a lot less than a house too. You could still do some container gardening on an apartment balcony patio. An apartment would be less work for you, more money in your pocket, and a chance to maybe meet some new people...
IL, those are a lot of things to think about and many of them i have, i have not made a decision to do this but it has the potential to have me move forward on some things instead of just sit and talk about what i don't have. And it may not be what i do or the best thing to do.
i would want someone i was friendly with, that does not mean we are best friends, do anything social with or sit and eat meals necessarily. But some talking when we see each other, that level of comfort and friendliness. i still expect to keep working on building some social relationships.
Financially the child support for my son has 13 more months, i can pay the rent during that time and am starting to put a significant amount of the child support aside to test what i can live on and help with any job training. i would not be in a situation where i could not pay rent for over a year and by that time a lot could change, i could decide how much i like it over that time.
as for yard work, i simply put that in our agreement clearly. i have been doing enough mediation and training to write a good agreement. one of the traits of a potential renter would be an interest in gardening. i have lots of space for that but limited energy since my summer work schedule is very busy. i like how siouxq was very specific, i would put the garden/yard in the description if i decide to do this. i honestly am not a highly picky person. if someone loaded my dishwasher after a party i would say thank you not change the direction of the forks. if someone raked leaves one day instead of another i am not likely to be upset. my kids were pretty good about the household stuff for some time, we had family meetings and worked out dinner menus and housework schedules and all that cooperatively.
about my kids, well my daughter would not have the option of coming home and couch surfing. any extra people like a friend of mine or the renter would have to be planned and agreed upon.
i honestly think it is strange that we live so very alone in this day and age, i don't really want to live alone like that and for the majority of human existence people have not. i really have liked when my kids have friends around, my son still had a friend who is on the couch some mornings like today when there is a snowstorm. He is going into the navy soon. Really good kids. i see them when they come over, talk for a couple of minutes and usually offer them some food of course, and then we do our own thing. i am happy to say my son is not in a rush to move out which means he is more likely to go to college or job training of some kind. when i am totally living alone i would either pick someplace in the heart of the city so i could go to the coffee shop around the corner every day or a shared house situation.
Isn't child support supposed to continue while the child goes to school?
Jane, I think it depends on the state. In Oregon, there is a continuing obligation beyond 18 as long as the child is attending school. However, in Oregon those payments are made directly to the (adult) child, not to the other parent.
we have until 19, there was no stipulation made for college but i assume the money would go directly to the child. if any of them get it all arranged for school i hope dad will help with that rather than pay me honestly.
IL, ... ...
i honestly think it is strange that we live so very alone in this day and age, i don't really want to live alone like that and for the majority of human existence people have not. i really have liked when my kids have friends around, my son still had a friend who is on the couch some mornings like today when there is a snowstorm. He is going into the navy soon. Really good kids. i see them when they come over, talk for a couple of minutes and usually offer them some food of course, and then we do our own thing. i am happy to say my son is not in a rush to move out which means he is more likely to go to college or job training of some kind. when i am totally living alone i would either pick someplace in the heart of the city so i could go to the coffee shop around the corner every day or a shared house situation.
I'm glad we have a choice now. I don't mind socializing in measured amounts, but it's not for everyone.
I'm glad we have a choice now. I don't mind socializing in measured amounts, but it's not for everyone.
es, i would prefer to find a roommate than to live with my parents. they are nice but i think i was dropped into their lives from another planet.
ApatheticNoMore
2-22-15, 1:48pm
It probably is strange to live alone. I've read the books about this (The Lonely American by Jacqueline Olds is one), and so on. But I still like having my own place and I can afford it (what I pay for rent tends fall within the range of all calculations I have heard, of how much you should spend on housing). Ha even if one shouldn't like living alone and it's weird. And I'd live in a little tiny studio before getting roommates as well.
I think I'd actually enjoy something like cohousing with some shared facilities, just as long as I have my own place to retreat to when need be, that's really all I ask. But cohousing is fairly uncommon and roommates common so.
Just a quick update about the new room mate: I would say it is going quite swimmingly (he moved in the last week of February) ~ he has literally slept here maybe two or three nights out of the last ten! He travels a lot for work, and goes home to Cleveland on the weekends to be with his family. He has cooked nothing in the kitchen, nor put anything in the fridge, and does not do laundry here! The only thing that is hard to get used to is I have NO IDEA what his schedule is and when he is going to be coming in and out, which unfortunately, can disrupt my sleep at times. But the trade off is quite worth it, as I really like getting $350 cash at the beginning of the month :)
Geez, I haven't seen this new room mate since March 31st! He left the rent (in cash) on the kitchen counter on April 1st and hasn't been seen since! I know he was going home for Easter and then a family vacation; I finally texted him early last week saying "Where is my new house mate? Are you still out there?" He replied back that he had been traveling for work and was going to be back last Wednesday but he never showed up...I think I am getting quite used to living alone again.
I wonder if I'll see him this week. Rent is due on Friday....
That's good - the best type of roommate, who pays but is never there, unless you really like living with people, but quite annoying since you don't know what's happening for May 1. I hope he lets you know.
Yes. This sounds like my perfect housemate. Never there. Never uses any of the facilities. Leaves cash on the first of the month... Score!
He finally came back two days ago and spent a couple nights here ~ we caught up with things and now he's gone for a long weekend! Perfectly pleasant guy, and a PERFECT room mate! We are both going to be gone most of the month of June.
This extra cash improves my prospects immeasurably! It allows me to have extra money to do more on my awesome road trip coming up. When I get back from vacation I will start a concerted effort to get out of the small amount of debt that I am in - I am going to double up payments on my car loan and finish paying off a medical bill I've been chipping away at for the last year. I'm thinking by the end of fall I will be able to throw the last $1000 on my car loan and just be done with it :) Then all the extra money from not having to pay these debts off plus all that rent money will go toward padding my Money Market account, by depositing the full amount I can into my IRA, and buying a few things I've been wanting and putting off for a long time - a better camera, more tools for my business, more and longer trips! Not bad for someone who works a wage slave low end job :)
Gotta bump this back up to the top because I JUST found out I am going back to living alone, once again...sigh...the perfect room mate just sprung on me that he is moving out next week (while I am gone) due to a job change. He just paid me half a month's rent for June. My financial plans have just taken a hit for the summer. I'll still go on my awesome road trip but now I'm not feeling as free and easy with the money part. Ugh, I dread having to find some one else but I'll wait until August when the students come back, I guess.
I have always thought that if I lived around you I could be your perfect roommate, I did go to my first high school out there and all these people from Portage and Kalamazoo now found me. But the commute is terrible, good luck on finding a great person!
Hey Zoe Girl, I'm going to be in your neck of the woods by Sunday, I think! Not quite sure where I am going to end up, maybe somewhere close to Colorado Springs, at any rate!
Sorry you are losing your perfect roommate. Enjoy your travels.
ooooh, well my parents have a wedding anniversary party on Saturday, the really big deal, but wave if you are passing through denver on Sunday. what is your road trip plan? Have any coffee breaks in there?
Good luck with the party! Actually, I was looking at the map last night and decided to take Highway 350 to angle south towards Trinidad, because I want to be in Taos by Monday. On the way back however, I may be taking I-70 after leaving Moab to get back home instead of meandering through the mountains. That would be towards the end of June.
okay i will PM you my number in case on your way back you are passing my way. i take my vacation time in September so i will be around
Here I go, once again, on the search for another new house mate...wish me luck, once again. I just posted the Craigslist ad last night but I changed things up to weed out some of the replies I get. I raised the rent to $400, which is still very cheap for a room in this high-priced college town, and am asking for 1/2 month's rent for a security deposit. $600 up front moves you in.
That is a good idea SiouzQ. Best of luck to you.
Good luck, SiouzQ! I think raising the rent is a good idea. It might take you a little bit longer to find someone, but you will likely be drawing from a better pool of possible roommates. Keep us posted!
Update: my new house mate is SO COOL! I really, really have lucked out this time. It was a little weird at first, because I only finally met him in person on Sept. 1 when he moved in. I had placed the CraigsList ad sometime in mid-July, I think. I raised the rent quite a bit, and asked for a security deposit so that weeded out a lot of people from the get-go. I had narrowed it down to three people that I actually showed the room to, and was just about to make my decision, when this person e-mailed me with a great letter of introduction, so I called him right away. Turns out he was living in California where he'd moved his family back in the spring (wife was going into an architecture program out there, and he has two boys) and he is a med student with one year left in a clinical rotation here at U of M. So he needed a cheap place to stay while he finishes out his year.
So he is a 40 year old medical student, originally from Kenya, with an English degree from McGill University and a Masters in Drama from Illinios State University, and now on his way to become a neurosurgeon! Very engaging to talk to, very warm and positive and upbeat. I think it will be a fun year - he is going to be very busy, and I am going back to work (just part-time for now until I am fully healed) starting on Tuesday, so I am going to be a lot more busy, very soon.
He sounds like a great roommate! And if you're lucky, he'll find another med student to take his place when he leaves.
Lhamo, I was thinking the same thing. It is a great deal for a medical student and their time is limited and then they usually move on. Plus they work so much that they are generally quiet. Let them know towards the end of their tenancy. If you like the setup, you could even give them a rent bonus if they find a tenant for you.
Our first landlord was so good that every tentant found the next tenant just by word of mouth. He always had someone waiting for the first tenant to get their stuff out and never even had to clean the unit.
iris lilies
9-5-15, 6:51pm
We've had residents working at the teaching hospital next door as renters for the past several years. Great tenants!
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