After a few weekends of searching (fruitlessly) for apartments that will take a 6-month lease*, combined with my general satisfaction with my landlord/apartment manager, love for my area, and the great price that’s allowed me to save at a steady clip over the past two years…
I might be doing the previously unthinkable. I might decide to stay in my current apartment with a new roommate instead of moving out on my own.
Again, this is a case of Need vs. Want:
- I WANT to move out in a newer apartment in a just-as-convenient neighborhood.
- I NEED to keep my rent at a reasonable rate and maintain maximum flexibility (look for some posts on travel coming up).
Besides, I know that once I move into a nicer place with newer appliances/fixtures and bigger closets – it’ll be that much harder to go back to my current apartment standards. Apartment inflation, ya know. 
I’m going to think on this a little bit more – the idea just popped into my head during the drive home (before my car started spewing STEAM out of the ENGINE). If after 2-3 days I still am leaning towards the staying option, I’m going to talk to my manager to understand what would be the terms of agreement if a new person moves in, and then get set to put up an ad soliciting prospective roommates.
*There may be a situation where I can take over a lease and then go month-to-month very quickly – I’ll call tomorrow to get the details, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.
You got advice? Share your wisdom in the comments!
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Hey, why not? If you make that decision to stay and save money, that’s totally up to you.
It’s like BF and I making the decision to move to a smaller studio instead of keeping this 1-bedroom because it’s more expensive and too much space for what we own.
Have you considered renting a room out of someone’s house? You might even be able to get a room with your own private bathroom. Those types of situations usually allow you to have a month to month or short term lease.
I haven’t checked into this, but I have read about people with larger homes needing to rent very nice rooms (read: LARGE!). Going along with what S. said, a bathroom might be included. Of course you would have to be very careful, but if you rented a room from someone who traveled alot, this could be a good thing. Maybe try a college to see if there are postings. This might be good if you only have a few months before your trip!
If you need to store your belonging for when you travel, a friend used PODS for a very reasonable rate to store her contents of a one bedroom apartment. Likely cost varies by area, but in San Diego it was a good rate. And no damage to to her stuff!
Good luck with the car!
Can’t wait to hear about these travel plans….
If having your own studio is important to you, then spend the money. But it sounds like it might not be that important at this time in your life.
Tons of people seem to get roommies from ads and a lot of the time it works out quite well. Sometimes it doesn’t, but since it was your place first, and you’ll get to pick the person, it should be just fine.
Good luck!
i have to agree with sp. i don’t think having your own place is important to you at the moment. your main concern seems to be about lease flexibility, with price coming in second. so if you can find a decent roommate, staying put may be the best option for you.
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind having roommates, then DEFINITELY stay where you are and find a cool chick to share your place with you.
I moved into my own apartment last year because I can’t deal with roommates, and it made it a lot harder to save money. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but even modestly furnishing my small studio took a chunk out of my savings.
You can always move into your own place later in life if you’re okay with your situation now!
Apartment inflation is definitely difficult… Honestly, with the travel coming up and your potential for not spending as much time in the apt anyways, it does makes sense to save money if you’re comfortable staying in your current situation.