The Rent is too damn high, and it's only getting worse.

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Shacking up with roommates was always the solution to keeping a roof over one's head, but that isn't working anymore.

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​In this post-Covid era where rent is approaching $2000 for a 1 bedroom in most major cities, and $1400 for a 1 bedroom in the smaller cities, renting an apartment with roommates is not going to cut it financially.  Good luck finding a quality roommate nowadays outside of your best friend or relatives.

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When looking for a traditional rental, always research market rates to see just how expensive your rental market is.

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Zillow offers great tools and research: Here

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You need to think outside the box and get out of the mindset that renting an apartment is the only way for you live with a roof over your head.

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Here are the different levels of housing yourself and ensuring you have a roof over your head

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Sleeping in a Homeless Shelter: What appears to be the last safety net society can offer you can truly be an effective way to buy you time to save up enough to implement your next move.  There is no privacy with this option, and there are many rules to conform to, but this can certainly be an option if you have nowhere else to go.

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Sleeping on a friend's couch (Couch Surfing): Couch surfing is the tried and true method of getting yourself out of a rut, while doing with more privacy and less rules than being in a shelter.  If you're going to couch surf, get out of your friend's home every day before 8 am and come back after 8 pm.  Do not be a burden in the slightest, and keep your stay there as minimal as possible.  You do not want to burn any bridges by abusing the hospitality of others.

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Living in a Sedan/Van/RV: This option has become insanely popular over the last decade as rent prices have skyrocketed.  YouTube and social media have given Van and Car Dwelling a new light as a legitimate way of living and even thriving under certain conditions.  The sheer amount of people who have been forced to live in a vehicle is staggering, and many of their stories have been recorded and published online.  No two car dwelling paths are the same, and so many people have different setups, limitations, and problems.  After studying so many car dwelling vehicles on YouTube, I would argue that a typical 6 foot male would need at least a  Hatchback style of car.  A mini or cargo van would be the ideal setup when it comes to size and concealability.  You don't need to spend much on a mini van either: An early 2000s Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey would be an excellent platform to setup for a home on wheels, costing you less than $5k to start.  Explore the links I've provided at the bottom of the page to see how to best implement a car dwelling lifestyle, including showering, parking, and overall survival.

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Watch this playlist to see how to get started with living in your vehicle: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDWe0DeV3D3yFW6ZRhif_9UJmhzo7dgs1

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Living in an RV Park: Functional RVs are not cheap, so the actual entry point to living in an RV Park already has a massive barrier.  If you don't have a functional RV/Motorhome/Toy Hauler, many will move your RV into an RV Park for a fee.  So you ultimately don't need a truck to afford this lifestyle. Many RV parks are absolute rip-offs, sometimes costing more than double what it would cost to live in a motel.  The same rules for Mobile Homes apply to RV Parks: If you don't own the land, nothing will stop the owners from jacking up the rents or selling the entire land to the highest bidder who will rip you off even more.  You can thrive in an RV Park, you just need to find the right park and pray the management doesn't go downhill in your during your stay there.   

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Renting an Apartment with roommates: I'm not a fan of living with more than 1 person in any space.  Two people living in a 2 bedroom apartment is the sweet spot for splitting rental costs and maintaining some sense of privacy.  Only rent a 2 bedroom apartment where the floorplan has the bedrooms on opposite sides of the apartment.  The best roommate would be your sibling, aunt, uncle, or even parent.  I've seen friends break up due to living together even for short periods of time.    ​

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Renting a room in a house: The more people you live with in a house, the less privacy and the more noise you will deal with.  You will have a better experience living in an apartment with 1 roommate than you would living in a house with 3 other roommates.  The rental rate may be less for the room than it would be for a room in a 2 bedroom apartment, but the more people you live with, the worse the experience.  You don't want to find yourself stuck in your room simply because one of the 3 or 4 other people living in that house with you are a total nightmare.  

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Buying a mobile home and paying lot rent: Awful option. If you don't own the land underneath the mobile home, then you truly don't own it in a sense.  What's stopping the owners of the land from tripling the lot rent, or even selling the property altogether to a buyer that will triple your lot rent?  You can rent out a mobile home in one of these communities, but never purchase a home there.

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Buying a mobile home with land: This is an excellent option so long as the home itself is in good quality, and the area you purchase the home in doesn't have catastrophic weather.  Owning the land means you aren't at the mercy of someone else's business decisions.

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Buying a condo: If you can find a quality condo under $150k with a very low HOA, I'd say that would be a wise investment.  Otherwise you're going to be dumping so much money in property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, interest on your home loan, and maintenance on the property that it's just not worth it.

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