Super basic room vs happiness/depression?

[JamesR]

So, at the end of the month I'm moving out of this $900/mo basement suite that's about 12 minute walk from work. I stayed here for 6 months (4 month lease). The main reason why I ended up here/paying this price was because I was new to town, was looking for a place within walking distance, and was a bit rushed. However, I wasn't really overpaying for what I got - most 1br apartments for rent in the area are closer to $1200.

Now I have a bike, so I can move farther away from work and find a better price.

I was looking at shared accommodation to keep prices down. I found two places, one that was a $600/mo room in a 2br condo, and another that was a $400/mo tiny room in a basement. I decided to go with the $400/mo option even though it's definitely more basic and probably not as nice as the room in a condo. It is in a better location however - closer to library, nofrills grocery store, and the area is lower class so it's bound to be more affordable overall.

One issue that I had with the $900/mo place was that because it was a basement suite when I went inside, I tended to stay inside. Now that I have the bike, that's changed a bit - but still, something I have to watch out for. I was originally planning on getting a place above ground, but when I saw this $400/mo deal, it sounded so good to me that I decided to go with it. It's a 4 month lease so it's not much of a wait if I change my mind. I'm extremely averse to spending money so found it somewhat hard to justify spending the extra $200/mo for a nicer room

Anyways, this means I'll be saving an extra $500/mo. That's pretty nice. That'll be an extra $20k savings in 3 years ($60/mo by 4% SWR). Hopefully I like the room/location enough to stay with it long term.

I'm 33 years old w/ a salaried job of $75k (first salaried job ever, been 6 months now). I've always been super frugal - however, there definitely is a bit of cognitive dissonance with this based on my age & salary. Also, 95% of my co-workers are spending more than $1,100+ a month on rent, even higher if it's a mortgage (Toronto real estate is ridiculous).

Do other people on this forum think that a super basic room in a shared accommodation house is totally normal or do some of you demand a slightly higher standard of living? Why?

How much does it affect you mentally to be in basement room versus above ground with more of sun light?

How much space do you really need in your place? I find that even with my $900/mo room, I'm always on the bed (the couch is kind of crappy). Sharing a bathroom & kitchen doesn't seem like a big deal because how often am I really using those? Anytime I'm not using something, that's wasted space.

[Spartan_Warrior]

IMHO it's the sharing of the living space that makes the most difference in terms of quality of life--not the size or quality of the accommodations. In this example, I would've chosen the cheaper option too. My reasoning would be that if I'm already giving up my privacy living with someone else, the size/location (basement/non-basement) of the room probably wouldn't make the situation any better or worse, so I should just get the cheapest option to get the most pay-off from the sacrifice. That may or may not make sense.

I lived with my parents until 18, lived with various roommates in college dorms/apartments until 21, moved back home at 22 and lived in a basement room until I bought a house at 24. It was a nice basement, with a walk-out/separate entrance, and I can't say it affected me much psychologically to live there (how it affected me to be living with parents is another matter). YMMV.

In case the above didn't make it obvious, I'm not a big fan of sharing accommodations. I currently live in way too much house with 1-2 bedrooms I could rent out if I wanted to. I've been toying with the idea since I bought the place, but it'll probably never happen. I value my privacy too highly. There are things we like to do that I'd rather not give up or share with neighbors or roommates. Having lived without roommates for a few years now, it's hard to imagine going back to a situation where I can't comfortably saunter around naked, have sex whenever, not worry about locking down financial things--and that's just the stuff I care to mention in public.

I do wish that I had held out for something smaller and more efficiently sized, and perhaps that I had rented instead of owned since I don't care for yard and house maintenance at all, but that's another can of worms altogether.

[CactusSurfer]

Well, about 2.5 years ago I went from renting a decent-sized 1 BR apartment to a room in a house when I moved to a new area. It's worked out pretty well--I was using very little space in my apartment, and it didn't feel like a much of a sacrifice to downsize. Keep in mind that I'm frugal, a bit of a minimalist, and keep to myself a lot. Having rented rooms in houses and apartments much of my adult life, I've found that having decent roommates helps your quality of life more than anything else in a shared living situation.

That said, having your own place can be nice if you like to have people over often (for instance, if you like to host parties/get togethers, or you want space for out of town friends and relatives to crash)

As far as basement vs non basement rooms go, I can't really speak too much about it in terms of quality of life. However, you may have to deal with the basement flooding in a climate like Toronto.

[lilacorchid]

I bought a house because I was tired of listing to the F&F cycle of the neighbours.

Now that I have a family, I have to think of their needs too, and if I want to stay married, we need the space. As for where I like my accommodations, I prefer to be able to see out all sides because I need to know what's going on around me. I also need the sunlight or I get weird.

[fuyu]

Even if it didn’t save me money, I would prefer living in a house with other people. It feels too lonely to be living in an apartment alone.

[Riggerjack]

I like basements. Easier to heat, usually don't need cooling. I'm from the PNW, sunlight is for foreigners(Californians).

But I'm aware that others have different needs.

[LonerMatt]

Sharing has its compromises. I've had two shitty housemates, and two excellent ones (one I fell in love with).

Know what's important to you, communicate it clearly and early on. For example, I cannot stand dishes left out unwashed, or people making a lot of noise after about 9pm on a weekday. When I meet new people, see their place, or they see mine I basically lay those two things out.

If people can't/don't live like that I'm just going to be angry and miserable.

[Lou]

Personally I'd prefer to have my own apartment now, although I wonder how lonely I'd get living alone. I think so long as you have enough going on in your life, whether that be work, friends, partners, hobbies, then it's quite a blessing to come home to some peace and quiet at the end of the day!

[Ego]

We've lived in many different places, some short-term and some for as long as several years. I find that my contentment with a particular place has less to do with the actual characteristics of the place and more to do with the story I tell myself about it. A dank, dark basement apartment can be an efficient, peaceful monastic cell, depending on how I look at it. A loud neighbor might drive me crazy or he might be a test of my ability to adapt. Sleeping for more than a few days in a campervan or a tent might induce feelings of homelessness or ultimate freedom. It's about the story.

The need to control the space around us can be an expensive indulgence. The amount of space we must control to feel okay, to feel normal, can increase or decrease in the same way that wearing second-hand clothing or cutting my own hair can make me feel smart or poor. Increasing my tolerance for smaller spaces, my tolerance for how others see my small space and my tolerance for living in close quarters with others, will pay dividends far into the future.

At least that's what I tell myself.

[JamesR]

Ego,

That's the perfect response! Great way of looking at it.

It's definitely the time to challenge myself with minimalism, less is more! I'm even thinking of going through all my possessions, and cataloguing them, and then determining my number for possessions. Some minimalists strive to live with just 100 physical possessions, and that's pretty inspiring!

I'm also feeling super upbeat because that "$500/mo savings" makes me feel powerful, I could allocate that in so many different ways to improve my current lifestyle. It's like free money.