Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I've been looking for housing within 2 miles of Longwood Medical Area in Boston, and it seems likely that I'll have to find a roommate with whom to share a 200-300 sqft studio or bedroom, if I want to keep housing costs under $600/mo. I have friends who are willing to room with me but only if I allow for a larger, thus pricier, place; they don't like the idea of sharing a < 300 sqft room.

I figured that fellow EREs would be more open to sharing a 200-300 sqft room (*). I don't want to turn this into a "looking for roommates" thread since I don't think that's the spirit of this forum, but I'm wondering if people can recommend online forums or communities (Facebook groups, subreddits, etc.) where I'm more likely to find EREs or like-minded people looking for roommates/housing. I haven't found many of these people on Craigslist. Thanks!

(*) A 200-300 sqft room can easily fit 2 twin-sized beds and at least 2 other pieces of furniture like desks or dressers, which is all that's needed for a place mainly used for sleep.

Try reddit.com/r/leanfire

Also if I wasn't married with kids and if I happened to live in Boston...I would be down!

drbl wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:43 pm

I don't want to turn this into a "looking for roommates" thread since I don't think that's the spirit of this forum, but I'm wondering if people can recommend online forums or communities (Facebook groups, subreddits, etc.) where I'm more likely to find EREs or like-minded people looking for roommates/housing. I haven't found many of these people on Craigslist. Thanks!

Actually that's perfectly legit if you post it here:
viewforum.php?f=5

Thanks guys!

WOW sharing a bedroom. Thats very frugal extreme. Hats off to you. I could not do it. Mind you I am in my mid - 30s. But then I dont think I would have been comfortable to do this in my early 20s either. I would probably rather live in a van by myself.

I'm with thrifty, that would be really tough for me.

Ditto to thrifty and 2birds, haven’t done that since college and wouldn’t do so now.

I’m sure you’ve thought it through, but close quarters like that with what will start off as a total stranger can be tough. Everyone needs personal space from time to time and having a door to close goes a long way.

If you haven’t already looked into this, you may be better off renting a room in a larger place with 4-5 roommates. If you have the capital outlay and don’t mind taking the risk you could get a big place yourself and rent out the rooms. I did this in my 20’s and ended up living virtually for free in northern NJ (read: expensive area). Whilst it’s a bit riskier, it puts you in control of the situation and gives you your own space. Best of luck

thrifty++ wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:29 pm

WOW sharing a bedroom. Thats very frugal extreme. Hats off to you. I could not do it. Mind you I am in my mid - 30s. But then I dont think I would have been comfortable to do this in my early 20s either. I would probably rather live in a van by myself.

Did this a lot in the military. For 6 months I shared a bunk bed with someone else in technical training after basic training (aka boot camp)....roommate was not chosen either. Luckily for me I was fortunate to be living with someone who wasn't socially inept, kept things clean, and was rarely around anyhow. Also lived in a tent with 12 others in a tent for 4 months in Afghanistan.

Doable as long as everyone gets along...but conflicts do happen. As far as a normal living situation, I wouldn't go back to it (obviously in the military I had no say in the matter).