Re: Ping Kilikini


Part of this is based on the fact that it does *not* cost a married couple
twice as much as a single person. That is, a single person without children
will pay approximately as much for a home as a married couple without
children because they obviously do not need to pay for two homes. Likewise,
food costs more for a married couple than for a single person but not a
great deal more because certain ingredients need to be purchased at about
the same amounts.

I see your point, but I also see some flaws in it. I think it depends
on prior standards of living.

If you're a single person and you are living in a bachelor apartment
(basically using your living room as a bedroom, with a kitchen and a
bathroom ) or a rooming house (semi-private bedroom, shared bathroom
and kitchen) you can rent as low as $350/month, whereas a
single-bedroom apartment is twice that in this town. There are a lot
of families who will rent out rooms to singles, but won't allow
couples. And since they're not really "landlords"--they're letting you
share their home for money as opposed to giving you a property of your
own to rent--the laws are hazy and they can be much more restrictive
than rental companies.

While a house is the same price no matter how many live in it, rentals
can be different. You can't fit two people into a rooming house room
very easily, even if it is allowed. You're also assuming the people,
when single, were paying for homes instead of couch-surfing or some
such.

And you can live even cheaper than that--as a single person, I was able
to couch-surf at friends' houses for weeks/months and didn't have a
fixed address or pay rent for the months in between school and military
service. That changed when I became part of a couple and felt the duty
to help provide a permanent home and fixed address for my partner, and
we were paying rent 12 months of the year on an apartment instead of me
rooming for 8 months, barracking free for 3 and couch-surfing for 1.

Once I found myself in a "family," I had expensive obligations I didn't
have when it was just me.

I also felt bad about feeding him the stuff I scadged to eat when I was
single, like the landlord's leftovers or old field rations from the
base. So I felt obliged to cough up my share of purchasing food.

I guess I could've said no, but I don't know how well he would have
adapted to my nomadic lifestyle. I also don't know anyone who would
have let BOTH of us live in their house for under $600/month, which is
what we paid in rent on our first apartment (prior to that, I'd been
paying no more than $400 at the maximum, and often, nothing. I'd never
signed a lease and never rented from a company. And prior to that,
he'd been living with his family as a dependent, for "free" [ie, free
to him, cost borne by his parents along with the cost of his two
brothers].)

--Fil

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Subtenant Rights/Tenant Rights/Social Work
    ... Social security payments plus the rent I pay her ... > in her apartment while I monder whether there may be a way ... non-governmental agencies re. which the links below ought be ...
    (misc.legal)
  • Re: Why I Care About the USD-GBP Exchange Rate
    ... 400-500 for a small apartment. ... The national average house price is currently GBP 200,000 (or ... Worse than I thought for outside of London. ... than I would pay dollars). ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • breaking tennacy?
    ... on a house 2 months ago. ... She cant afford to pay the rent on the ... poor and no doubt she will try and dodge any charges from the agent. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: sinking foundation...and feeling
    ... We've lived in the our current rental house ... The fact is that rent is a fantastic deal ... Most landlords are losing money at the moment, ... time you pay the mortgage, upkeep, fund reserve funds, pay for seasonal ...
    (misc.consumers.house)
  • Re: What Am I doing Wrong?
    ... you pay for rent, that is HUGE for an apartment, Lee ... It's $750 a month, Lee. ... told her about a house for sale where the PITI would have been less ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
Loading