How to Save Big Money on Housing Costs in Expensive Areas of the Country

Here's a comment left on my post titled How to Eliminate Housing Costs:

I grew up not far from the insanely expensive Palo Alto. I house sat for 6 months in college (friend went to Europe for 6 months), and the rest of the time lived with roommates to cut costs way down. I always roll my eyes though at pathetic attempts to live on minimum wage (experiments) where they move into the crappiest apartment on the bad side of town. I rented a large house with roommates on the good side of town - had a room to myself even. But it cost 1/2 what a studio apartment would have cost me to live alone. Just another strategy to save money in a pricey area. Doesn't have to be forever, but gets you on your feet.

Anyway, with the roomies I ended up doing lots of house-sitting gigs for money as well - weeks/weekends. But yes it helps to get creative in expensive areas.

Yes, if you're willing to be flexible and creative, this is a great way to save some money.

When I got out of college, I moved to Cincinnati which was not the most expensive place in the world. However, I wanted to live in an expensive area of the city where the nightlife was active (I was young then -- I'd NEVER live there now.) Anyway, I was able to do this by getting a couple of roommates -- one guy I knew from school/work and a friend of his. We had a great place in a great area of town for less than what I would have paid for an average apartment anywhere else.

Maybe some of you reading this simply need to get creative to save a huge amount on your housing costs. Anyone else doing something unusual to save a bundle?

Comments

[Mo]

This isn't creative -- this is the norm for expensive cities. I am a young professsional in DC, and EVERY single person I know in their 20s here lives with roommates. I found mine on craigslist, and I know a great deal of people who found their roommates the same way.

I literally have no idea how I would be able to afford living here otherwise.

[tinyhands]

This, and Mo's comment, make it sound really unappealing (no offense) for someone in his 30s (me) to move to a more expensive city without a guaranteed bump in pay. I think I want to move to NYC, but I don't want to HAVE to have a roommate at my age and I hate the thought of giving up my 2000 sqft townhome for a 600 sqft shoebox.

[Minimum Wage]

What's with the eye-rolling over "pathetic [experiments] to live on minimum wage"?

I've lived on minimum wage for decades - for a human, that's "almost forever" - so it's not just an experiment.

The reader might try it - maybe their condescending attitude might change.