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Parenting -- Special Concerns
Any Moms live in a 1 bedroom apt?
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Anonymous
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I realize we moms are on tight budgets. But one apartment complex I am looking at only charges a small difference for one and two bedrooms. Maybe $200 - $300 a month. PP, is that the kind of difference that is VERY significant to you?
I am thinking about the one vs. two bedroom option myself but honestly, with two kids our life is about to get so crazy I thought the extra space would improve all of our mental health, which has a value too. |
Anonymous
| I am the OP and $200-300 is a HUGE difference to me. I already spend slightly more than half of my net salary on our apt (which is in an older complex and is nothing fancy). I make $35K a year (maybe) so having an extra couple thousand dollars a year is a very big deal. I know the rule is that you shouldn't spend more than about one third of your net salary on housing but it costs so much to live in this area that I found the cheapest I could afford. When my son was a baby, child support payments were not guaranteed every month so I did what I could. My one splurge if you will is that I wanted an apt w/ a washer/dryer inside the unit. I knew it would be a huge pain to carry a baby, a bouncy seat or exersaucer and tons of laundry downstairs to the laundry room or to another building. |
Anonymous
| I agree 200 even is a HUGE differnce for me I make 18,000 a year |
Anonymous
That's about 10% of my annual income so yes, it is a HUGE amount of money for me. I don't have any retirement savings so if I could use that extra $3,000 to start an IRA. |
Anonymous
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Yes two hundred makes a HUGE difference especially depending on how much money you bring home.
However, I do understand where PP is coming when she questions if it makes a difference. It may put a mental strain on a mom with two or more kids, but of course this is case-by-case because there are some mothers out there who could still make it through. |
Anonymous
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just another single mom in a one bedroom here. i have a 3yo dd. the only thing that really bothers me about it.....the reactions of other people when i tell them that we live in a one bedroom! i do it because i want to live in the city and i want to dd to go to a certain school. but most people around us have significantly more money and sometimes i feel pretty down about our living standard compared to theirs.
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Anonymous
| I am the OP and I was also thinking what other kids would think if they came over to play w/ my DS. I couldn't care less about what other people think of me b/c the only opinions I value are from friends and family. And they would understand. Does anyone live in a 1 bedroom w/ older kid(s)? |
Anonymous
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As a kid who went to both huge wealthy homes and tiny apartments above businesses, I never judged people’s living situations. I did, however, feel uncomfortable about mine, on occasion. It’s a good learning experience for kids to be exposed to different levels of wealth and different family units, IMO.
The one thing that weirded me out as a kid, however, was filth. I saw it in huge homes and sometimes tiny ones. If you kept a clean home, I thought you were super-cool. Size and toys and stuff like Atari didn’t matter. Baking peanut butter cookies with my friend and her mom, on the other hand, in a tiny one bedroom apartment over top of her grandmother’s garage, still is one of my favorite childhood memories. |
Anonymous
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I thin the PP hit it.. I dont worry what people will think of my tiny pretend apartment that we live in...
I think in the long run the kids will remember the fun they had when with my child |
Anonymous
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I have 1 child and live in a 1 bedroom apartment, and plan on moving into another 1 bedroom soon... as I see the extra bedroom as an unnecessary expense (also, a budget killer). My 5 year old has the bedroom and I have set up the living area as an efficiency apartment with my sleeping area sectioned off. An apartment building should not really have a problem with 2 persons living in one bedroom space. I think that the limit in my building is 4 persons per 1 bedroom.
Go for it, it should be fine... rent is expensive, especially in a good school district |
Anonymous
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You know, considering these financial times we live in, I think you are giving your child a great gift by living in a one bedroom if this is what is financially comfortable for you. Stretching yourself too thin to live in a two bedroom could be a disaster that leaves you living on the street (God forbid). And it's a great trait to model for your kids -- being financially responsible. It sounds trite, but kids need/want love and laughter more than square footage. Truly.
Nothing is forever, either. You might find yourself living in a huge mansion in 10 years.  Hang in there.
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Anonymous
| i live in a one bedroom with dd and am thinking about going down to a studio so that i can go back to school. it won't be forever and the career i will have after graduating will, hopefully, make up for it down the road. |
Anonymous
| My DH & I just finished out our english basement to be a nice 1 bedroom apartment. We were putting out ads at UM trying to find a grad student because we're so close to UMCP. Reading this link has made me think about the whole "it takes a village" mentality and how we should be joining up with other families who are struggling too. In the old days people moved back in with family during hard times to make ends meet. Now I am thinking if we could find a single mother trying to make ends meet we could "join forces" in other ways too. This economy is scaring me to death and I am sure everyone else is scared too. Thanks for this thread, it opened my mind to other options. |
Anonymous
| I would jump at the chance to live in a nice English basement w/ 1 bedroom. Too bad I am not in your area. I contacted a few ads on Craigslist for 1 bedroom English basements and the people thought I was bizarre to want to share it w/ my child. We live w/ my parents now and sometimes I hate telling people that that I just meet. In most cultures, many generations live in the same house. |
Anonymous
Where are you? |