pedex

my rent is only $290/month and im 1.1 miles from the center of downtown, lots of places around here in the $300-$400/month range

Artkansas 

That's one reason I left California. Housing was getting outrageous. I pay about as much for my apartment as I did in L.A. twenty years ago, and my paycheck is larger than I ever made in California.

eofelis 

Rent for our 1 br apt is 475/mo. It's over a 4 car garage. Room enough for 2 people, 2 cats and eek! 10 bikes. $30-40 for home phone, $30 for electric. Keeping 2 old (12 & 15 yrs old) cars on the road (driven intermittently), buy food and other stuff we want/need. That's it.

Within 20 min walking distance: college (I'm a student), grocery, PO, bank, several other stores/shops, a few restaurants, hospital/clinic. Everything else in town in biking distance.

I sadly shake my head at all the McMansions they are building on the outskirts of the city.

When I lived in WY, I had a very nice large apt a few blocks from downtown for $300/mo.

Jerseysbest

$700 a month? I wish. I could maybe get a single room for that much...

fuerein

I seriously don't understand how one can live on less than 600 a month. Admittedly my location kills me on rent (I pay nearly 1400/mo and the cheapest housing that is not public projects is appox. in the 700-800 range). As for the person who spends 150/mo on food, I just have to ask... how?! Assuming that one eats 2 meals a day and a month is 30 days, you are only spending 2.50/meal. What are you eating ALOT of plain pasta? Personally a more realistic number from my experience for eating cheaply comes down to about 5/meal (I actually like some fresh fruit and produce in my meals and I like cooking actual food) which means you spend a minimum of 300/mo on food.

pedex

beans n rice
homemade wheat bread made from scratch
potatoes
pasta

Foods like this dont cost much, keep the meat consumption down and stay away from expensive extras and it doesnt cost much for food each month, I cook prettymuch everyday and almost everything is done from scratch, my food bill is about $135/month and I eat about 4000 cals per day. I get fresh produce which is in season from the local farmers market and it costs about 10-20% of what the grocery store charges. The tradeoff is time, it takes time and effort to do these things.

Dahon.Steve

These are incredible prices. It goes to show you how inexpensive it is to live in the U.S. Only people on Section 8 housing have that kind of rent on the east cost.

recursive

My 1 bedroom is $535 including utilities. It's big enough for me, a cat, and 4 bikes. It's in the center of downtown. There are probably hundreds of shops and restaurants within an 8 block walk.

Roody

I pay $650 for a large and truly stunning (if I do say so myself) one BR apartment on the park. I could rent a brand-new loft near downtown for $585. Although these were snapped up so fast, I bet they'll be raising rents there soon.

I could do better on food prices. I do enjoy top-quality organic stuff, for which I pay a little premium. I save a lot because my other tastes are pretty simple--library books instead of buying new books; public computers instead of my own; only eat out once or twice a week; and then at inexpensive ethnic restaurants; I buy a lot of second hand furniture and clothing; and of course the biggest savings of all--NO CAR.

CTAC

I bet you saved far more than that when you decided to go "open minded"

mister

I rented a room in a house for $450/ month plus $30 for utilities while in college. I need to get out of California.

kevink159

$435 per month for EVERYTHING. I live in a co-op house. My share is $435 for food, property taxes, utilities, heat, electricity, supplies (toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, etc). Our house is on a lake in the middle of downtown Madison, Wi. The capitol is 4 blocks away, the UW - Madison is 2, and the main shopping district is 2 blocks away. Right now 37 people live here and a total of 5 have cars.

I-Like-To-Bike

How big is that house with 37 people living in it? Is it a fraternity house?

kevink159

It's 5 stories, probably comparable to a frat house. There are 31 bedrooms, and you can have a roommate if you wish. I think everyone with a roommate currently is a couple. There is a HUGE, restaurant size kitchen, and a great room for social interaction. There is a quiet room for reading (with a decent library), and 9 or 10 bathrooms. There are a couple of storage rooms downstairs, with room for 25 or so bikes inside plus the outside bikerack.

Hippykid

Is this the one that i saw on myspace???

kevink159

It might be on Myspace, I don't really know.

crtreedude 

We only pay 260 dollars a rent for one of the best homes in our area - with about 3 acres of land. Utilities average about 40 dollars a month...

NevisBob

I teach in a school down here on Nevis; almost all money goes home to wife and daughter who won't be down for another 10 months. I live pretty happily with a view of the beach and the volcano for about $800 a month. That includes $475 for rent, $100 for power (that's no a/c, very expensive stuff down here), broadband (in lieu of a phone), and the rest, putting aside some money to fly home each semester. Commute by bike or walk most places.

knobster

Wow, this is the way to live. Too bad people like to be so disconnected nowadays.

TheBrick

Some of you guys have increadable rent. I live in the cheapest part of town that I know unless you go further out and away from public transport (I am still 13 miles from the center of London or 40 min on the train) and pay £550 p/m with my girlfriend in rent for a small one bed flat excluding all bills. About £90 -100 on council tax plus £10 of electric + gas in summer £20 in winte + some some other random 3 month bills. So that is (550 +90 +10)/2=£325 approx minimum $605 USD + the other random 3 monthly bills just for a roof over my head. I have the cheapest rent of anyone I know most people pay £400 - £500 ($744 -931 USD) a month just in rent I don't have a high income either. This is one of the many things I hate about London

xscoutx

ctac, i'm female and my partner of 6 years is, yes, female!

wheel

[


Rent: I still live in an apartment with a roomie in the midwest, $270 /mon
Food: Cook mostly, $140 (grocery) + $50(some lunches outside just in case)
Utility: $40(electric+heating), we don't used gas. My apartment has internet and cable
included in the rent, but actually I can live without them. I do most of the surfing
in my office.
Phone: $70/mon, a family plan with my gf, who is living about 3hr away.
Car: Because of my gf, I can't live car-free (otherwise I'll be gf-free). I visit her every two weeks
during weekend. It costs me about $60 for gas. Locally I ride my bike to work.
Insurances: Health + auto = $60/mon

Total=$690
how about yours?[/quote]

That is pretty cheap, So cheap that is unbeliveable.
I rent 450 a month a guest house check the zip smokin dump.

I pay double almost everything you pay. I have a bus pass, I even pay more than double for your H/auto insurance and I dont even own a car. I pay for a phat pipe, and don't own a tv. I save though in cell, eating out (I go to the groccery instead so I eat out all the time), Gas (ick), and food. Work provides free food.


3hrs away, rather tough to be car free and not hardly any cost maybe motorcycle Lite. Or bicycle half way
You could find a regular ride that would help out maybe go car free.
Any public transportation options. Amtrack maybe?

Sounds like she needs to give and take IN my opinion if she loved me maybe once a month. Cause once would be enough. 12 hours in a cage no thank you lady.

DrG0

Ditto, ya gotta say that renting in the UK is not the way to go but who wants to get into a lifetime of debt - given the difference between house prices (at the moment) and what I'm gonna earn this year

I think trying to save up a bit for when things even out is best...

Tom Stormcrowe

Vonage, $24.95 + tax, unlimited long distance, including Western Europe UK, All of N. America, and Mexico

Travelin' Jack

I just started living car free after reading (and reading and reading) BF.net since early this summer. My car insurance ran out last Friday. Today biking in to work it was 33 degrees with a 25 mph headwind, and I couldn't be happier.

My expenses:
$390 rent and utilities - living with two roommates
$300 food - I could get by on a lot less, but I have a soft spot for Subway
$50 cell phone
$50 miscellaneous - occasional bus pass, household items

Total of $790 a month living in Las Vegas in a nice part of town. I'm now living on just a fraction of my income. I can't believe how simple and rewarding this is. Getting rid of my car has cut my expenses literally in half, and I rarely used it as it was.

My friends and relatives think I'm insane. It's good to be insane.