Moving out?

LegacyUser

Hi there!

I am currently living in Dublin and working as a Bartender [for the past 7 or 8 months], and for the most part I really enjoy living here. Lately though, I am finding that Dublin is very expensive. I live very close to town [Dublin 2], which is great because you dont need to get a Bus or a Taxi, but the rent is 550 euro a month. The flat, which I share with 1 relation and and another person, is very big, and I am aware of how some people are paying more for alot less, but I just cant seem to hack it anymore. I can just about cover rent, but then I've got practically nothing left for bills, food not to mention to go out for a drink or buy some clothes or something.

I've discussed with my relative that we should get another tenant, there's 4 rooms, but only 3 are being used. I've even said that I'd take the small room [small is an understatement, seriously] but she doesnt want to, she says that one non-related tenant is enough as it is, that she wants to be able to come back home to relax and unwind from working a very stressful job and would find another person living here infringing on her space.

I can understand where she is coming from. But I can no longer afford to live here. The realistic choice is to move out, but I cant actually afford thaht, since I havent anything for a deposit or such. My only choice here is to live in a hostel for a couple of weeks, which I dont look forward to but is my only hope. I guess none of this would be such a big deal if the relative wasnt A) my sister and the flat wasnt my second home since I was 8 years old. I love living here. There's lots of memories here. I enjoy living with my sister and our other flatmate. I guess the answer is obvious, move into to a hostel til I can afford a deposit and hope my sister doesnt throw all my stuff out in the meantime, but what kind of things should I be thinking about now? Like does anybody know how much your average 1 bedroom apartment/bedsit costs? How much would a deposit be? What are the pitfalls when looking for flats etc?

I'm just 21 now, and I havent really done flat-hunting before. Any advice is very appreciated. Thank you.

Beruthiel

have you thought this through?
yes, you might be able to find something outside the city centre that will be a bit cheaper, but you will probably make up the difference on bus fair?
550 is not that bad, and it sounds to me like you will not find a place like you have now that easy.
have you told your sister that you are thinking of moving out? won't she be stuck with two lodgers then, something she didn't want in the first place.
Perhaps she would come to an arragement with you if she knew you were moving

LundiMardi

sounds like your sister is being very selfish to be honest, there's an extra room for gods sake. Just rent it out, *thats* the obvious answer. Tell your sister to **** off, she may want peace but you can barely afford to live.

Virus_Inc

And also living in a hostel may not be much cheaper... esp this time of year, plus its less convenient, etc

seamus

I agree with Ber. You will find, if you move out to somewhere with cheaper rent, that you end up paying more on busses, and on taxis when you're working late/early. You'll end up becoming lonely because you haven't got the time or the money to get busses to see your friends/sister. And I'd choose broke over lonely any day.

Is there any possibility of woking more hours? Does your job leave you free during the day to do part-time work elsewhere, etc? I would be of the opinion that if you're not making enough money to remain where you are (particularly as a barman), then you should find a new job or work more hours.

LundiMardi

if your sister REALLY doesn't want anyone else there, then tell her to help you out with rent, otherwise she won't really have a choice.

skywalker

LundiMardi wrote:

sounds like your sister is being very selfish to be honest, there's an extra room for gods sake. Just rent it out, *thats* the obvious answer. Tell your sister to **** off, she may want peace but you can barely afford to live.

Its her place. He's got no right to TELL her anything.

Imposter

Have you had a look at where you are spending your money? If you work full-time then that much rent shouldn't be that excessive. You might be amazed at where some of your money actually gets spent if you look at it in detail. If that doesn't provide a solution then you need a different job or another job.

Also, as has been pointed out, transport costs will eat up any savings you think you'll make from living somewhere else.

LundiMardi

skywalker wrote:

Its her place. He's got no right to TELL her anything.

he never said it was her place.

I think she'd rather help him out and keep him there rather than bring in a completel stranger.

Seraphina

simply point out to your sister that you cant afford it unless you get another tenant, and if she doesn't agree you'll have to move out and then she'll HAVE to rent a room to a stranger and she'll end up on her own with two strangers and no relatives in the flat to back her up.

skywalker

LundiMardi wrote:

he never said it was her place.

I think she'd rather help him out and keep him there rather than bring in a completel stranger.

Apologies I must have misread the original post. Thought it said it was the sisters place.

Beruthiel

seamus wrote:

then you should find a new job or work more hours.

agreed
time to make more money

Gilgamesh

tis a bit of a bad situation.
one thing seem to be for sure, you can't afford to move out.
so what is left?

1. ask your sister if she can help you out (which I wouldn't say is a long term solution)

2. Get yourself another job, which would help you out with more money, but would tire yo uout more

3. get yourself a new job entirely, with better pay, etc. if you are lucky.

4. ask your boss for a pay rise (not many people think of this, but can help sometimes)

just out of interest, if you have been doing this job for 7 to 8 months, how did you cope with all the costs during that time, something must have changed, or I didn't notice that there was a huge cost increase in this area anyway.

kasintahan

Basic logic?
If you can't affford to stay then you will have to move out.

Therefore if you cannot afford to stay then somebody else (a stranger) will have to be found to replace you.

You will be able to stay if both you and the stranger live in the house.

So a stranger will be staying in the house irrespective of whether you do or not.

WhiteWashMan

LundiMardi wrote:

sounds like your sister is being very selfish to be honest, there's an extra room for gods sake. Just rent it out, *thats* the obvious answer. Tell your sister to **** off, she may want peace but you can barely afford to live.

i dont agree at all.

if i was in that situation, then i certainly wouldnt want an extra body in the house.

the problem is the OP's, not the sisters. the sister does not have to give up her way of life to accomodate him.

he has to learn to stand on his own two feet. if it means earning more money through odd jobs, more hours etc, then so be it.

by the way, if this is a question abo9ut living and stuff, then here is fine, if the query is about rent and places to live, i suggest the OP put up a similar question in the accommodation form under the shop catagory.

dalk

Personally, i would get a loan to cover deposit, move out and buy a bike. You should be able to get a good sized room for €400+ euro sharing in a house that would still be in easy striking distance to city center... You *might* even end up living with some cool people. My experience of moving in with complete strangers was mostly positive... Made some good friends along the way. Also the more people in the house the more ways the bills get split...

LundiMardi

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i dont agree at all.

if i was in that situation, then i certainly wouldnt want an extra body in the house.

the problem is the OP's, not the sisters. the sister does not have to give up her way of life to accomodate him.

he has to learn to stand on his own two feet. if it means earning more money through odd jobs, more hours etc, then so be it.

by the way, if this is a question abo9ut living and stuff, then here is fine, if the query is about rent and places to live, i suggest the OP put up a similar question in the accommodation form under the shop catagory.

I do agree, and yet don't.

Yes the sister shouldn't have to give up her way of life, but why should the op have to move out when the solution is obvious? Another person in the house wouldn't make that much of a difference, saying you need your own space is meaningless, that's what bedrooms are for. If i were the sister i certainly wouldn't mind filling an empty room if it meant my brother wouldn't move out.

As has already been said, if he moves out then she'll have no choice but to bring in a stranger.

WhiteWashMan

LundiMardi wrote:

I do agree, and yet don't.

Yes the sister shouldn't have to give up her way of life, but why should the op have to move out when the solution is obvious? Another person in the house wouldn't make that much of a difference, saying you need your own space is meaningless, that's what bedrooms are for. If i were the sister i certainly wouldn't mind filling an empty room if it meant my brother wouldn't move out.

As has already been said, if he moves out then she'll have no choice but to bring in a stranger.

2 things.

the 'obvious solution' for you may not be good for someone else. the suggestion is indeed worthwhile, but the OP has already said she doesnt want someone else in the house.

and two
the issue may not be another stranger inthe house, but the number of people in the house. id rather have less people in a house share tbh. of course, i live with my partner, so it doesnt effect me, but when i have shared a house, having less people is definately better.


the problem is still the OP's. he is the one thast has to figure out a solution.
personally, id stay where i was, struggle on, and figure out a way to either reduce my outgoings, or gain more incomings.

by the way, it seems to me that 550 yoyos a month for a city centre house with only 3 people in it is a ludicrously low amount. as a barman youve got to be earning at least 3 times that?
i think some simple budgeting would probably go a long way to sorting out your money problems.

Gilgamesh

I agree with WWM on this completely.

the OP is not living in the place alone, so he will have to respect the will of the other two in the place.
550 Euros for the D2 area is extremely low, I have lived around there enough to make this statement.

as a lot of threads in boards can prove, just one extra person in a place can cause mayhem, just has to be the wrong type of person and bang!, all the harmony in the place is out of the window.

I live with one flatmate at the moment and think it is more than enough, allthough we have three bedrooms, you do'nt want to have to get agreements from more than one person to be able to do something at your gaff.

LegacyUser

Somebody asked how I managed to keep things ticking over until now, the answer being I worked two jobs for awhile, one in a library and the other in a bar that paid slightly better than average. I found it very hard going though, I know if I got another job, I'd have this problem licked. It's just very tiring, and even more so since the Bar I work at now is also has a late-license and is large. We dont finish on a quiet night til 3 or half and on a busy night til 4 or 5 sometimes. I've been thinking about switching jobs, since I often get sent home from work on slow nights, and that is really affecting my income, plus my hours were cut back.

I dont think my sister is being selfish. She does work a VERY stressful job, and puts alot of hard-work into that. This is her home, I just live here. I guess I could learn how to manage money more effectively also, I tend to buy take-away food alot or gone to Spar when I could have gone to Tesco or when I could have gone to Lidl or Aldi. I guess getting another tenant is the quick-fix, easy solution from a person looking for a quick-fix. To be honest, I just dont know how to do this. I havent the best coping skills. I dont have any experience in this. I felt though if I didnt talk about this or discuss it with people who are 'in' the know, I'd crack-up. I appreciate all of your advice, thank you.

LundiMardi

well there's your main problem, you just can't manage your money. Cut down the take aways to once every couple of weeks. There is a HUGE difference in price between spar and dunnes/tesco.

secret_squirrel

Lidl/Aldi are even better bets.
Learn to cook -big hearty meals like spag bol and stews - stuff that you can put in the fridge/freezer and have over a number of days. They are really easy (honestly) There is no great skill to cooking simple good food. If necessary get a cookbook - not a Jamie Oliver type one - someone who does plain food well and offers robust recipes that taste yummy even if you dont follow the instructions too closely. My recommendation would be a Nigel Slater book - simple and delicious. But its horses for courses.

Its very easy to pad out stews and other meat dishes with lots of vegetables if you are on a budget.

Salads with tinned fish etc work out reasonably cheaply too.

One thing you havent clarified - is your sister renting or does she own the flat?

Look for a new place around the €400 mark that way you only have to scrape together €250 euro extra to make a deposit and 1 months rent together.

If you spend a lot of money on booze cut it out for a month.

Fobia

Macaroni & cheese is easy to make, can feed many if you make a lot of it and it's good for a while (ie it tastes nice cold too), just to add to the change of cooking idea..