“Well, you kids just run upstairs and make me some grandbabies, OK?”
I think the point here is that the goals you have don’t match your likely prospects.
If your goal is to move from your parent’s place into a nice house without a lengthy commute in Toronto, you aren’t looking to live with your parents for a couple of years or so, but for far longer than that. Unless the real estate “bear marketers” are right and Toronto is due for a catestrophic real estate price deflation, or your employment proves to be extremely remunerative, it would probably be at least a decade - if not more - before you could really afford such a place with any degree of financial safety.
Which means you’re going to have to be aggressive in your job search, which means looking far and wide for positions, not just in Toronto. It’s a bit premature to discuss the virtues and drawbacks of moving in with your parents in Toronto when for all you know next year will find you accepting employment in Winnipeg.
Job first. Housing options second. That’s the order in which the game is played.
[bolding mine] You leave me with the impression that “guests” were never much of an issue for you.
Seems you’ve calculated your life and finances (present and future) down to the last cent. Puzzles me why a smart college graduate like you can’t figure out the simple formula for how much to pay your mom and dad for letting you overstay your welcome.
Let’s see now… must be a simple formula… it’s just the three of you?
How about:
- Market cost by square footage of your room and bathroom and closet.
- 1/3 of rest of common space (kitchen, basement, living room, closets for storage)
- Subtract your parents bedroom and bathroom (Can’t have them living off your hard earned savings!)
- 1/3 all utilities
- 1/3 property taxes
- 1/3 property maintenance (lawn, snow removal
- 1/3 house cleaning
- 1/3 food and common household items
- Do you use the family car? Your car insurance and gas and maintenance.
Add it all up and that ought to put your mind at ease for how much you should be paying for a roof over your head.
And oh yeah, you might want to discuss that “guest” policy with them as well.
In your OP you said you thought you’d live with your parents for the first few years of your working life. I thought that meant you were confident you could get a job after graduation. It does change the equation if you can’t, but you still do have a lot of money saved and you could afford to live off that for a time while you look for a job.
So don’t sign a multi-year lease. I doubt you’d be offered one anyway - that would never happen here - but maybe things work differently in the Great White North. In that situation you’d be on the hook for a few months at most and you could afford that. Although in real life you could also find a subletter to take over your lease anyway.
Try this instead. Ontario youth unemployment is 16%+ instead of your overall “7%” unemployment. As well, a lot of youth are underemployed or stuck in dead-end jobs. “Guaranteed” is relative. I’ve never had trouble returning to employment at McDonald’s, even when starting out during the Great Recession.
Spending thousands of dollars per year on living arrangements when you don’t need to does not prove one is not a child, it proves one is bad with money
Much depends on the stage of the relationship, your personal position on things, and your parent’s personalities.
If you end up in a steady and socially-recognized relationship, the situation is very much different than if you are fooling around with a bunch on one-nighters.
If your address is in as well-to-do an area as you said, they wouldn’t they be able to tell when they read it on your resume? If you could afford it on your own, it would be unlikely you’d be applying entry-level anywhere.
I’m not the one that claimed I’m guaranteed a minimum wage job. You are.
Not so much an issue. He could lie and say he’s renting the basement apartment.
It is basically guaranteed in my personal situation as I still work there part-time. As well, I’ve received some initial PhD offers from some (albeit lesser-known) universities for after graduation and the $25k/year or so stipend is basically a guaranteed above minimum job.
Holy shit!
I lived in Toronto and Mississauga and settled here in lovely Burlington cause that’s where my job is.
People are commuting to Toronto from Guelph, FFS, Burlington just ain’t that far, honey.
Anyway, in terms of apartments, were I single and had a freshly minted entry level job paying what you think yours will I would be looking at places like this:
http://www.viewit.ca/vwExpandView.aspx?ViT=145038
College and Spadina close enough for you?
Do you know how I found that apartment and many more on the subway line but farther from downtown but cheaper? I googled. You know, google?
Also, commuting from Brampton without a car is a bitch, I agree. But you know what? Every community around here has a downside. Want cheaper? Longer commute. End of story.
Now, if you were really smart, you would get a job where you can telecommute and live wherever you can afford.
Wait, you have offers for jobs and you’re sitting here quoting scare-statistics about how unemployment is so bad? Come ON. You have jobs lined up, effectively sidestepping the unemployment problem, and you’re in this thread worrying about your nest egg magically disappearing if you move out or something?
Man, I started out working $10 an hour and paid for my independence by living with roommates for a year to cut costs. The year after I moved cities to one that was actually going somewhere and landed a salaried job at 30k. Supported my husband while he searched for a job, no roommates. I never went into debt, I never dipped far into my savings, and I learned a whole freakin’ lot. Now I have a growing nest egg and absolutely lovely job prospects on the horizon. The year I graduated was 2009 and it took me only 5 months before I had the first job and 3 months until I had the second job. Don’t act like living on $10 an hour and moving up is some sort of impossibility. You obviously have the skills to succeed somewhere in there to get the offers, so you’re only holding yourself back now.
Hell, with 50k I’d be out there starting my own business, not whining about how the offers I’m getting aren’t good enough or something.
I lived in Toronto from 1976 to 1982. Obviously a lot has changed. You live in the second largest country in the world - expand your horizons and look for work elsewhere.
As a point of information, 56% of millennials between 18-24 live with their parents. Between 25 and 31 years of age it is 16%.
More than 1/3 of people aged 18-31 in the US live with their parents.
And remember that “elsewhere” can include the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as cities outside of Toronto. You’re not necessarily restricted to Canada when it comes to looking for employment.
I hope you’re willing to subject yourself to their (foolish) laughter, or it’ll be a long time before you can afford a house, and meanwhile you’ve walked away from substantial sums of money – at least, in any market where housing prices are rising.
If it’s dirty, that’s your fault. I’ve lived in and known people who’ve lived in low-rent places, and places with maintenance issues, but not dirty ones because THEY CLEAN THE DAMN PLACE UP, paint, whatever.
I applaud your hesitation to dig into your savings. Sure, save that up for a down payment. Great plan. Don’t dig into it to buy a car, if you don’t have to.
Live with your parents until you find your first job. Then you’ll be able to budget, and know what you can afford, and where you’ll be working.
If you get by fine on public transport, great! If not, find a suitable used car that’s at least 6 or 8 years old. You’ll save tons on insurance. Most of the cost of insurance is coverage on the vehicle itself. If you drive an old car whose bluebook value is low, you can skip coverage on your car completely: you have that $50K plus whatever else you’ll save up. Insurance is to handle costs you can’t afford. No point paying for what you don’t need. Always get the highest deductible you can find. You’ll find that in these circumstances, insurance is far less than you think.
If you do stay with your parents:
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Pay them a reasonable rent. Don’t ask, just pay. If they refuse, insist. Follow this rule only if you have any pride.
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Be on the lookout for ANY job you can do around the house – especially if you don’t have a job yet. Don’t wait to be asked to take out the trash, shovel the driveway, or mow the grass. When you’re unemployed, even if spending 4-to-8 hours a day looking for work, this is easy. When you’re your folks’ age, you’ll understand what I’m saying, if you don’t get it already.
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Expect it to be a hindrance on romance.
Finally: for your first house, don’t buy the house you need, buy the one you can afford. I had to learn this lesson from my wife (bless her!) She convinced me to agree to buy an old and small house in a less-than-ideal neighborhood. I said it wasn’t big enough for us, our kid, my hobbies, etc. And it wasn’t, but she pointed out that it was better to buy what didn’t quite fit than to continue renting.
Well, that house was a bit small for us (mostly, me and my music stuff) and wasn’t a perfect fit, but we made compromises, fixed it up a bit, and made it a great place to live for nearly three years. The neighborhood turned out to be great too; we met people we’re still friends with 25 years later. Plus we could walk to downtown, and property values were rising thanks to “gentrification”. When we sold, we made out very well, and were able to get a house that did fit us.
The thing is, when you buy a house, you pay 20% (we actually paid 5%, with PMI) and borrow the rest. Say it’s a $100K house, to make the numbers easy. Say it sells for $125K a few years later. That looks like a 25% profit, but it’s actually considerably better, since the cost is only $20K plus monthly payments. This is called “leverage” and it’s what you can get if you buy a house using a mortgage. Only a fool laughs at someone who buys a house with potential for value increase, using a mortgage.
Something tells me “romance” isn’t much of an issue for this bloke.
You need to grow up. Find yourself a one-bedroom flat or a bedsit to rent near your place of work.
And you’ve received PHD offers with a stipend? Go for them.