I don’t know if this is particularly helpful, but it helped me be less down on myself.
My rent is $1200. I bring home around $2400 a month – so 50% of my income goes to housing, which has bugged me quite a bit.
But housing is notoriously expensive and I really do not want to live with a roommate, but I still felt bad about spending so much on a place that isn’t even luxurious.
Anyway, I saw someone here talk about the pros of living in an expensive apartment that is close to things vs. a cheaper apartment that is super far away.
In my case, yes my apartment is expensive, but because it is close to work and shops and everything else,
Because I live close to things, I save a lot of time – less commute, promotes walking which is good for physical health, can sleep in more/arrive home earlier.
I realised that I need to factor other things in to housing costs besides just the actual act of living.
There are cheaper places POTENTIALLY, but the people that own them probably will be scummy – do I want to deal with bed bugs, roaches, etc?
I could move farther away, but then I’d have to either commute longer or get a cheap car – do I want to/can I make that investment? Is it worth it?
Idk, this new mindset made me feel a lot less guilty over my high rent cost. I like that I can walk pretty much everywhere from my home. I like that I found a job super close. I like that I don’t have to take a bus anywhere unless I want to go to the mall for…whatever reason.
Tl;dr living in a more expensive downtown unit is saving me time and money when it comes to commuting, as well as making me healthier by promoting walking everywhere, so the higher cost for someone who does not have a lot of income actually may still be an okay move… thanks to the person on here who said this first!!!