This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoy being a renter. Yes, there are a gazillion financial benefits to homeownership, but as someone who isn't particularly tied down, I'm okay with landlords and leases for the time being.
Don't get me wrong, it's expensive. Sometimes, when I'm craving change, I browse apartment listings before quickly becoming baffled at the price of any decent place in my area.
Gone are the days when you could reside in the West Village on a columnist's salary, paying $700 for a spacious, rent-controlled brownstone...
Of course, rent depends on where you live, the unit itself, and whether or not you share a space. With the cost of living so bonkers right now, I'm curious to know what you paid for your first-ever monthly rent back in the *good old days*. I'll go first: I'm now 30 years old, but when I started renting in my early 20s, I paid $800 to live in an expensive area of Chicago.
I shared the place with one roommate, and our two-bedroom unit was actually pretty spacious and included a backyard, which is rare for urban living. However, we didn't have a dishwasher or in-unit laundry.
