Not all of us have the luxury of being able to afford our own home. Which pretty much leaves renting as the only option left. And for many of us, the struggle can be very real…
#1. You can’t put anything up on the walls.
A fresh coat of powder blue paint? That’s not allowed. Picture frames and shelving? Forget it, not even the smallest of holes in the wall are allowed. Guess your dream Pinterest room will have to wait.
#2. There’s always that damned two month deposit requirement.
Who can even afford to pay that much up front? It’s hard enough keeping up with rental payments alone.
#3. In the interest of saving, sometimes the air conditioning or heating has to stay off.
Because you’d rather use the money to pay off your college loan than to engage in such ‘luxuries’.
#4. Sharing a bathroom can be a nightmare.
You may or may not have 5,000 microscopic, unicellular roommates living on the floor of your toilet because everyone refuses to scrub this area of the house.
#5. The owner needs 8 months, a jar of unicorn tears, and someone’s first-born child before she can do the repairs.
You’ve endured weeks of washing dishes in the shower because the sink plumbing was wonky. One time your ceiling fell through and you had to stare at an abyss above your living room.
#6. If it’s not leaking, it’s squeaking.
Rain inside of your apartment? Yup, you’ve gone through that. How about a rodent infestation? Hell, you’ve lived through it all.
#7. Should you renew the lease or nah?
It’s that dreaded end-of-contract time again. Suddenly your landlady becomes extra friendly and just randomly drops by ‘to see how you’re doing’.
#8. Because lease renewal means a bumped up monthly rental.
You have seriously contemplated living on the streets.
#9. And looking for a new place can make you lose your mind.
Going through pages of rental ads, viewing five houses a day, feeling defeated when the place you want is way over your budget — house hunting is like a slow descent into madness.
#10. Most of the nice apartments don’t allow pets.
Even a midget chihuahua would mean you can no longer refund your deposit. Good thing your parents are happy to dog-sit for you until you can get a place that’s Fido-friendly.
#11. For the majority of us, tenancy agreements are the first legal documents we come across.
There’s too many words! Get it away from me!
#12. Moving is a b*tch — who knew you had so much stuff?
You barely have enough clothes to last a week, but somehow all your little baubles can barely fit into the back of a pickup truck. How… ?
#13. The logistics of mattress-moving is statistically impossible.
You don’t have a big enough car, and you can’t even afford to hire someone to do it. But since you’re running out of options, you end up shelling a month’s worth of gas money so you don’t have to sleep on the cold floor.
#14. You have to clean the muck the previous tenants left.
OH. HELL. NO.
#15. Sometimes there’s no fridge.
So you end up finishing every meal in one sitting so the ants don’t get to have a feast on your kitchen table.
#16. Neighbors can be such a pain.
We can hear EVERYTHING. The walls are paper-thin, Hugh Hefner.
#17. Sometimes you can’t avoid getting a roommate from hell.
They steal your food, leave unwashed dishes on the sink for days, or conveniently “forget” to pay rent. AGAIN.
#18. Paying over 50% of your salary on a place that’s not even yours just sucks.
Every time you hand over your rental payment, a tiny piece of your soul dies.
#19. But at the end of the day, it’s a place you call home.
It might be high-maintenance, and far from perfect, but it’s the flaws that give it character and charm. Someday, you’ll look back at your tiny rental and say, “I spent some of the best years of my life in that place”.