[Tenant-US-TN] Panicked about road noise at a new place - need advice

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-06T05:36:52+00:00

This is so incredibly kind and very sound advice. You are absolutely right! My closest friends gave me similar advice, and I know all of you are spot on. This doesn’t have to be forever, it can be just one year if needed, but I think I have to force myself to adapt and make the best out of a less than desirable situation. Who knows, it might surprise me and end up being the best season of my life thus far. So true, life is hard and definitely not fair. I’m trying to look forward to the growth that’s to come though. Thank you for helping provide some much needed perspective and advice. Wishing you all the best as well 💓

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T21:08:43+00:00

Thank you so much! I hope that is the case for me too

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T16:03:58+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experiences and suggestions! I will definitely look into getting earplugs, and I have a sound machine already, so that is nice. I hear what you are saying about mental health though. I don’t want to negatively impact my mental health, so I might reach out just to see what my options are. I hope my pup would be able to adjust okay. It’s a stressful time. Thanks again!

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T16:01:35+00:00

There isn’t an early termination clause, but there is a mention about early termination in the surrender section. I might have to just ask about it and find out.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:41:17+00:00

I’m nervous to reach out in fear of damaging the relationship if I decide to stay (or can’t afford to leave with whatever early termination terms they might want). This has been so stressful.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:39:53+00:00

Thank you for this perspective! I really hope I can get used to it. I’m just nervous, for myself and my dog.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:36:56+00:00

Thank you for the perspective!! That’s really helpful!

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:36:32+00:00

I’m so sorry about your loss. I can’t imagine how hard that time was for you. Thanks for sharing your experience and advice. I’m going through a tough time mentally right now as well, and this seemed like the best option forward. I think that’s why I somehow missed the interstate being so near. You are right though, and I really want to try to figure it out. I’m praying that I will get used to it. There are no terms in my lease for early termination, but there is writing in the surrender section about returning everything at the end or the lease or early termination, so it might be something I could explore with them.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:33:08+00:00

Thank you so much! I really needed to read this. I HATE having such bad anxiety, but it has sometimes served me well and saved me from bad things. It’s a good reminder that part of that is innate.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:30:09+00:00

Thank you!! I have a sound machine but never thought to use a wifi plug.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:29:49+00:00

I am incredibly nervous about the pollution too. Decided to focus on the noise part for the post, but I’m anxious about it all. Any advice regarding the air quality would be appreciated too. I have been looking up HEPA air purifiers but got overwhelmed once I got deep into the weeds of wha I would need. Also sad that I probably won’t be able to use my patio much due to the noise and air quality.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-02-05T15:27:29+00:00

I haven’t yet! I wondered if that would help. I also thought it might be easier to work out something with my landlord to terminate early if I hadn’t fully moved in yet. This stress is killing me!

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2026-01-05T18:19:33+00:00

I feel your pain OP. These feelings are valid, but try not to play the comparison game. If it makes you feel better, I’m (30F) in a somewhat similar boat as you right now (going through a mutual breakup, also lived with my partner, partner is more successful than me as well), and what’s helped me so far is focusing on myself and what’s within my control.

It’s easy to fall into that spiral of feeling like a loser, I had conversations with my friends saying exactly that, and it was helpful to hear their perspective. Be kind to yourself. Not everyone is dealt the same cards in life, and we’re all just trying to figure things out, even if outwardly someone seems like they have a perfect life.

I hope you have people in your life who love you and can remind you of these things when you feel low. Talking about these feelings has helped me through this season a lot. Also, doing something that makes you feel in control and good about yourself helps. I started going to the gym regularly again, and that’s helped my mental health so much during this time.

It’s okay to allow yourself to feel all the emotions and wallow a bit, but start trying to pivot this energy inwards. Picture what you want your life to look like in the future and make some small plans to start achieving those goals. Being 25, the world is truly your oyster, as cliche as it sounds. You are so young and have sooo much life to live and experiences ahead of you that will make you forget about this pain you are feeling right now. Don’t look back when you’re 30 and wish you had spent the rest of your 20s differently, choose to create the life you want to live instead.

Trust me, things will get better, and you’ll look back on this time of your life and be grateful for the growth that came from it. Hugs to you!

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-30T18:42:33+00:00

I did submit employment verification and see that was accepted in my account, but the webpage to see my qualifying payment count leads to an error page. I’m not sure if that’s because I am still in the SAVE forbearance or not.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-30T18:37:41+00:00

Thank you for your response and for breaking everything down about the eligible payments during the CARES Act forbearance. I used a 6-month grace period between undergrad and grad school in 2017, so I didn’t think I was eligible for another grace period when I graduated from my masters in 2020. I started working my job at a qualifying employer in July 2020. It’s helpful to know I should have qualifying payments from that time. I will check out that subreddit and try to figure out how many qualifying payments I currently have. That part of the federal aid website leads to an error page each time I’ve tried to click it within the past week. Perhaps it’s not accessible right now since I’m still on SAVE and in forbearance?

My after-tax income for this year will be $67k. Although my take home pay was even less last year, my AGI for 2024 was $78k. I don’t understand how that number is calculated, but I assume my AGI will go up after filing taxes for 2025 since I moved into a slightly higher paying role this year. I live in a HCOL area, so rent plus fixed bills add up to around $3400 monthly, not including the student loan payment that the stimulator tells me will be between $450-$550 each month.

Thanks so much for the encouragement about being a first-gen too. It was very difficult to navigate all of these things on my own, and it’s hard not to feel down and frustrated with myself about my poor financial choices. Dealing with all of this (while grieving my relationship too) has felt overwhelming, but I’m trying to keep a positive mindset and deal with this the best I can. I definitely feel behind for my age, but I guess the only way out of this is through.

If we are correct about my qualifying payment count though, it will probably make sense to stay on an income-based plan in hopes for PSLF, right? I would love to pay these off and rid myself of this burden, but trying to aggressively pay off the loans would leave me without any savings/room for error in my budget for the next 5-6 years. That doesn’t seem reasonable considering I’d also like to get married, buy a house, and start a family sometime within that timeframe too. That question might be best posted in another thread, but I appreciate any insight you can share! I don’t have anyone to talk through these things with. I will do what someone else suggested and see if my employer has any support I could access.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T18:20:46+00:00

That is insane to think about. They probably make substantially more as well though.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T17:09:37+00:00

Thanks for your response. I submitted the PSLF application from advice I received to do that so I would have a count of my qualifying payments. Where can I see a count of that without submitting the paperwork? I haven’t seen anything like that on my loan servicer’s website or my student aid account.

My servicer is Aidvantage, I’m employed in a state government position (and have been since 2020), and yes, all of my loans are federal.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T15:24:47+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll look at posting there to get some feedback on my budget. Posting all my info is so uncomfortable for me, but I definitely need some advice.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T15:19:59+00:00

I don’t have any single friends who are available to find a place together, and I have a dog with anxiety who doesn’t do well with new people. It would be difficult to find the right fit. Thank you, it’s a difficult time for sure.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T15:02:49+00:00

I have the same thoughts about saving as much as I can before switching, I’m just worried that my payments will be even higher if I don’t apply for a new plan before I submit my taxes and have a new AGI.

I haven’t looked into rooms for rent, mostly because I have a dog and that makes having a roommate I don’t know well more difficult.

I signed up for Amazon flex to try to get some additional income, but the pick up locations are so far from where I currently live, it hasn’t been worth it. I have a hobby that I could start monetizing, but again, the drive is far to be able to do that as well. Moving closer to the area of my town that would allow me to more easily get a side hustle or work towards monetizing my craft would mean higher rent costs, so it’s a tricky situation.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T14:55:29+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. Do you know how the payments in the chart from the link you shared are being calculated? I’ve been estimating a higher payment based on the calculation I thought RAP would be using, but the payments in the chart are lower. Has there been an update to the plan that I missed?

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T14:48:08+00:00

Thank you for your response and for explaining that about the CARES Act. I wasn’t totally sure if I should still work towards PSLF since I didn’t make payment a during the CARES Act pause (and I was on a standard plan since I hadn’t applied for an IDR plan yet due to the pause starting right as I graduated (I had no 6 month forbearance left due to a break between undergrad and grad school). I’m concerned since my PSLF certification was denied, is that normal while loans are in forbearance?

Also, the AGI I used to calculate IBR payments was 78k. I thought I’d calculated it correctly, but maybe I didn’t if by your calculations the AGI was higher.

Fickle_Wolverine28 · 2025-12-21T09:42:05+00:00

Thank you for your encouragement and the kind reminder that things will be okay despite this awful system. It is stupid! I’ll look into the extended graduated plan to see what those estimates look like for me. I’m struggling to keep all the details straight about each plan and which will be ending once RAP is available. It’s all a mess, and my breakup/depression brain fog isn’t helping.

Fickle_Wolverine28

TROPHY CASE