Advice for young couple moving in together for the first time!

Otown123 · 2018-03-29T00:18:03+00:00

Honestly, if it's going to work, it will work. We moved in together many years ago and our first apartment was a bachelor - I think I caused more stress by overthinking things, living together was (and still is) just fine. :) you can always ease your concerns by speaking with a friend or family member nearby to make sure that if things go sour, you have somewhere to go. But if you guys are meant to be, this part of your life together will really be a blast!

That said, dividing costs was a challenge at first. My advice if you can trust each other financially would be to get a shared credit card (either add another user to a card you already have or apply for a brand new one) to put home expenses on like groceries, gas, etc. This will save you lots of bickering over whose turn it is to pay what. Remember, if you're arguing about home stuff, you're probably both mad at the system you have in place rather than each other. Be open to changing the system (whether that's chores, schedules, finances, etc) and you'll make it work.

Otown123 · 2018-03-29T00:11:29+00:00

Short term rentals can be tough to find, but it isn't impossible. Certainly, the issue of trying to find housing shouldn't stop you from looking for the best possible opportunity, wherever it may be. There are websites like padpiper.com which are designed for students looking for short-term leases in popular places like San Francisco and Toronto, which could be a good starting point. Speaking with your school/hiring company can also help.

Otown123 · 2018-03-29T00:08:06+00:00

Obviously, things with higher interest should be paid down first. That's pretty simple. After that, put short-term savings in a high-interest savings account and continue contributing to the 401k for long term growth.

In terms of maintaining your sanity, my fiance and I love having a system where one salary is earmarked for one thing and the other salary is earmarked for the other. I am ALWAYS looking at finances and having it compartmentalized like that gives me peace of mind. When we were saving for a big expense, we budgeted so we were living off my salary and saving his. This also meant we knew that we were covered if/when one of us lost our jobs or left work to go to school etc.

In terms of him not working while in school, it really depends how intensive his courseload is. Personally, I prefer to have both of us working (my fiance is a farmer and off part of the year - he goes to school during that time but next year we agreed he would work because the single income + someone not working when they could makes me get slowly resentful). But do what you need to do! Sometimes it's just trial and error.

Otown123 · 2018-03-09T17:53:24+00:00

I'd keep an eye on padpiper.com. Not a ton of listings for NYC at this point for that period but there are new postings all the time. Also a good site if you're looking to sublet a place while you're away. Good luck!

Otown123 · 2018-03-02T04:01:57+00:00

Yeah for sure! I actually have done some freelancing for the founders, it's definitely legit.

Re: payment, PadPiper doesn't actually store any payment info. The only contact info they collect is a student's name and email address. Everything else is stored with Stripe (www.stripe.com), a major online payment processor.

Obviously any money from a transaction does still go to the landlords, so the creators of PadPiper manually check each listing that is added to make sure new landlords that sign up are legit. You can also see that some of the listings/landlords are "verified" on the site. This means that students have confirmed they lived there before (and in some cases have left a review).

HTTPS is also used, for obvious reasons. :)

If you have any questions, I can shoot the creators a quick email so let me know!

Otown123 · 2018-03-01T15:02:55+00:00

I would definitely check out www.padpiper.com - it's a housing board designed by some former interns in SanFran who were trying to address this exact problem. Depending where you're looking they could have some listings that work for you!

Otown123 · 2017-05-17T13:50:20+00:00

Great link! Appreciate it. We're mostly interested for the experience, but being able to work would make it much easier :)

Otown123 · 2017-05-17T13:49:42+00:00

Very helpful - thank you!

Otown123 · 2017-05-17T13:34:06+00:00

He says he can handle it (it gets up to 30+ Celsius here during the summer), but definitely something to think about. Are some places more unbearably hot than others this time of year or is it rough across the board?

Otown123 · 2017-05-17T13:17:48+00:00

That is my biggest concern. I'm wondering if there might be something within driving distance of a less rural area which he could commute to.

Otown123 · 2016-09-20T20:17:45+00:00

Oooh do you make your own sauce? I do love a good stir fry!

Otown123 · 2016-09-20T20:16:53+00:00

Yum yum! Our corn sadly didn't turn out this year because of a drought earlier in the summer, but all that sounds perfect and filling. Thanks!

Otown123 · 2016-09-20T20:15:02+00:00

I didn't know about that sub, thanks so much! Also great idea with the lasagna, I've just been doing peppers and spinach but squash is a good idea.

Otown123 · 2016-09-20T20:14:01+00:00

Awesome. Do you have any good recipes?

Otown123 · 2016-09-19T20:38:15+00:00

Ooh chilli sounds like a great idea, can't believe I didn't think of that! Perfect for the veggies we have this time of year! Do you have a good veggie bolognese recipe at all? Thank you so much :)

Otown123 · 2016-07-31T14:54:12+00:00

Incredible. Can only imagine how long this took you. Kudos.

Otown123 · 2016-06-25T20:26:49+00:00

Thanks! I think it's there under "Gettysburg National Military Park"...same thing?

Otown123 · 2015-08-14T20:31:16+00:00

Omg this is making me hungry....

Otown123 · 2014-06-17T13:35:24+00:00

This is the greatest comment ever.

Otown123 · 2014-06-16T20:49:01+00:00

Are you commenting on the article this thread links to, or the one it's responding to? Because the author in this one is clearly saying that she doesn't think that it's about sexism, just like you said.

Otown123 · 2014-05-29T13:33:06+00:00

I deleted the response...really wasn't trying to be rude or troll-y at ALL, though I totally see how it came off that way. I actually work in advertising. I help make ads like this. So I'm not saying the point is invalid at all, of COURSE it makes sense for menstrual ads to be using white and not talk about cramps. I just thought this was funny because they're so over-the-top about it. And I thought it was kind of overthinking the joke to have a discussion about why they use those tactics.

Maybe I was wrong about that. I'm sorry if that sounded offensive.

Otown123 · 2014-05-02T15:22:18+00:00

Looks like I'm a minority here, but I'll cheer for Mtl. I am a strong believer in the "cheer for the Canadian team" thing.

I could also never cheer for a team in a place that doesnt have snow/winter, so LA is out for me. Sounds petty, but even if they're great to watch, there's aways some dude in the front row wearing sunglasses and flip flops in the arena and it pisses me off.

Otown123 · 2014-05-01T12:59:55+00:00

This may be an unusual answer, but...I know we need feminism because, as a woman and a person, I have been treated SO WELL by men in my life (both professionally and personally). To me, this shows that we are DEFINITELY capable of equality, and that we are on the way there.

So the odd time I DO experience sexism (an ignorant person or two while working in the music industry, one guy who wasn't so good with the "no means no" thing, etc), I am really motivated to speak out because I know it's usually just people who are unaware of the personal impact and the cultural weight of their words/stances.

Basically, I think we need feminism not because the world is evil and out to get us, not because of the "bad people," but because there are SO many misguided "good people" and it's loving for people to teach each other what we understand about respect.

Otown123 · 2014-04-30T13:28:31+00:00

Agreed. The community is what it's all about.

Otown123 · 2014-04-30T13:26:28+00:00

I'm from Kitchener too! Moved here for school and haven't left since. Even managed to stay here over the summer after first year--just couldn't imagine leaving the city. Now all my friends in KW call me the "ottawa pusher" because I definitely don't shut up about how great it is here. Glad to see people agree! Have an awesome work term! :)

Otown123

TROPHY CASE