Committing to a decision between two seemingly appealing options is difficult.
Each day, we are faced with a multitude of choices, products, and decisions that affect both ourselves and the world around us. This section explores the many available choices we make each day and how they relate to a minimalist lifestyle.
Once a week, I will compare two seemingly attractive options against each other and determine what’s more favorable for building and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle.
Renting Apartment vs. Buying House
The decision to rent or buy faces the majority of Generation Y adults.
Millennials, generally referred to as people born between 1976-1988 (although there is debate the range is from 1976-early 2000s), fiercely value independence and the freedom to make decisions. Finding independence can be challenging, especially for millennials who are recently considered legal adults, due to The Great Recession combined with a lack of financial security.
Therefore, it’s crucial for millennials to make the right choice when it’s time to decide whether to rent an apartment or buy their first home. The following comparison focuses on the pros and cons of each option with regards to a minimalist perspective.
Apartment Renting Pros:
Save Money- Renting an apartment is a great way to limit unnecessary spending. Because apartments generally contain much less space than a house, there is less room to store things. As a result, you are more inclined to only purchase essentials for living as a result of having a relatively limited amount of space. Renting an apartment also saves money because it’s the owner’s responsibility to fix repairs and make upgrades to the building. Property taxes and property insurance can be avoided, thus saving tenants a great deal of money.
Reclaim Time- Not having to maintain your apartment structure gives you time to focus on what’s important to you. Paying rent to a landlord each month gives you the legal right to let your landlord deal with the problems. The only thing you have to do is report the problem, and wait for your landlord to take appropriate action. I personally enjoy maximizing my time for my own pursuits rather than maintenance work.
Flexibility-Renting an apartment drastically increases your freedom. Typical apartment leases require tenants to remain for 6 months or 1 year. You can also find apartments that only require 30 days notice. This is a great setup, especially for many reasons. Generation Y adults are still in the stages of finding out who they are, what they want, and how to get it. It’s easy to change your mind where you want to live or work. Renting an apartment gives you the chance to remain flexible to new job opportunities that might be in a city different than your current address. In this way, you significantly decrease your livelihood on one specific place of employment.
Apartment Renting Cons:
Owner Control- As a tenant, your must live under your landlord’s personal rules. This scenario might create frustration if the landlord suddenly decides to change rules and policies. An owner also has the right to raise monthly rent prices. Some owners don’t allow for tenants to have pets, which might be an essential in your life. Depending on the owner, renting might seem like you’re not really living under your own authority. And in a way, that feeling is right.
Surroundings - Renting an apartment generally means other tenants live in close proximity to you. This scenario can be great if your building mates are normal, cool people. But everyone has heard horror stories about rowdy neighbors. If your neighbors aren’t decent people, it can drastically ruin the amount of clarity in your home life.
House Buying Pros:
Control- Buying your own home offers you a great amount of control. As a home owner, you make the rules. Want to paint your walls bright purple? Go ahead! You have comfort in having the ability to make your own rules and not worry about being evicted?
Possible Investment- There is much debate these days whether owning a home offers an eventual profit. There isn’t a hard and fast rule. Many factors play into whether owning a home can be profitable or not. Location, market landscape, financial payment plan, etc. Because there is a significant possibility of turning a profit long-term, I’ll leave this as an advantage.
Status- Owning a home gives you credibility in the eyes of general society. The American Dream says owning your own house is something that all successful Americans do. You might get a lot of approval. Status is very important to some, less to others. As someone using a simple lifestyle, I am realizing that status isn’t that important when it comes to happiness.
House Buying Cons:
Financial Uncertainty- Between fluxuating interest rates and an unsteady housing market, it’s hard to determine exactly just how much owning a home costs. Even with a fixed interest rate, there are hidden costs that can be expensive. The cost of the home is not just the mortgage. As a home owner, you are now responsible for all repairs and maintenance work needed for the house. Also, there is required home owners insurance, property taxes, flood/fire/weather/ insurance as well.
Location Dependent- Owning your home significantly decreases your ability to leave. Anybody who is willing to sign a 15-20 year mortgage is effectively tied to the location unless you can find an buyer. New opportunities such as a potential new job, a new relationship, or chances to travel can be hampered by having such a large bulk of money tied into one source. While it’s not impossible to do these things after purchasing a home, the likelihood makes it much more difficult to just get up- and move.
Rent an Apartment! Ultimately, it comes down to the what’s important to you. Personally, I value the things renting an apartment has to offer such as freedom, flexibility, and steady costs more than owning a home. Especially for Generation Y members, the problem with owning a home is it’s creating a path towards The Debt Trap. Being relatively young means that you almost always don’t have enough money. So you are forced to borrow from a bank to make a down payment on the house. Even with a nice mortgage rate price and rate, you are one sudden job loss (likely especially today – job security is an illusion), one unexpected emergency from being trapped into debt. At that point, it’s easy to reach for a credit card just to keep up the monthly payments. Then you are stuck into The Debt Trap. Personally, I look at renting a small apartment as much more conducive to simple living. Clarity and freedom is created as a result, leaving room for the essentials.
Very good post and I agree with your conclusion. My late husband and I owned two homes during the first few years of our marriage. We met and were married in FL and did what young couples were doing at that time, went into debt for our first home. Both of us worked long hard hours to afford it, with all the new furniture needed to fill it, etc. When we were financially able we spent our vacations camping in the mountains of NC. After a few years we realized our joy was in the mountains on those camping trips, rather than in the adorable house a block from the lake in FL. So we sold the house. We were fortunate, and sold during a housing boom, got exactly what we asked for it and even sold much of the furniture to the new home owners. We bought another home in NC, closer to the mountains we so loved. After being there several years we had a very big life change, spiritually, and decided we wanted to work with an international missionary organization helping to provide educational material, as well as Bibles, to third world countries. Again, the home market was booming and we sold our home quickly. For the next twenty years we (and our two young sons by that time) lived in various homes rented for us by the organization with which we worked both here in the US and in Europe. For the most part we loved every minute of it. Once we “retired” from that work, we decided that we would never again be “tied” down by home ownership. Over the remaining twenty years of our marriage we rented and lived in various wonderful areas from the eastern portion of the US to several years in the NW. Our nomadic ways were frowned upon by some, and we were labeled vagabonds, but approval from others never was high on our list of priorities. Right after becoming a widow, I had the insane idea, of looking for a small cottage here in the rural area I now live and settling down, but realized after a while, that isn’t what I want for the remainder of my life. Just because I’m alone, why should that stop me from continuing my vagabond ways as long as I can still make my own decisions and find affordable housing in my price range. After staying put for the past nineteen months, taking time to work through my grief, or should I say manage my grief, I’ll soon be relocating from the “country” we loved, to a larger “city” in another state to work with at-risk youth and refugee families. Rather than a retirement cottage, I’ll find a small apartment (or studio) for the minimalist lifestyle I’m learning all about these days. It’s an exciting new adventure, and I’m looking forward to it with joy.
I’m almost at a loss for words Betty Jo — that’s quite an inspirational story. I think one of the best parts is how you and your husband decided to follow your own path, even amidst some criticism from other people. I think its ironic how even though we both come from different paths, we are walking a similar one now As you know, I’m doing the city and studio route as well. What’s really interesting to me is how much life experience you have had living in different parts of the US and outside the country. You’ve had the opportunity to see what situations and environment works best for you and you’re deciding to follow through with it. That’s just awesome. And you’re right about looking forward to the adventure with optimism because I think life is so much better living looking forward for tomorrow instead of stuck in other ways. Thank you for the personal and insightful comment.
We just took the downsizing plunge from a house to an apartment. I couldn’t agree with your conclusion more. I think the biggest plus for me is the freedom in knowing I am no longer tied to one location. You never know what opportunities life will throw your way, and I like feeling like I am prepared to follow them wherever and whenever they lead.
Hey Megan glad to see that you have found more freedom from your move! I believe apartment renting is severely underrated in our culture. At the end of the day, I think for me having freedom and flexibility is something so value that anything that helps attain it is worth doing. Apartment living is great because you’re not tied to any one place and you can follow new and exciting opportunities on a whim and without a house holding you back. Very happy that the move is working out for you!