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Previous Entry.. Next Entry.. Why Roommates are a bad idea. Part 1
August 03, 2004 13:59 For those that aren't aware of my recent past, I'll give a quickie summary. I've lived alone since 1995 in a 4 bedroom house that I rented. My financial situation has been flaky at best, but I've managed to keep at least a good report with my landlord and all in all, I managed to stay even and I got by. Last august, she found a more desireable tenant and decided to let me go. I immediately had another place to move to which was equally desireable, so the moving wasn't THAT bad of an experience, but due to a last minute incident that nobody foresaw, that opportunity disappeared, in probably the worst possible way. So I ended up at my parents. I had no desire to stay there any longer than possible, so I started hoarding cash so I could buy a place of my own. No more landlords, no more surprises. However, this was likely going to take several months. And since the ONLY internet connection I had avaialble was a 64kbps isdn line, that got intolerable very quickly. However, the day I moved in, I was offered a room in a friend's place as soon as he bought it. Since he was in the process of buying one and had one selected, this was likely to happen within a month. Yes, I'd be renting again, but it would be a lot cheaper than I was used to in the past and would still give me a chance to save up for a place of my own after a year or so. And more importantly, I'd get decent bandwidth again. So I graciously accepted his offer. Keep in mind, he, and everyone he lived with, and both familes were well aware of the website, and in fact were encouraged by that fact. They thought it would be fun having it in their house. We discussed this fact in great detail, including where we would put cams, who would have control over them, etc. This was never an issue that was in dispute. However, the first few houses they looked at fell through on offers, so it took until the end of november to actually get moved out of my parents place. By that time, I had saved up enough cash that I could have waited another couple months and just gotten my own place, but I was at the end of my rope and didn't want to wait it out any longer. And besides, I had promised that I was going to move in and stay there for a year, because they needed the rent income. From the beginning there were a few problems. Despite the fact that THEY chose where the lamps were going to be, and I could have put them anywhere, lamps were frequently turned off without telling me, forcing me to go find out what was wrong with them, only to repeat the process. Cameras were covered or turned away from the lamps they were viewing. Certainly, there might have been privacy or annoyance issues to contend with, but I continue to ask if there was a problem and got not indication of one. I spent a great deal of time rearranging things so they were comfortable. Finally things seemed to settle down. And live continued normally, until May 1st. .... To be Continued....
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