By Trenton Krzyzowski
I take myself seriously as a writer. I think to myself, “As a working professional (aged 23), I should afford my own apartment.” Right? In today’s economy, the average rent is high — roughly $1957 (US Real Estate News, 2024) a month in the United States. According to The Center On Budget and Policy Priority, 10.1 million seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and other low-income households rely on federal rental assistance to afford housing. The report states, “22.9 million people in 10.9 million low-income American households pay more than half their income for rent, often forgoing necessities, like food or medicine, to keep a roof over their heads. The federal government considers housing unaffordable if it costs more than 30 percent of a household’s income.” Most low-income earners do not receive government assistance due to funding limitations. This data, paired with groceries, health insurance, pet care, gas, debt, and savings, mean the price of living is too damn high. It’s ridiculous. This article reflects on my multi-factorial decision to live with roommates.
No wonder 90 percent of the 20-somethings I meet live in groups. Most of the people I meet are in where I live, Fort Collins, Colorado, a suburban enclave which is more expensive than many rural communities yet still more affordable than most urban centers—Denver, San Francisco, or New York. In 2025, sharing a roof will be essential for many Americans.
I live with two roommates now, with a lease extending through July; I plan to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment or discover new roommates through friends and roommate-finder websites such as roomies.com. My mother, while in a hospital bed due to surgery for her cancer, told me I sounded arrogant when I said to her that I feel, as “a journalist,” I should have my own space. That attitude made sense in a former period. However, today, many hard-earned working professionals still need shared roofs to survive.
Let’s not ignore the many lives on the street due to mental illness and drug addiction. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report states,
“The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest ever recorded. A total of 771,480 people – or about 23 of every 10,000 people in the United States – experienced homelessness in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing program, or in unsheltered locations across the country. Several factors likely contributed to this historically high number. Our worsening national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism have stretched homelessness services systems to their limits. Additional public health crises, natural disasters that displaced people from their homes, rising numbers of people immigrating to the U.S., and the end to homelessness prevention programs put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the end of the expanded child tax credit, have exacerbated this already stressed system.”
All happening while TikTok stars, players in the League, OnlyFans models, and poisoning corporations such as McDonald’s rake in millions and billions of dollars. Fast food is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It succeeds because of a business model that keeps routine customers hooked on cancerous ingredients. Of course, America is suffering from an inequity problem. Why shouldn’t everyone with beneficial labor earn enough to live fruitfully? Why do harmful corporations earn enough to make climbing the slope arduous?
Even though I can afford my own apartment, that would cost hundreds of dollars each month I could use for savings or other necessities like having fun — getting coffee with friends, going on dates, traveling, going out to eat, books, clothes, and going to the gym. I must exercise, eat, relax, meditate, and make art; that doesn’t even include the personal struggle of freelancing (tutoring and authorship), a synonym for scrapping by working long hours for minimal pay.
Although, I am not complaining. I enjoy my work and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to teach and write for a living; I can’t work all the time. I must stay disciplined to climb the mountainous terrain known as ambition. The benefits of living alone — more freedom, autonomy, privacy — are not worth what I could save.
This is why I will likely move in with new roommates in July. I want the extra savings so I can work comfortably rather than demandingly without shortening my life expectancy. Yes, I should seek like-minded roomies, and thankfully, I can read people well and know how to get along.
In this age, hard-working people need rent assistance, whether with roommates, a partner, or family. People should work hard to provide helpful actions for society, but no way in hell should people compromise their happiness to survive. Instead, survival is essential to happiness. We should fight for affordable housing while working assiduously to enjoy a purposeful life. A sense of purpose is the most valuable balance for a successful life.