If you were to live on your own, how much would you be willing to pay for an apartment?

In the area I live in now? I wouldn’t pay more than $575 a month, utilities included.

The rule of thumb (used to be) rent that doesn’t cost more than ⅓ of your salary. I’ve always gone for ¼, which is probably why I’ve saved up more money than some of my friends. It all depends upon what your goals are, both current and future.

I’d go with @Pied_Pfeffer on not more than ⅓.

Rent in California is not cheap. In the town I live in a 1br/1ba apartment is around $1,000. I wouldn’t expect to pay much less than that here (and if I found one cheaper, it’d probably be in a real crappy complex).

In NJ it is expensive like where Allie lives. A 1 bedroom in a nice area is $1000, although we moved to a lower income area and got a 3 bedroom for $1,200 lol…...

I just thought about this recently.
Around 700 a month.

The rule of ⅓ will vary depending on your city. If you don’t own a car and public transit is very reasonable, you probably can afford a little more rent than if you lived in a another city or town. NYers probably pay $100—$200 in transportation every month. Even if you lease or finance a care for $200 a month, you still have insurance, gas, and maintainance to add on, easily another $200.

@JLeslie And isn’t parking outrageously priced in NY?

Around 700 to 800 a month where I live will get you a really nice apartment, 3 beds, 2 bath or even a nice house to rent.

@chyna If you have a car. Very few people do, especially if they can only afford around $1000 in rent.

@JLeslie and @chyna—When I lived in Chicago and accepted a job downtown, I looked into renting there. The parking cost to keep the car was almost as much as the rent for a studio. I opted to stay in the suburbs.

I’d do up to about $950 and I am in the DC/Metro area

I don’t work but you can get a decent place here for $500–600. Definitely can’t use public transportation here though, it exists but is pretty horrible. I live in a large midwestern city.

Las Vegas, I wouldn’t pay more than $1100 for a 2 bedroom. No more than $800 for a 1 bedroom.

I’m in San Francisco paying US$2400 per month for a 1 bedroom loft (not including cable or utilities). I’d be thrilled to be paying US$850!

If I lived on my own I would buy me a RV. I would only need a little itty bitty space. Pay Lot rent of $300. It’s actually pretty popular here in Florida. If I don’‘t like my neighbors. I would move. Rent for a one Bedroom is like $500 or more.

@sferik Gee, what the heck do you do for a living? With cost of living so high, pay scale must be fantastic.

We’re a family of four and we want to live in a 3 BR (w/outside space) 1000 SF apartment in Park Slope for about $2500.

I live by myself in a one bedroom, on bathroom with a decent sized living room and kitchen and I pay $962 a month. It’s a little steep considering I’m paying for everything except cold water myself but it’s a nice place in a nice neighborhood. :)

@Pied_Pfeffer I know. I am saying in NY most people do not have a car, so they can afford more in rent? Am I wording it poorly, I don’t uderstand the confusion. My dollar amounts regarding cars were for people who do not live in the city. My point was you can live downtown and afford maybe a $1200 apartment, or live in the suburbs and have a $700 apartment and $500 in car expenses. Soooo, if you live downtown and can use public transit you can afford more than the ⅓ rule on rent, because your transportation expense it probably less than half when you live in the city.

Depends on the part of town. If I was looking at cost alone, I would live in an older blue collar area and pay $450 a month for a 1 br. If I wanted to live in a comparable area to where I am now, I could rent a 3 br house for about $900 a month. That would be the most I could afford, and it would be a stretch.

My last apartment was very nice, and only $600/month. I wouldn’t go much above that.
Inexpensive middle of the country ftw!

Here in New Zealand I paid $1000 a month for whole house, I don’t think our rents would be comparable to Canada

It could be too much for one apartment but not too much for another. Apartments are not created equal. Location is always the main factor. You have to decide what you can afford and find the best apartment for your budget.

@JLeslie Sorry friend…when you mentioned leasing a car, I didn’t pick up on what I now assume you mean to be for someone living in the suburbs.That wasn’t clear to me.

I live alone and I pay $900 for a 1 bedroom. $1,000 would be my max.