![I negotiated the price down](https://cdn.magzter.com/1704825715/1719038167/articles/dVyvAhmCn1719052350864/I-NEGOTIATED-THE-PRICE-DOWN.jpg)
In the fall of 2012, I rented my first room in Toronto. I had returned from a four-year stint working in Hong Kong and was living rent-free with my mom in her suburban townhouse in Newmarket, commuting two hours to a temp job that paid $12 an hour. That lasted three weeks before I found it — a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor of an old townhouse in Trinity Bellwoods that I’d share with a 20something dancer and artist. It was just a one-month sublet, in a home owned by an older Portuguese couple. I found the listing on Craigslist and managed to negotiate the price down from $700 to $650 a month. I figured I’d start off at this monthlong sublet, building social connections in the city, and find a longerterm spot to rent afterwards.
That first sublet was the beginning of my housing journey in Toronto, leading me to buy a condo eight years later, in 2020. We often talk about entering the home-buying market at the right time, but renting when I did allowed me to live below my means, take career risks and save up to make condo ownership a possibility.
I don’t turn to other 20-somethings today and say: “Look at what I did. You can do it too!” The idea of negotiating down a room rental seems unfathomable today, as does sustaining a life downtown at such a meagre wage, and yet at the time I was able to budget for entertainment, like the occasional restaurant meal or drinks at a bar. But I recognize how incredibly different the housing landscape is now for young people moving to Toronto.
Bu hikaye Toronto Star dergisinin June 22, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Toronto Star dergisinin June 22, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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