I Live in My Parents’ Basement and It’s the Best Thing Ever
We’re saving money while also enjoying quality time with relatives
Last year, my husband and I were living in Washington, DC, when we found out he was accepted into the MBA program at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. We were thrilled — I grew up in Ann Arbor, and my husband was an undergrad at University of Michigan. My parents still lived in the area, and we were both happy at the prospect of moving back to a place that felt like home.
As we thought about the logistics for our big move, we kept coming back to the question of housing. Michigan as a whole has a far lower cost of living than DC, but Ann Arbor has housing costs that are quite a bit above the US average. We looked at several options for our living situation before realizing the solution was staring us in the face.
The obvious solution: the basement
Ann Arbor rent can range widely depending on the neighborhood, but the average is just north of $1,500/month, and it’s growing. On top of that, MBA tuition is expensive, in line with growing college tuition rates across the board.
We knew we needed to economize; even though my husband would continue working full-time during his MBA program and I had a…
