I'm curious what some of you think about a life change I want to make.
I've lived with my roommate for 8 years and been thinking for a long time about getting my own place. It's been hard to justify the extra expense, but I'm really to a point that I think living alone will make a vast improvement to my life, giving me privacy and space for all sorts of projects that could lead to better side hustles, among other benefits. My roommate owns our house and is very particular about things are in the house, so it's hard to spread out and have multiple projects going or feel very relaxed.
I make $40K and currently pay $500/mo in rent. That includes utilities, cable, internet, everything. I have no bills except for my rent check to my landlady/roommate. Where I live now is in a very nice part of the city and centrally located to everything, but it about 25 minutes/7 miles from work. I'm looking at a 2BR house right now that is in a decent neighborhood (lower income, but seems pretty safe) and is only 10 minutes/5 miles from work and is listed for $740/mo rent. Granted, I will have utility bills on top of this higher rent to consider too.
My city is right on a state line and where I live now is the only state I've ever lived in, but I work on the other side. Moving closer to work means crossing the state line, so I'm not sure what impact that will make on finances (different taxes, somewhat higher gas and food prices). One thing that I know will go away is a 1% earnings tax for the city where I am now.
Without having too exact of figures, I estimate I'll probably spend an additional $5-6K per year living on my own.
At the outset, this doesn't feel like a very Mustachian move, but do you think with some of the time and gas I'll save on commuting (I hope to be able to electric bike or just regular bike to work part of the time) and the freedom I'll gain by having my own house and garage this is a good choice? My NW is currently $75K, so I still have a long way to go toward FIRE.