I’m a 20-year-old living and attending school in downtown Toronto and can barely afford to eat. During weeks I’m not receiving a pay cheque, I’m getting crafty with my ramen and sandwiches, trying to come up with some concoction that will give me at least some necessary protein and energy for my long days at school and work.
I live with three roommates in a beautiful apartment near Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) campus. I’m lucky to call these people my best friends. We’ve lived in our apartment for the last two years and have consistently displayed respectability as tenants. We are clean, pay rent on time, and have never received a noise complaint.
Still, we received a notice in the mail a week ago telling us that our rent was being raised by 2.5%, meaning that we will now be paying over $5,000 a month. Don’t get me wrong — I love our apartment and building, but for our limited space, $5,000 is ridiculous. We don’t even have a full-sized fridge, for God’s sake.
For the last two years, I’ve been paying over $1,000 for a den without a window or door. Now, I need to fork over $100 more per month for zero privacy, no sunlight, and barely enough room for a desk and a bed. It’s ridiculous.
It’s not my building’s fault, I know. It’s the ridiculous laws and general insanity of the world that allow landlords and property management to hike up prices for the sake of their own mortgages and general building upkeep. I’m aware that everyone needs to make a living somehow. I can acknowledge that, but I can still be frustrated with how things are.
Families with dual incomes can also barely afford their rent and mortgage payments, groceries, and other living costs. Fewer and fewer people are having children because, simply, no one can afford to have them.
Due to the rise in our rent, my roommates and I have decided it’s time to move. Do you know how awful it is trying to move right now? We’re looking for houses (with some much more needed space) further from campus in the hopes that things are more affordable outside of the downtown core. Unfortunately, proximity doesn’t do much. This city is wildly expensive, regardless of the neighbourhood you live in.
Tons of landlords don’t want students living on their properties. So that narrows our possibilities even further. Isn’t that great? Landlords either deny us from applying or expect us to just allow them and management to walk all over us because we’re “young and dumb.” At least, that’s the vibe I get.
The last week of my life has been incredibly stressful. We’ve found a place we like and the price isn’t too bad. We’ve had to quickly get all of our documents in order, compile the first and last month’s rent, and figure out if we can get out of our current lease early. Even with all that effort, the landlord wants us to move in and start paying rent next week. It’s a huge ask, and he’s not willing to negotiate. The last week has been anxiety-inducing, teary, and sleepless for all of us.
Another thing I hate about the way the world is going right now? Grocery prices. Metro and Farm Boy are the two main grocery stores you’ll find downtown — some of the most expensive. These stores are tiny (obviously because they’re downtown) and always packed with people. I often can’t even buy chicken when I can afford it because it’s sold out. I have a weekly budget of about $60 for groceries, which gets me maybe eight items if I’m lucky. Can someone please tell me why I’m paying $9 for a carton of milk?
Financial stress bleeds into other areas of my life, as I’m sure it does for you. I’m already a pretty anxious person, besides the impending doom of my unsure living situation and financial anxiety. Add those things to the mix, and you get insomnia, stomach aches, crying to my mom on the phone at least once a week, stress itching — in my roommate’s case — and shingles (yes, I’ve given myself shingles due to severe stress before and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again).
The point here is that being an adult is really hard — the world is quite literally up in flames right now. But being an adult is also really fun. Living with my friends, studying something I love, and living in Toronto has always been worth it to me.
If you resonate with anything I’ve said here, just know you’re not alone, and we’ll figure it out together. The only good thing about the horrible process of moving is that I get to do it with the people I love. They’ve truly been my rock throughout all of this, and I’ve been theirs. And I know this will make a funny story one day because everything will work out how it should. When it comes down to it, I still get to live with my incredible friends. That’s what I’m holding on to.
I’ll probably have to live with roommates until I’m 50 years old, but I’ll happily do it if I get to keep the ones I already have.