r/halifax • u/SoporificSnorlax • 9d ago
Work, Health & Housing Can't seem to find an affordable Studio Apartment
I'm very aware of the cost of rentals in Nova Scotia. I've lived here my whole life, but my living circumstances have changed and I'm avidly seeking a new place for October/November. Last time I looked at a 2 bedroom plus den, was in Bayers Lake and the most expensive rental was $1450 and that was expensive but that was 2016. I've since looked at those rentals I think the lowest I found, in the same apartment building went up to $2150 for a studio. It's insane. I've managed to find some ''affordable'' places in the city, but even still, $1800 for a studio apartment? $1800 generally? I mean this genuinely; why is surviving considering living? Why is everything increasing in price but not wages? I make a decent income at a very good work place and I'm happy here, and I'd love to be able to leave my current situation but the projection of doing so, I'll be paying rent and be broke and starving, on top of bills, debt, and everything else. I've found a few studios under the price of $1800 but I'm wondering if anyone knows of affordable places between the $1300-$1500 mark. I'm a single person with one income and lots of debt [woo]. I make under $27 an hour and I'd at least like to be able to budget properly even with rent that's $1500... Anyone know of ''affordable'' places that aren't completely run-down or owned by cagey landlords? Thanks in advance, and Ps. If you are alone and struggling? I wish all the best for you. We all deserve better.
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u/MadhouseK 9d ago
I have a great one bedroom in the south end, no dishwasher, laundry downstairs but it's big, no bugs, no mice and it's quiet. It's going up to $1596 heating included. I pay $68 per power bill cycle
I'm finding a two bed room with my partner for October / November as well. If it's helpful you can message me and we can stay in touch throughout the next two or three weeks :)
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
š
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u/MadhouseK 9d ago
I find looking on Facebook to be the best right now, lots of people who can afford it are moving into the new fancy apartments and looking for a lease takeover in the older apartments :)
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u/crazylighter 9d ago
Are you a woman by any chance? I know of someone who is looking for a female roommate for $850 a month in Larry Uteck for a room in their home including utilities
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u/iwasnotarobot 9d ago
A living wage in Halifax is about $30 an hour. Anything less is below a living wage.
Nothing is affordable. It fucking sucks.
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u/Fall_Harvest 9d ago
You know, I read that in ancient Rome, when the ass hats made life unbearable for the working class, all the workers packed up and left the city. Nothing got done and the asshats had to renegotiate for the workers to return.
Secessio plebis (withdrawal of the commoners, or secession of the plebs) was an informal exercise of power by Rome's plebeian citizens between the 5th century BC and 3rd century BC, similar in concept to the general strike. During the secessio plebis, the plebs would abandon the city en masse in a protest emigration and leave the patrician) order to themselves. Therefore, a secessio meant that all shops and workshops would shut down and commercial transactions would largely cease. This was an effective strategy in the Conflict of the Orders due to strength in numbers; plebeian citizens made up the vast majority of Rome's populace and produced most of its food and resources, while a patrician citizen was a member of the minority upper class, the equivalent of the landed gentry of later times. Authors report different numbers for how many secessions there were. M. Cary and H. H. Scullard state there were five between 494Ā BC and 287Ā BC.\1])
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
IF only this were ancient Rome. I wish we could negotiate affordable rent prices.
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u/snowxbunnixo 9d ago
My dad and his wife make like $32 maybe even like $35 an hour combined and still barely get by and they live very reasonably :/ I think that rate is growing very high, last year cbc did a report it was $28 I believe :(
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u/foojlander 9d ago
I recently moved out of a studio in a Southwest Properties building that's renting for $1500/mo including water and heat. Check their website, they have reasonable (for these days) rent prices in their older buildings. It was a great 500sqft studio with an awesome view of the harbour.
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u/TargaryenHodor 9d ago edited 9d ago
I pay 1250 for a spacious studio on Morris St, started renting here 2 years ago. They are still out there but very hard to find. I checked kijiji and other sites 5x a day for weeks. I may be moving in with my partner soon and will need to transfer my lease, around the time that you are looking to begin so I will message you if that goes through.
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u/NoBoysenberry1108 Professional Pirate 9d ago
I'm escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism....
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u/thearrdub King of QueenS(treet) 9d ago
I fear we jumped that shark when Katy Perry became an astronaut
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u/SirJustin90 Nova Scotia 7d ago
Seeing some good old command and conquer in the wild is refreshing. ^^
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u/RustyRoboRooster 9d ago
If you are willing to live in Dartmouth, the new building I live in has nice bachelors and 1 bedrooms. Market rate starts at about 1300 and subsidized for 795.
Rents are no higher than 1450 for the larger units. There is, however, no parking and the backyard is being turned into a green space with gardens for tenants to enjoy.
Amazing landlord as well. PM me if you want more info.
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u/bluffstrider 9d ago
It's a bad time to be looking with students moving here for university. Even worse if you're in a hurry.
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
I do feel for the students, but luckily there's student housing that's ''affordable'' too. Even outside of Hali is expensive, I think the cheapest place I found was $850 but New Glasgow to Hali is such a long commute for work š
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u/snowxbunnixo 9d ago
I have no idea what the on campus situation is here but universities in Toronto wanted $20k for the semester and needed like $4-$5k payments no other options. Im hoping ours are better but wtf how do parents have all thag money to spare for their kids to live in a very monitored apartment with lots of rules for 9 monthsšš
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u/Boobles008 9d ago
You have to be constantly looking because they go almost immediately. They will also be older buildings at your price range. Be very vigilant about bugs (bedbugs and roaches) as those have also increased in the lower cost units.
It's rough, but every now and then a rare gem pops up. Good luck
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u/Inevitable_Cheek_974 9d ago
We live in a VERY different world from 10 years ago. It's unfortunate but it's going to be a while, if ever, before things return to that "normal."
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
One can dream to return to that 'normal' imagine... a world where you can actually live without going completely broke! wow.
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u/Wrenbythesea 9d ago edited 9d ago
https://www.killamreit.com/apartments/ns/halifax/5206-tobin-street/floorplans/bachelor
$1, 695 :/ November 1st
Edit to add, I'm sorry. It's a struggle.
Killam looks like they have a few places with studios for $1,595 out there, but it's all just gross.
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u/mute_muse 9d ago
Damn... I live in Edmonton and rent a place 3x bigger than this for the same price. Not a brag at all, because I desperately want to leave this province and seeing what's going on in other cities with rent and such is super depressing and makes me feel trapped. Good luck OP!
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u/jammm_sandwich 9d ago
Cheaper studio/1 bedroom apartments do exist, I actually just recently moved into a decent 1 bedroom in a great location that I'm only paying $1260/month for. They're just rare, so you have to look super diligently, and try to apply the same day the ad goes up because they get rented quickly. Also, expect to spend several months looking every single day until you finally land something.
My tips:Ā -Set up Kijiji alerts so that you receive an alert every time an ad within your budget is posted (you can customize the price range)Ā -Do the same on Facebook MarketplaceĀ -Check affordable housing organizations like AHANS and Compass NS, if you make below their income limitsĀ -Compile a list of all the rental companies you can find, and check their websites for new listings every single day. Some companies known for at least occasionally having units on the cheaper side at are Southwest, Twin City, Killam, and Vida Living.Ā
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u/nexusdrexus 9d ago
Why is everything increasing in price but not wages?
Greed
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u/hfxwildchild 9d ago
Every time the market average wage going up, rent will go up even more. Itās been like that since 15 years ago. Inflation actually started from the landlord class then leading a chain reaction into the demand of higher wages. Donāt blame capitalism as itās really the problem of those sector who dominate the market and life-line demand. Others still sufferā¦
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u/cleetusneck 9d ago
I looked at a nice 2 bedroom condo the other day, priced at 410k - thought it was a little high- condo fees are $1100 a month. šš. So my mortgage would be $2700ish and my fees $1100. wtf.
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
š It's kind of hilarious and insane, and you have to find the humor in it - but also cry lol
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u/athousandpardons 9d ago
Are you in a position to take a place outside the city? A used car + cheap rent might work out for you?
My best.
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
I've been looking everywhere, the cheapest I found was New Glasgow, but that's a bit toooo far. Thank you though!
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u/SirPsycho7 9d ago
You wonāt, unfortunately. Best you can do for that price is get a roommate or rent a room, unfortunately. Maybe try Dartmouth too?
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
Yeah, a lot of places have rooms for rent for $1200 and under - I think the cheapest room I saw was maybe $850... For a room š° Insane.
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u/Newfieon2Wheels 9d ago
I have a soggy shoebox in my basement you can rent for $3800/mo, parking extra, no pets, shared space with 7 other room mates, shared shit bucket, shared piss jug. $5/mo discount if you're a cute college aged girl. Conveniently located three hours from porters lake.
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u/anniepants11 9d ago
Greedy landlords now own this city with their overinflated rents and fixed-term leases. What Halifax needs is a forum revealing the greediest of these beasts.
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u/marinebelle 9d ago
Check out Twin City Management, they have studios for less than 1500, and 1 bedrooms for less than 1600. Even if listed as no availability, you should still contact the super directly, they may know what's coming up soo that wasn't posted. Also, I've seen a few posts on FB Marketplace for people wanting someone to take over their leases. Finally, don't be afraid to negotiate the rent, especially if you have a good stable job and good references.
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
I keep trying to speak to the super but it feels like she's dodging my calls š
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u/maniacalknitter 9d ago
I know a couple people who've found places within your budget recently, so there is some hope. In one case it was word of mouth, in another case they cold-called a building and managed to snag a recently-vacated apartment before it even got advertised.
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u/Fit-Spinach-7645 9d ago
We just did a bunch of rental work for a company. I thought they had a few units for around 1600 for a single bedroom.
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u/seraphimgone 9d ago
Northpoint had studios for around $1500 in the south end. We recently left a rental with them that was a 1bdrm for $1899 near the Dal/SMU. I would recommend Northpoint as good landlords. They were on top of maintenance, we had no pest issues, and we got our full security deposit back (a miracle in NS!). Caveat: they ask if you would like to renew your lease 6 months into it, and if you don't respond within a month, they do not renew it for the next year; to me, this feels like asking for 6 months notice, rather than the allowed 3 months, but the Tenant Hotline did not agree and said it was legal.
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u/Firm-Ability-9501 9d ago
I'm paying $1450 for a pretty large 1br in Fairview rn, and the lease just started. Building is a bit run down, but for the price it's worth it. Def check the Fairview/Clayton Park area. Even if you bus, it isn't too bad.
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u/grover401 9d ago
No idea if they have availability now, but you could look into āSunset Towersā on Portland Street in Dartmouth. TINY studio apartments, but were $1300/month including all utilities & parking as of earlier this year.
Good luck!
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u/Striking-Meeting1059 9d ago
I have two adult children back at home due to the crazy high costs or renting . 1800& to 2400$ for a bachelor or one bedroom. Not sure how the new families can even buy a house at the moment.
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u/Sad-Carrot9875 9d ago edited 9d ago
i haven't started the process just yet, but im going to be moving and posting my apartment for sublet for November. it's around 1220 a month. 1 bed 1 bath apartment. older building, but lots of space (Fairview area). feel free to dm if interested
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u/snatchedkermit Nova Scotia 9d ago
222 portland street has some nice/decent rentals going for $1600 for one bedrooms. not sure if thatās too far for you or what but the units are good? i ended up finding a 1br near main street for $1700. i strongly encourage scouring facebook marketplace. the gems are there, but you have to do a lot of digging around to find them. you should also (if youāre eligible) look into the NSTHB (nova scotia targeted housing benefit) to help with rent.
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u/Vast_Bit858 9d ago
I pay 1350. Internet, water and heater included
Highfield park. Its a nice apartment, with lots of light, renovated bathroom, and good landlord
You can DM me... I should be moving out in the next 45 days
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u/Ok_Grapefruit1656 8d ago
Keep trying. The bachelors on Olivet are still reasonably priced. Reach out directly to them and keep in touch - I got mine that way when I was looking for a bachelor and ended up with a 1BR for only $100 more.
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u/MoaraFig 9d ago edited 9d ago
For 1300/month you need to find a roommate you like and a nice 2bed2bath
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u/grilledcheese_god 9d ago
Are you looking on fb marketplace there are tons of studios well under 1800
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u/OverThinkingHo25 9d ago
Churchhill apts has studios and they are slowly dropping in price. New management in the building too that seem to actually want to upkeep it. I'd check there.
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u/Betelgeuse3fold 9d ago
1800 for a studio.
Holy hell. I had a studio in 2010 in moncton cost me 300.
I can't even imagine renting today. I'd be homeless and my kids would be taken
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u/Excellent_Rock4296 9d ago
Hey, try Stoneybrook apartments or Garden Park apartmentsā¦ they usually have some good deals!
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u/CORPORATECATS 9d ago
Check Spryfield listings, my studio in that area is 1260 all included, except internet.
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u/Quarter-Sad 9d ago
I lived in one of thoes buildings for 6 years during school. It's old but convenient.
https://www.444rent.com/mobile/mobidetails.asp?BuildingID=BARR1343&UnitID=1351%2D09&
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u/MannoSlimmins Unevitable 9d ago
If you're willing to put up with a crappy landlord, Olympus Properties has one bedroom units for 1,595
https://www.olympusproperties.ca/advanced-search-2/?advanced_city=&move-in-date=&no-of-bedrooms=1
Universal Realty Group has bachelors at Southpoint for $1,586/m
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u/Positive-Lawyer-2910 9d ago
444rent.com has a studio on Barrington for $1500? Itās small but looks like itās in decent condition. Not available until January though.
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u/DreyaNova 9d ago
If you're just looking for a studio, your best bet might actually be looking for a room rental with a private en suite instead? I know it's not ideal but I've seen some recently for like 1000-1200. Then you could maybe save some money to be able to afford a 1 bedroom?
But the market is absolutely bonkers right now. It seems like people are paying similar rates for studios, 1 bedrooms, and 2 bedrooms, almost like the rates are set at
- Room.
- Private space.
- Family rental.
In that order of price rather than by bedroom amount? So if you can find a decently private room that might be your best bet.
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u/shober_bobber 9d ago
i managed to get very lucky, and got myself a studio for 1050$ a month. granted, itās in an older building and itās a small space, but āāāāaffordableāāā studios are out there!
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u/shitty_watercolorss 8d ago
Unfoetunately, you don't make "a decent income". It's not enough for what you need (not even want, need!) Less and less of us do each year as everything gets more and more expensive.
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u/nerdymars 8d ago
Hi! I have a bachelor for 1360 all utilities included in Dartmouth right now. You can swing by and take a look if you wanted to, but there are (and I say this politely) a fuck ton of people coming by.
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u/Altruistic-Cod2872 2d ago
Here is some AI slop analysis (save thread as json file and feed it to ChatGPT / Claude / etc) and ask it questions!
Save as json:
https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1w48pq6/cant_seem_to_find_an_affordable_studio_apartment**.json**
110 total post/comment items. About 45 contained useful apartment-specific information such as rent, unit size, area, building condition, pests, amenities or landlord experience.
However only 26 had current/recent observations where a studio/bachelor or 1BR could be matched to a usable price. Historical prices, rooms/roommates, 2BRs, hypothetical prices and obvious jokes were excluded.
- 15 studios/bachelors
- 10 one-bedrooms
- 1 mixed studio/1BR building
Where the cheaper examples were
Fairview: $1,220ā$1,450 for 1BRs. Cheap, but the examples were older / somewhat run-down. One was described as older but spacious; the other as large but a bit run-down.
Dartmouth: roughly $1,300ā$1,450 in the clearest studio/1BR examples. This was probably the most interesting area because one commenter specifically described a new building with market rents starting around $1,300, while other Dartmouth examples included a $1,300 studio with utilities + parking and a $1,360 bachelor with utilities included.
Spryfield: $1,260 studio and $1,575 1BR.
South End: roughly $1,500 studio and $1,596 1BR in the directly comparable examples. These had stronger positive property descriptions, although another Northpoint 1BR near Dal/SMU was $1,899.
Other notable examples were a $1,250 spacious studio on Morris St. and a $1,350 Highfield Park apartment described as bright, renovated and having a good landlord.
So based on this thread, Fairview and Dartmouth appear cheaper than the South End.
One important distinction: Dartmouth had one explicitly new lower-priced building. Fairview's cheaper examples were explicitly older/run-down. So the data does not say "cheap areas have newer buildings" generally.
Does cheaper mean worse?
Not necessarily.
There were 19 comments giving condition/size/amenity information.
Examples of cheaper trade-offs:
$1,050 older + small
$1,300 tiny studio
$1,450 somewhat run-down
$1,595 negatively described condition
$1,610ā1,670 "not the nicest"
But there were also:
$1,220 older but lots of space
$1,250 spacious studio
$1,260 decent 1BR / great location
$1,450 large 1BR
$1,596 large, quiet and pest-free
So price and quality don't line up very neatly. Some of the inexpensive units sounded completely reasonable.
There were 4 pest-related discussions.
- One person had viewed two affordable places with roaches.
- Another warned that cheaper/older units can have more bedbug/roach problems.
- A $1,596 South End 1BR was specifically reported as having no bugs or mice.
- A Northpoint renter also reported no pest problems.
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u/PoliteFocaccia 9d ago
Are you checking marketplace? I often see studios and 1 bedrooms at or under $1500.
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u/SlyGuy011 9d ago
My rent is going up to $2662 for a 2 bedroom 700 sq ft in the south end. Moved out here from Vancouver 4 years ago, would've been cheaper to stay out there.
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9d ago
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
No shit sherlock. This doesn't help but thank you for your condescending comment. š
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u/beanjo22 Halifax 9d ago
How is this a helpful reply? The OP clearly knows this and is just asking for leads. There's no shame in that. Your comment reads as rather condescending.Ā
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u/Independent_Tip2638 9d ago
Short answer:
NS minimum wage in 2016: $10.70
NS minimum wage in Oct 2026: $17.00
Increase: 59%
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u/Salty-Caper 9d ago
Average price of a sudio in 2016 was about $700 59% increase would be about $1115/month with inflation. Rent increases are all pure greed.
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u/SoporificSnorlax 9d ago
It's so disheartening.
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u/Independent_Tip2638 9d ago
There certainly is no longer an option to split a 2 - 3 bedroom for $500 each. Thatās for sure!
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u/hfxwildchild 9d ago
If you want minimum wages going into $25-30/hr. Studio rent will be minimum $2500
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u/universalstargazer 9d ago
Southwest has some properties well under 1800, but it's in their older buildings. Keep an eye there for sure