Hi! I *am trying* to record video tutorials (that will be embedded on my website) from the apartment I'm currently living in (to hopefully generate passive income in a few years). I used to live in my own apartment but decided I would move in with roommates so I can invest more money in my passive income startup. I moved in to a place with 4 different rooms (each room rented individually), and while living there - there where bad roommates and 2 (a couple) who ****WERE*** the best roommates I ever had. They convinced me to move in to a new place with them after the old lease ended. I made it EXTREMELY CLEAR to them that I was sick of living with roommates because of how much they've interfered with my recording time and that I would rather get my own apartment or even buy a commercial investment property (I have really great credit and work a ton of hours at my "job-to-pay-the-bills-and-save-mostly-for-the-startup-but-also-for-real-estate-investment-eventually"). ***I screwed up and I screwed up bad. I trusted them BECAUSE *at the old apartment they were great roommates* they kept a low profile made barely any noise and spent most of their time in their room*** I let my "good roommates from the old place" convince me that it'd be a great idea to move in with them to the new place, and that they wouldn't get in the way of my tutorial recordings. Then all hell broke loose!!! :-( They became TWENTY TIMES WORSE than the bad roommates from the old apartment that we ALL lived in together before just the couple and I moving in to the new place. THEY MAKE SO MUCH NOISE AND ARE 100% INCONSIDERATE OF THE FACT THAT I LIVE HERE TOO (AND ONLY AGREED TO MOVE IN WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY AGREED THEY WOULD HAVE RESPECT FOR THE FACT THAT I NEED TO GET MY TUTORIALS DONE). Basically all the time they make way too much noise and it's not "writer's block" equivalent for video recording that's the problem, it's SO MUCH NOISE THEY'RE CONVERSATIONS, TV, etc. WOULD BE PUBLISHED IN THE VIDEOS if I actually published what I'm *trying* to record because of them. I've got 9 months left and I am getting absolutely NOTHING done on my tutorials/website because of them (and I don't want that to sound like an excuse but I can't afford an office plus rent). I have a membership at a *coworking space* which is noisy but not anywhere near as noisy as my roommates, though all I get from that is 10 hours of conference room time per month where I have a quiet room to record tutorials and than space away from my roommates (with a desk) where it's much quieter and I can at least think, but can't record (or else I'd be the noisy one annoying the other people who are trying to start businesses, etc.) I am afraid I'm just going to have to accept defeat here and get absolutely nothing done for the next nine months of my life, and than go back to living in my own apartment (which would cost more money but would be worth it because I would actually make progress towards my goals). If you have any suggestions on how I can avoid accepting defeat here, so I can actually get some tutorials recorded, I'd really appreciate it! Note: I've tried reasoning with them, I've tried explaining this is not ok. I've put my foot down, etc. They just don't care. They are 100 percent selfish. And the guy roommate argues with his wife and punches holes in the wall (he has done this multiple times). I just don't know how to stand up to them in any way that will be effective without creating a dangerous situation out of it. I know I could ask "how to live with roommates from hell" at a roommate forum instead of here but the reason I'm asking HERE is because I'm living with roommates SO I CAN SAVE MONEY TO PUT TOWARDS MY PASSIVE INCOME STARTUP. I spend all my time in the apartment trying to build that into something great, yet I'm getting absolutely NOTHING DONE!!! PLEASE HELP ME!, and THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!, -Britney
Britney, I can relate to your frustration. I think most people have had nightmarish roommates at one point or another. I would immediately start looking for another room rental that's within your budget. Get on Craigslist and set up email alerts. It might take a while, but it sounds like you really can't do any worse, so get out ASAP. Make it clear to any prospective new roommates that privacy and quiet are of the utmost importance to you. You do not owe your current roommates anything (other than a rent check). Don't feel bad about leaving. As soon as you find a new place, give them your notice and get out. I think it's good that you've accepted that you aren't going to change them. You won't. Now you can begin looking for ways around the problems while you still live there. The first thing I'd do is dump the coworking space. Whatever fees you're paying for membership don't sound like they're worth it - 10 hours a month is nothing. Also cut back on any other unnecessary expenses. So, all you need is a quiet space, right? The most important thing is to find a new place, but here's what I'd do in the meantime: Get everything but your recording done. Do as much non-recurring work as possible. So web dev work, script writing, video editing, whatever you can get done there, do it. Wear headphones and block out everything but your work. Once every one or two weeks depending on your budget, rent a CHEAP motel room. Drink lots of coffee and focus on getting as much of your recording work done as possible while you're there - arrive in the morning and plan on pulling an all nighter. Tell the proprietor about your plans and request a far-off unit. A little unconventional, but consider renting an indoor storage unit. Significantly cheaper than an office and, if you talk to the owners beforehand, odds are they won't care if you want to go in there and record for a few hours a day. Request a unit at the far side of the building. Put an ad out on Craigslist requesting a quiet space to work. Beware of weirdos, but you may find someone sympathetic. Contact someone via Couchsurfing and request the same thing. Again, not as many rapists as you'd think on these kinds of sites. You do own pepper spray, right? Hope this gives you some food for thought. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Hi FCS Eli! Thanks for responding! I know I can't change my roommates and don't want to change anyone, I just wish that they respected me enough that this wouldn't be such a huge dilemma especially since I made it abundantly clear with them what my expectations were before I moved in with them. I can't move out in the present because I signed a year lease and the one good thing I have going for me is my credit score, plus I'm so close to being able to buy an investment property with an owner's apartment attached to it, but I'm absolutely going to be out of this place and done with my roommates for good when the lease is up. I'll be getting my own super cheap apartment ASAP (before I get the investment property I need to get my sanity back so I don't impulse buy an investment) but I won't even consider taking a chance on roommates again, and in fact I actually had a CHEAPER apartment than the place I'm currently living with (WITH ROOMMATES) before I moved in with them. I would rather live dirt poor and work towards a better future than in a really nice place (made possible by shared rent) with disrespectful roommates completely derailing all the hard work I'm putting in towards my goals. Basically you're right I just need a quiet space, and I'm going to do the super cheap motel all nighter's that you suggested but of course it's ridiculous that I'm paying so much for rent and SHOULD HAVE PLENTY OF TIME ON A CONSISTENT BASIS to get recordings done, and yet have to resort to spending even more money to get a fraction of the time that I should have available to work on that stuff. I don't have any customers at all because it's just not the idea of what my business was about, it was about the passive income from affiliate commissions from video tutorials that teach people stuff, but I do know how to make websites so will try to make some side money there, and my previous employer gave me a great reference and basically begged me not to leave and said they'd take me back in an instant. I'm confident I can get some extra hours, so I'll keep my current job, but also get some extra hours at the old job. Than I'll at least be saving money, and getting a few tutorials done, just wish I could get them done consistently but in the present situation it just doesn't seem possible. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my question, -Britney