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Basement living...is it real?

moonbogg

moonbogg

Lifer
OK, I've had it with the "you live in your mom's basement" jokes. Is this shit real? I just read it in another thread and I have to ask. Have you done this or have you heard of this actually happening? We don't have basements here in California, so I am a little confused by this. Also, how fucking huge would a basement have to be in order for someone to live in?

Post info
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I lived in the basement from 7th grade to high school graduation. Sliding door and a fireplace to help smoke exit, what more could a teen ask for? Spent a few months there after I got out of the Navy and a couple more after graduating university.
 
It is real but probably not nearly as widespread as is joked about.

It can actually make a fair bit of sense if you were living at home but wanted a more delineated separate space for yourself. They frequently have their own external entrances and bathrooms. They tend to have a fairly large footprint (basically same as first floor). Because they are a pseudo separate space they make a lot of sense for a mother-in-law apartment which is also exactly what someone living at home as an adult would want.

That being said the joke version of this isn't someone that is boomeranging home after college. The joke version is the guy that moved into the crappy partially finished basement when they were 15-16 in order to have 'their own space' and then never left the dingy crap hole they live in while still working the same kind of crappy job they had in HS. I'm sure this also happens but probably rarely.
 
Some of the basements I've seen are nicer than most people's home. You're talking ~3000+ sq ft fully furnished with bedroom, fitness room, wine cellar, movie theater room, full kitchen and restaurant style bar, living room, bathroom, etc.
 
The basement dweller would live in a space probably be as big as the ground/1st floor. Take away about 20% of it for the boiler/heater/meters. It lacks proper windows, so not much in the way of natural sunlight.

I've been in a few, back when I would visit my friend's homes during the high school years - their 'room' was the basement. It also came complete with the following perks as well:
- drain trap,.. which dumps into the local sewer,...
- freezing floors during the cold winters
- water bugs (they would crawl up from the drain trap)
- flooding (heavy and sudden rain overflows the trap)
- musty / moldy smell (from the flooding of the overflowing trap)
- washer and drier
- access to the electrical paneling
- private bathroom

I don't think it's pretty common for anyone past the high school age to be living in the basement. I mean, you can't! You would be literally living in a hole in the ground,.. like some sort of tro,.. oh.
 
I've seen shows based off of converting your basement to make enough rent money to buy a bigger housem but it seems those are all based out of cannuckland so maybe it's a them thing.
 
ponyo said:
Some of the basements I've seen are nicer than most people's home. You're talking ~3000+ sq ft fully furnished with bedroom, fitness room, wine cellar, movie theater room, full kitchen and restaurant style bar, living room, bathroom, etc.
Click to expand...

And don't forget pool tables! Like this one here, in a flooded basement;
bilde


Some basement apartments look super swell. I mean, just great. But, they are VERY prone to things going horribly wrong. And, if you spend $200,000 on fixing and furnishing something that could flood, you are begging for nature to take your money away from you.

I would not spruce up any basement with anything other than cheap furniture, solely for temporary living; visiting guests, a place to crash for a few months, rec room for kids and storage. I would never want to put anything expensive down there.
 
Like others have said, basements can be very nice, just another living space like the other floors. As long as you properly light it and get some natural light it's not much different than any other living space. Ours is comfy year around.
 
I wouldn't call it "living". But I am thinking about adding a home theater to part of my basement.

home_theater.jpg
 
Most actually live in the attic or a shed in the back yard. The basement is for prisoners, sex slaves and storage of corpses.
 
I used to live in a converted basement apartment when I first moved out from my parents. It was pretty nice, actually. I had my own private entrance, bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom, and was paying about 50% less than a "regular" apartment in that area would be.
 
LOL I'm loving this shit! This is great. About the basement flooding thing, are they build for that? It seems like it couldn't be accidental. I mean, home builders know they might flood, so aren't they designed to hold up to flooding? I know if you are living down there that could cause problems for you, but they aren't really designed for expensive TVs and furniture etc.
Those nasty basement pics...oddly interesting. Very odd. And very interesting.
 
There is a FINE line between right and wrong here.

Wrong - kid living in parents basement and doing NOTHING with their life while mooching off their parents (or parents enabling them to do so).

Right - kid living in the basement and contributing to the family financially and with work around the house.

TONS of kids now days stay at home longer and helping out their families in the process (this has been a standard around the world for ages, most kids don't move out until 30s+).

Many families simply cannot sustain on 2 incomes anymore and often need the support from kids incomes etc.

Above is also a great woman filter. When she asks if you live with your parents, tell her the truth. If she asks if you are mooching or actually contributing....chances are you have a good one. If she assumes you are a loser with nothing to offer, you want to run FAST and FAR.

🙂
 
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