Longest time living in the same apartment

[bandit957]

How long is a person able to live in the same apartment? I don't mean a homeowner living in the same house. I mean a renter who rents an apartment, even a very cheap or very small one.

I've had mine for 20 years, although it's considered an efficiency or studio apartment (which means it's tiny). As a side note, I don't think anyone in this apartment has ever had cable TV. It didn't have a cable hookup when I moved in, and I had to have one installed when I got Internet from Time Warner. Also, this building has had the same owner the whole time.

I had my previous apartment for 4½ years, but I was forced out of it when raw sewage backed up through the shower drain because of new subdivisions being built in the area.

[US71]

How long is a person able to live in the same apartment? I don't mean a homeowner living in the same house. I mean a renter who rents an apartment, even a very cheap or very small one.

I've had mine for 20 years, although it's considered an efficiency or studio apartment (which means it's tiny). As a side note, I don't think anyone in this apartment has ever had cable TV. It didn't have a cable hookup when I moved in, and I had to have one installed when I got Internet from Time Warner. Also, this building has had the same owner the whole time.

I had my previous apartment for 4½ years, but I was forced out of it when raw sewage backed up through the shower drain because of new subdivisions being built in the area.

12 for me. Hoping to upgrade next year to a small house.

[1995hoo]

How long is a person able to live in the same apartment? ....

As long as the landlord is willing to continue to rent it and the tenant is willing to continue to pay whatever the landlord requires as rent.

[PHLBOS]

27 years & counting.

[Max Rockatansky]

3 years was the longest I lived in a single apartment.  The problem I found was that rent would escalate for current occupants renewing a lease more and new occupants would get a much better monthly rate.  When I lived in Phoenix I spent 8 of the 13 years in an apartment or rental situation, in those instances I moved five times because it saved me money.  I didn't have the burden of having a ton of stuff to move so I could just do a couple truck loads and be done.  I think the theory with increasing rent on current occupants is that you're banking on them not wanting to move because of the inconvenience. 

[oscar]

35 years and counting (first five as a renter, then I bought out the landlord), until I die or get off my ass and move to better digs.

There are advantages to moving more often, it forces you to get rid of stuff you don't really need. That will be a major task if and when I move, even though I would be moving to a place bigger than my tiny one-bedroom apartment.

[Roadgeekteen]

One year while my house was getting rebuilt.

[US71]

One year while my house was getting rebuilt.

YOUR house or your parents' house?

[Roadgeekteen]

One year while my house was getting rebuilt.

YOUR house or your parents' house?

Both?

[jeffandnicole]

Just 13 months for me.

If you've come up I-95 in Delaware, there's a sign on a building around the I-95/DE 1 interchange saying "If you lived here you'll be home now" (it gets a bit lost now with all the ramps and movement in that area).  That's Cavalier Apts - the complex I lived in while in my Senior year in College.  Never even bothered transferring my NJ license to Delaware.

[Brandon]

I'll go for the shortest time - never.

[kphoger]

As a side note, I don't think anyone in this apartment has ever had cable TV. It didn't have a cable hookup when I moved in, and I had to have one installed when I got Internet from Time Warner.

As a side reply...

The building or even just your unit could have been renovated since the last time there was cable, in which case the outlets could have either been cut at the wall and covered over or pulled out entirely.  I work for a cable company, and I can tell you that's a somewhat common occurrence.  But I'll also mention that not having had cable TV isn't necessarily unheard of either.  The previous residents could have done just fine with over-the-air broadcasting, especially twenty years ago.

[vdeane]

About 3.5 years at my current place.  Otherwise, I haven't been in a metro area long enough since I graduated college.

[jp the roadgeek]

About 6 months between the house I grew up in and the last house I lived in.

One of my great aunts spent 27 years in the same apartment before she had to go into assisted living.

[kphoger]

For me, it would be 2001 to 2006.  I think my roommate still lives there.

When I first moved in, I was the only one on the lease, so I paid a full month's security deposit.  Then I got various roommates, updating the names on the lease whenever one moved in or out.  When it was time for me to move out, it was kind of tricky figuring out how to handle the security deposit:  the apartment was still being rented, so the landlady couldn't just hand back the deposit without getting a new one in return, but it was also awkward to tell people who had already been living there awhile to suddenly pay a security deposit of their own.

[texaskdog]

In order back to age 4: 5 (switched units once), 10 (switched units twice), 14, 4 (switched units once), 5 (switched units once), 2, 2 (current) so some long stretches

[Jardine]

I lived 15 months in a motel.

Seemed like 15 years.

Almost everyone there was long term.  My employer kept assuring me my dept would transfer across town at some point so I stuck it out till it happened.  Original time line was 6 months or less.  Once department moved, I found a nice affordable apartment 4 blocks form the building.  I lived in that apartment 6 years and enjoyed it.

I've lived in the same house now for 24 years.  I'd hate to wind up in a motel again.

[kkt]

The longest for me was about 5 years.

[Roadgeekteen]

I lived 15 months in a motel.

Seemed like 15 years.

Almost everyone there was long term.  My employer kept assuring me my dept would transfer across town at some point so I stuck it out till it happened.  Original time line was 6 months or less.  Once department moved, I found a nice affordable apartment 4 blocks form the building.  I lived in that apartment 6 years and enjoyed it.

I've lived in the same house now for 24 years.  I'd hate to wind up in a motel again.

Was the motel in a poor neighborhood? How big was your room?

[Jardine]

Motel complex spanned a city block.  There was a gas station/convenience store at one end.  Couple restaurants and a few smaller businesses.  It was on the corner of a very busy intersection.  Motel was not part of a chain, and had seen better days.  Big selling point was location. I didn't think the police calls to the place were that frequent, LOL, biggest aggravation for me were the mice.  Building had quite an issue with that. 

Size of the room was large enough for a big dresser and a double bed.  I brought in a small shelving unit to hold a TV set.  Had a full bath that was really roomy, but needed updated badly.  IIRC, bedding was changed once/week and I had 3 towels, washcloths and hand towels a week. 

It was rather noisy at times, my room was above a meeting room that seemed to have a wedding reception (or worse) every week.  Never was assaulted or anything.  No one ever took anything out of my room, but I didn't keep much there either.

I was usually able to park my car where I could see it from my room.  Everything in the building was wood paneling.  I don't recall room count, it was in the hundreds.

It's long since been bulldozed.

[Roadgeekteen]

Motel complex spanned a city block.  There was a gas station/convenience store at one end.  Couple restaurants and a few smaller businesses.  It was on the corner of a very busy intersection.  Motel was not part of a chain, and had seen better days.  Big selling point was location. I didn't think the police calls to the place were that frequent, LOL, biggest aggravation for me were the mice.  Building had quite an issue with that. 

Size of the room was large enough for a big dresser and a double bed.  I brought in a small shelving unit to hold a TV set.  Had a full bath that was really roomy, but needed updated badly.  IIRC, bedding was changed once/week and I had 3 towels, washcloths and hand towels a week. 

It was rather noisy at times, my room was above a meeting room that seemed to have a wedding reception (or worse) every week.  Never was assaulted or anything.  No one ever took anything out of my room, but I didn't keep much there either.

I was usually able to park my car where I could see it from my room.  Everything in the building was wood paneling.  I don't recall room count, it was in the hundreds.

It's long since been bulldozed.

Don't motels have tvs?

[DandyDan]

I myself have only lived in mine for a little over a year. It's just a one bedroom apartment. I found out fairly recently the lady downstairs has lived there since 1994. I hope I am not here for the next 23 years.

[Jardine]

TV cost extra and I already had one.

This was mid 80s, BTW.  No internet. Landline phone.

[jeffandnicole]

TV cost extra and I already had one.

This was mid 80s, BTW.  No internet. Landline phone.

Side outside?:  COLOR TV!  FREE HBO & ESPN!  A/C!

[Duke87]

There are a few people living in the same building as me who have been there for over 40 years. And I think the previous tenant of our apartment had been there for almost that long.