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Notes from Underground: 7 Years of Living in Basements

Anne Zieger
5 min readJun 15, 2019

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Over the past seven years, as we’ve struggled to get solvent, mentally well and credit-worthy, we have lived in four different basement apartments. And over those years, they’ve gone from a quick fix for an untenable housing situation to pure misery.

Initially, we saw basement living as a relief. The first time we rented underground, my husband and I were at an all-time low financially and emotionally, behind on our the rent and desperate for somewhere safe to go. He had just gotten out of rehab. We were dragging ourselves out of the wreckage of an immensely painful family loss and barely able to function or look forward to anything beyond a few days at a time.

When we found a basement room with a dedicated bathroom and easy-to-access washer and dryer in a nice neighborhood, at $600 less per month than we’d been spending, we didn’t hesitate.

After you’ve lived in a few such “apartments,” though, you discover that there are some soul-sucking aspects to basement life. They’re cheaper than other housing, but you give up a surprising amount of independence, privacy and even your sense of control over your daily life.

You have little control

It’s a hot summer day, and you’re ready to blast your AC, costs be damned. So you do it. End of story.

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Anne Zieger
Anne Zieger

Written by Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger has been a writer for almost 30 years. She's interested in life, the universe and everything.

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