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Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Milifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

Leaving the nest

» The first-timers’ guide to renting your very own pad

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

t’s been roughly 23 anda

half years since the village
of Ioco, British Columbia, was
blessed with my arrival into
this harsh, unforgiving world
in the April of 1992. Since that
moment, without exception,
I’ve had a home with my long-
divorced mother and father,
both of whom have supported
my mediocre ass all through my
childhood and early adulthood. I
never forgot that I was extremely
lucky to have a place to live for
free, nor did I forget that I was
absolutely not entitled to free
boarding simply because my
last-of-kin are able to provide it.
All of these self-reminders and
mental preparation have finally
paid off, because last week, I
finally took a nice giant leap into
adulthood; as I’m putting this
piece together, I’m sitting at my
desk in my new room in Central
Coquitlam. It’s exciting, but
definitely a little intimidating.
People much younger than
myself (and probably you) have
done just fine living on their
own or with roommates, and it’s
not like they didn’t work hard.
Here’s how a growing cub such
as you can thrive without mama

bear.
1. Budget yourself: Now that
youre living on your own, some

: ideas might take a little getting

: used to—namely, the fact that

: youre entirely independent and

: supporting yourself. A huge part
: of growing up is learning how

; to use your money. It seems a

: much better idea to go out and

: binge drink on the weekends

: when you know for a fact that

: tomorrow you'll have a dinner

: prepared by Chef Mommy. You'll
: now have to take into account

: things you took for granted,

: such as groceries, clothes, and

: frickin’ laundry detergent (a.k.a.
: liquid gold; seriously, this stuff

: is expensive). If you have a car,

: insurance and gas is going to

: have your wallet for brunch.

Speaking of which...

2. Your car is a luxury, not

: a necessity: Ever since I moved
: into my new place, I’ve put down :
: my keys and have taken a break
: from driving. Okay, I'll admit it,
: it’s not by choice—my licence

: is currently suspended—but

: it’s been an unexpected boon.

: After cancelling my insurance

: and nixing gas costs, I’ve found
: a Compass Card is getting me

: around just fine. For some full-
: time college students, a vehicle
: is just not realistic; you have

: no time to work, and owning a

: vehicle is a massive money pit.
: 3. Have an income: It doesn’t :
: get more obvious than this in
: terms of advice. Whether it’s

: through work, your parents,

: or social assistance, having

: SOME form of income is non-

: negotiable. How can you pay

: your way in life without a few

: leaves of green (or in Canada’s

: case, green, red, purple, blue,

: and brown) to your name?

: Before you move in somewhere,
: itd be a smart idea to save up

: beforehand. Enter the adult

: world with multiple months’

: worth of rent in case something
: goes completely wrong.

4. Be nice to your

: landlords: In fact, go ahead

: and suck up to them a bit.

: The relationship between

: you and the person

: gracious enough to rent you

: space in their home is one of

: the first important associations
: you will have as an adult. Your

: parents owe you unconditional
: love, and your teachers owe

: you an education—this guy,

: though? He owes you nothing.

: He doesn’t even owe youa

: place to live. The only one

: writing I.0.U.s is you. Most

: landlords have rules, many of

: them completely reasonable;

: the kind of person who brings

: seven people over to his studio

: apartment for a loud party or

: who spends all day smoking

: weed inside the house doesn’t

: deserve the privilege of renting
: a space. :
There are too many kids out :

This issue:

(¥ She can catch crooks, just like flies!

(¥ The ECO-nomist and water conservation

(Y Obsessive observations on Starbucks

And more!

 

 

: there barely scraping by, always
: one paycheque or serious injury
: away from being homeless. This
: is especially a problem in an

: expensive city like Vancouver.

If you're living here, it means

Listed: The top 10 worst Halloween candy

» Candy to avoid when choosing what to give your trick-or-treaters

    
 

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

r

| alloween is fast approaching, and that means trick-

4. Chocolate pumpkins. Theyre round, covered in
foil, and made from the worst chocolate ever.

5. Caramel apple pops. They resemble radioactive

or-treaters will be at your doorstep before you know :

it! So then, what can you do to make sure your house : 6.
isn’t the only one on the block with a festive new toilet:

paper canopy? Well you can start by getting the right

kind of candy! Nothing ruins a kid’s goodie bag worse 7.
than a visit to the one house that’s giving out the crappy :

treats, or worse—toothbrushes! So here’s a list of the top

10 worst Halloween candy, so you can avoid them andall : 8
the repercussions that come with them. : ,

Black licorice. This is not candy. This is what
you give old people as a laxative.

Candy corn. Candy? Delicious! Corn? Delicious!
Candy corn? A plague on humanity.

Tic Tacs. Kids don’t want to smell minty fresh;
they want to eat sugar until they fall into a

coma.

1. Tootsie Rolls. Nobody likes them and they look

like poop.

2. Thrills. They taste like soap. If kids wanted that,

they’d swear a lot more.

9. Candy shaped like body parts. It’s confusing,
and encourages cannibalism.

10. Jelly beans. There’s a time and place for jelly

beans—it’s called Easter.

3. Rockets. Just pastel-coloured cocaine.

ooze and taste neither like caramel nor apple.

 

 

Image via Thinkstock

: youre going to be paying most of
: your income towards sheltering

: yourself. But if you're smart

: about it, even a kid such as

: yourself can make it on your

: own.

Image via Thinkstock