It costs a small fortune to rent a house or an apartment these days. On average, Americans are paying about $1,400 on the first of every month for rent.
It’s forcing some people to consider doing some crazy things to save a few bucks. For example, there are people who have thought about living in a storage unit to cut their housing costs.
Is this something that would interest you can you live in a storage unit? Before you do it, you should do your homework to find out if it’s legal. You should also think about the potential dangers that could come along with setting up shop in a storage unit.
Yes, it will save you money. But at what cost? Continue reading to find out why it’s a bad idea. Get the long term storage units ideas.
First, Why Would Anyone Want to Live in a Storage Unit?
Most people wouldn’t even entertain the idea of living in a storage unit. They cringe at the thought of going to bed every night in a dark storage unit and waking up in the morning still in that same darkness.
But there are some people out there who would willingly spend every day and night in a storage unit—if it meant saving some money. And in theory, you could save yourself quite a bit of money by moving into a storage unit and living in it to organize your storage room.
As we mentioned earlier, the average U.S. rent has soared up above $1,400. But the average cost to rent a climate-controlled 10-foot x 30-foot storage unit is only about $350.
How Much Rent you Pay right Now?
That means that, depending on how much rent you pay right now, you could save upwards of $1,000 every month. That works out to about $12,000 every year—or about $360,000 over the course of 30 years!
Suddenly, living in a storage unit doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
There are, of course, plenty of people who would still cringe at the thought of spending every day and night in a storage unit, even if it meant saving hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their lives.
But it’s hard to fault some people for considering it. It’s impossible to ignore the savings associated with it.
Is Living in a Storage Unit Even Legal?
In recent years, there have been many stories about people and even entire families living in storage units.
This guy took the internet by storm a couple of years ago when he moved into a storage unit and documented it on YouTube. This couple, meanwhile, made headlines when they spent time living in a storage unit with their six kids.
But here’s the thing: No matter how enticing moving into a storage unit might be, it’s can you live in a storage unit not legal. It’s also against the rules at every storage facility.
Evicted from Storage Unit
The guy who posted videos about setting up living quarters in a storage unit on YouTube? He was evicted from his storage unit after the videos started to make the rounds on social media.
And the family that battled back against tough times by turning a storage facility into their home? They had their six kids taken away from them by Child Protective Services. They were also forced to move out of the storage facility.
Tempting as it might be to live in a storage unit as opposed to paying rent to live in an apartment or home, you shouldn’t do it. It could end up with you getting thrown out of your storage unit and possibly even arrested.
Should You Try to Move Into a Storage Unit Anyway?
If you’ve fallen on hard times recently, you might feel like you have no choice but to try living in a storage unit.
After all, what’s the absolute worst that can happen? You get asked to leave and maybe arrested? It might seem like it’s worth the risk to some people.
There are even worse things that can happen to you, though. You could put your health and even your life at risk by moving into a storage unit.
Storage Units that Aren’t Climate-controlled
It can get to be very hot inside. The air quality in them can also be very poor. Both of these things could take a toll on your health and cause respiratory problems.
Storage units also aren’t designed to open up from the inside. As a result, there is a chance that you could get locked in your unit if you’re not careful. You could find yourself in a real quandary if a fire ever starts in a storage facility and you can’t get out of your unit.
These are all valid reasons for why you should reconsider living in a storage unit if you’re headed in that direction.
Does This Mean You Can’t Use a Storage Unit to Save Money?
At this point, living in a storage unit should be the furthest thing from your mind. It’s both illegal and dangerous to do it.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still use a storage unit to save money. You can utilize a storage unit as more than just a place that can you live in a storage unit.
You can also use it solely for storage and save money when you do. Once you store a lot of your personal possessions in a storage unit, you can rent a smaller apartment or house, which will, in turn, save you money.
You might not save as much as you would while staying in a storage unit. But at the same time, you won’t have to worry about jeopardizing your life when you take this approach. That should be enough to make it a win/win situation for you.
Consider Renting that can You Live in a Storage Unit
Living in a storage unit to save money is officially out of the question.
But obtaining one so that you can downsize your apartment or home and save some money on rent? That sounds more like it can you live in a storage unit. It’s an excellent way to start setting more money aside so that you don’t even have to entertain the idea of moving into a storage unit again.
Read our law section blog to learn other ways to start saving more money.
