<prompt> Human: Hello personalfinance,I am looking for some advice in renting an apartment or buying a studio co-op. Financially it will be very tight so it is probably not the best idea but I need to move out of my parents home at this point in my life being 30 years old. I currently work in Manhattan as a Jr. Network Administrator making 56k pulling roughly 700 a week take home which honestly has been hard enough trying to save paying no rent living at home.My current expenses go something like this a month: Car Insurance 400, Phone 100, Student Loan 350, Train to commute and parking 350, Lunch 200. I obviously have to cut out my lunch and bring it to work when I move out. So not including lunch my bills are about 1200 leaving me about 1600 a month. I have about 16k total saved up and am looking at a studio co-op that will cost me about 44k to buy in a very nice neighborhood in Westchester. So I havent done the exact math but with about 9k down my mortgage would be around 250-300 range with 640 Maintenance Fee which includes a pool, gym, parking, taxes, water and heat. So I think I would be paying about 900-1000 a month leaving me about 600 to myself a month. This 600 though would need to go to food, electric, cable and I tend to go out with friends at least once a week spending easily 100 some less some more and obviously I would have to cut this down as well. I am single and have never lived on my own other than away at school in a dorm where I didnt need to worry about food, bills, etc... because they were covered in financial aid and such. So I am trying to figure out how practical this is. Do you guys see this as enough for me to get by and not be losing every month? I was told buying the co-op is good because it is basically an investment and when I am able to move out in say 5 years or so I at least get some money back vs trying to find a 1 bedroom apt which I prefer and getting nothing back. Also in New York it will not be easily to even find a 1 bedroom apartment for 900 a month at least in a decent neighborhood.Finally when I move I plan on starting my own side tech business just fixing computers and stuff on off hours through craigslist to hopefully bring in a little extra money. I will be living in a building with a lobby so I wouldnt mind meeting customers their rather than my parents house now because they would not be happy about that. Edit: Thanks PM_ME_YOUR_RATTIES I changed condo to co-op in the post  <response>: Nope. Doesnt seem like a good move to me. I think that would be way too house poor for my liking. Also, dont really get your numbers. You are buying a house for 44k? Why not just move out and live somewhere that is way cheaper and find a groove of how much it costs to live on your own. I think you are forgetting way too many expenses. First, one-time expenses just getting yourself set up, closing costs, furniture, supplies, etc. And I think you are leaving out a ton of recurring things that just pop up when you need to pay for everything. And I think you are not leaving enough cushion for one things inevitably go wrong with your car or house. What if your water heater goes belly up in the winter? What if your pipes burst? 