renting vs living at home?

[john kane]

i had type out a really long post but then figured it was too long. so here it is in summary:

i currently live at home with parents. whilst i get on very well with parents, having spent half of the last 4 years at university, i've found now 3 months since ive been back i'm feeling i'd like a place of my own.

i can't afford to buy anywhere i'd like. i have $160k in savings from poker.

i'd pay about $2.5k in rent per month for somewhere i'd like, maybe as much as $3k per month (i'd like a riverside apartment, for some reason i just really want a riverside apartment)


4 weeks time i start as trainee accountant with big4 firm. wage is $53k so about $3.5k/month tax free.

expenses at home about $1.5k/month. expenses living in rent place about $3k/month

thus living at home i make $2k/month and renting it costs about $3k/month

i should make about $2k/month from passive sources and at least $2k/month from online poker, should be more. i.e. i should make $6k/month living at home versus making $1k/month renting.

would i be crazy to rent?

just that i feel i would enjoy so much living in a riverside apartment, and although it would cost me $60k in lost earnings over a year to do so, i feel given the number of variables money-wise and how lucky i have been to have $160k in savings that maybe it's time to reap the some of what i've sowed. i've always been of the view of enjoying today whilst building for a more secure future, but i feel the future would be good without having to save over the next few years given my salary would double after 3 years of working.

would this be really financially irresponsible?

just that part of me thinks given if i'm still alive and all goes according to plan, i'll be on $100k/yr in 3 years time and it'll keep going up and up as the years go by, and so effectively i'll get more enjoyment out of the money now than i will in the future.

i don't want this to come across as 'well done you've saved some cash', i just don't know whether i'd regret spending so much on rent'

thanks for taking the time to read, and any thoughts greatly appreciated.

edit: one thing i'd like to add is that i don't want to look back in a few years time and think 'wait a minute, i should of had a really fun time aged 23-26 rather than an alright pretty good time'. i feel at uni from 20-23 i had a great time becuase i never put saving over having a good time (yet still played a sod load to grind out as much as i could), whereas i feel by living at home i will be.