PurpleHooloovoo

Deliberate dehydration. Medical professionals do it too if they know they'll be in an hours-long surgery.

You just got friend-zoned, bro... she did the classic "INVITE OTHERS NOW IT'S A GROUP THING". I use it all the time. Condolences.

I mean, if that's the goal, then...should they be encouraging it? >.>

YES text as values instead of the workarounds within the data model would be a game-changer.

Sure. But that "use of various options to reduce your rent" applies to everywhere else, too. I could live with those measures and have even more to spend on dumb stuff if my salary was higher.

50k/year feels just like 200k/year if you live in a broken down van by the river and scavenge all your meals from garbage bins and buy nothing, ever!

This kind of thinking ("it's okay if to make less because you can get roommates and it's the same take-home!") is how people justify paying crap wages in higher CoL places.

Suddenly you've locked into a salary that forces you to have roommates for theoretically ever to even maintain your life. Costs of living will only increase, and "oh just get roommates" isn't an answer. Pay more wages.