Extra cash

For a variety of reasons, my boyfriend, Ecogeoman, and I ended up with a bigger apartment than we really need. It's great when our friends and family want to visit, especially EGM's family from Far Off Land who stay for many weeks at a time. But mostly our extra bedroom sits unused. We have, however, rented it out several times to the tune of $100/week (don't tell my landlord!).

EGM and I are students in the same department but we both do our research at big institutions outside the university. That means we frequently know of a visiting scientist looking for temporary housing. These people usually come with funding, but not enough for a hotel or maybe they just don't want to stay all alone at a hotel. We've had people stay with us for 2 weeks to 3 months while they collaborate with someone where we work. Sometimes it can be really fun and it's usually intellectually stimulating at least. I think in some instances it has forged strong connections, even collaborations, with scientists we would otherwise only know casually.

Having people stay for short terms is better than a roommate. If you don't get along well, they're gone before you know it. We don't have to do much to accommodate them. We clear out some space in the kitchen and bathroom, but it's not like they are moving in to share equally in all the living space. Plus we decide when we want someone so if we know that say, EGM's parents are coming to visit, we don't rent the room. If you have extra space, it's a great way to get extra money while building your network and helping someone out.



You can read about another way to get extra cash at my blog The Happy Scientist, where I described how I participated in a focus group.