As spring begins to dawn, I figure I can officially say I’ve made it through the winter. Not just any winter, a Seoul, Korea winter. And not just any Seoul, Korea winter, a record breaking, Seoul, Korea winter that dipped to -17 degrees Celsius.
And not only did I make it through it, I did it without a heater.
Back in the summer, I didn’t know if the no heater experiment would be possible. I didn’t even know if I wanted to try it. Turns out, I did try it, and it was possible.
Thankfully, my place stays pretty warm. I guess the surrounding apartments keep it temperate. I like that. It helps keep my bills down.
I didn’t realize how much I was saving until a friend told me his place cools down like crazy. He spends something like $120/month staying warm (maybe that included water too, I don’t recall).
Either way, it’s nothing compared to what I pay, like $10/month.
This is one part of renting that’s easily overlooked. Even if your place doesn’t cost much to rent, the savings might not get you anything if you have huge bills to keep it up. The hard part, though, is that most people don’t experiment with leaving their heater off, so it’s tough to tell if you can survive without it before moving in.
Still, it’s something to consider, or experiment with.
