Will living in a basement suite make me feel depressed or stir-crazy?

This is an odd question - but can living in a basement apartment have negative psychological effects?

I'm asking because I'm moving into one. There is a housing shortage in my current city and I consider myself lucky to have found a place. It is great - it has new carpet, fixtures, and paint, it's a safe neighborhood, and it's a quiet building.

I do believe that living spaces can have strong effects on your mental health. I lived in a very small dorm room for a few months and I started feeling stir crazy and depressed. However, at that time I was also feeling lonely and stressed with schoolwork, so there may have been other factors playing a part in my "cabin fever".

The basement apartment is spacious, and there are large windows facing the sunlight in the living room and in the bedroom - they are not tiny little windows. I'm just worried if the sensation of being "underground" will get to me somehow, especially in winter. I just keep thinking back to my dorm room situation and how bad I felt then, even if it wasn't a basement room.

I've never lived in a basement, so I'm not sure, but I also felt like that in a small student room. I would think it would depend on how much time you're going to be spending in the apartment. When I was in the student room, I was less depressed during the weeks I was out and about a lot than during the weeks I was inside a lot.

I think if you have enough exposure to sunlight, you should be okay but I don't think I could live in a basement apartment.

I agree with Lambert.....as long as the windows in the apartment allow enough natural light you will be okay. I live in the lower level of a raised ranch home (1/2 basement 1/2 above ground) and have 44" windows....no problem. If they were smaller and not as many (double and single in the living room, double in my daughters BR, 2 single's in my BR, single in the bath room, and a single and a double in the kitchen)....I couldn't do it. Good Luck!

PS...in the winter when the sun is lower in the horizion I don't get as much light and sometimes that sucks......but it depends on what direction your windows face. South is the best.

It is not the fact that it is a basement - the factor here is how much natural light you will get. I think that you will probably be fine, but just make sure you get out into the natural light outside each day for about 15 minutes - rain or shine.

Sounds like you might have had something called "Seasonal Affect Disorder" when you were in the dorm, from not getting enough natural light...

I lived in a basement for almost a year and I was ok. It was a pretty big place, and got enough natural sunlight with only a few windows. I never felt cramped or like I was under ground or anything. I think the way the basement is finished effects how you feel. If its finished fully and has all the amenities you need, you'll be ok. I do suggest investing in a dehumidifier though. Basements are notorious for mold, no matter how well its finished. If its an older place it may not have the greatest air filtration system. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think the main problem with the dorm room was the size - even though it had natural light and a big window, the room itself was very, very small. That's why I ruled out bachelor/studio apartments - I want to have lots of space with separate rooms. The windows in this apartment are large enough that you can stand up and look out of them, and as I said, there is lots of natural light with the direction they are facing. I am hoping it will be okay...there were not a lot of options.

The last house I lived in with my fiance was in a basement. It wasn't lack of sunlight that drove me crazy- it was the damn roaches that followed.

Just get out of there as much as possible. That is a good idea no matter where you live. I think you will be fine.

I lived in a basement apartment in Queens and I gotta tell ya, it's no fun especially in the winter time. I had to shut my windows and have it plastered with paper so that any passerby can't peer in. Can't even crack open a window during summertime as well.

Plus it's damp and no proper circulation or natural light.

Even though I was out a lot but living in a basement is just not natural. Maybe others can adapt but since you've had experience some form of cabin fever, I don't recommend it.

Good luck!

Yep, you just need a lot of light even if you have to buy natural light lamps. Light plays a huge role in energy level and overall health. Plants and especially flowers they say can improve your mood and focus a lot even in workplaces so it can only be good in your home.

Well, it turns out I am not moving there after all. I found another apartment in a more convenient location and luckily I was able to cancel on the other. It has big windows and a balcony. By the time I move in there will be less sunlight during the day so it's probably good that I didn't go with the basement suite.

I will say living in a basement suite should be a last resort for anyone to live there. I know this because I have lived in a basement suite for almost 11 years, and I have to say I am moving out of it as soon as I am able. I will explain it is nothing like living in an apartment, the size of a basement suite may seem like a benefit, but the downsides of everything else will outweigh that very fast. Our basement suite has large windows, and the home is built in 1965, its old structurally but looks newer from renos. Don't live in a basement suite unless it is the last thing you have to do.

Pros:

1. Basement suite is generally larger, therefore more living space

2. Shared backyard that you won't have in an apartment

3. Sometimes cheaper. I have checked the basement suite we live in now is 625/month and to find that it impossible in Edmonton. The going rate is on average 1000/month for 2 bed basement suites and 2 bed apartments are on average 950/month.

Cons:

1. Cold always period. Summer time when its 30+ outside degrees is the only time you will enjoy living in the basement suite, rest of the year you are wearing thick socks, slippers, and fully dressed.

2. Noise from upstairs is brutal. Our basement suite is raised floor, and the upstairs is hardwood. The floors between upstairs and down are not insulated so you hear EVERYTHING. Our neighbors walk around it seems like dinosaurs and drop things like 3 year olds everyday from 5am to 7am and never can sleep in unless we use a very loud fan for white noise.

3. Shared laundry. This one isn't always the same for each basement suite, some places have non- shared laundry but that is hard to come by for basement suite, so prepare to have your privacy invaded 3 times a week.

4. Utilities are shared, and thus the upstairs neighbors could very well leave the T.V. running all day home or not, run the shower 9 times a day and you as the basement tenant must pay a portion of their wasting. Our neighbors upstairs run the T.V. almost 18 hours a day, I know cause we hear the thing through the thin paper floors.

5. Mold is seen almost yearly during spring or rainy season. I had our basement suite checked for mold behind the walls, cause I was getting very sick and sure enough when our landlord ripped back the walls it was black mold 2 feet from the floor up behind the drywall. And the bugs as well show up just about 1 once a week, no roaches here but some pill bugs(water beetles) and large spiders are common.

6. Flooding is always a concern in the basement cause nobody but yourself will be the one to suffer it. Upstairs tenants could overflow their tub and run down the walls into your bedroom. We had our upstairs neighbors toilet run over at least 5 times before we called the landlord to explain we dont want yellow piss water dripping down our bathroom wall. It was disgusting.

7. Big windows will not be enough for light. Trust me on this one. We have large windows in our basement about 6 feet wide in each bedroom and its still dark. If you dig a square hole in the ground 10 feet down, and then put a roof over it with windows all around ground level, no matter what it will be darker than ground level or anything above that.

8. The air quality is bad. We have to open our windows almost everyday just to flush out the smells from upstairs(return air from upstairs must leak down to us somehow) and to help stir up some movement. Basement suites are terrible with stagnant air, it just wont move, we have to run a fan by the window and force it in one way to get some fresh smell.

Now with all the cons I can now explain the quality of your health will be. From experience of 11 years in the basement suite, the longer you are awake in the basement, the more depressed you become and less enthusiastic and energetic and less ambitious to do anything. The 3 years I worked outdoors for about 12-14 hours a day I felt living in the basement suite was ok, but that was because I was outside for the full light of the day, and at home when the sun set. But the years I was at home for 1/2 the light of the day when I worked 8 hour days and 6-8 hours at home before bed, my health, my attitude, and drive dwindled. My brother and I moved in together 11 years ago and since then we have both lost our ability to get and and do things. Its a death-trap for anyone who likes to relax at home, but those who hate being at home and want to be out hanging with friends and such, you may just 'tolerate' it. My wife moved in with me 2 years ago and before she moved in she was a lively person. But since she has lived here 2 years in the basement, she has become like brother and I. It is a very real thing, depression, lack of ambition, no motivation, and seems like you cant get anywhere and dragging your butt around just to get out of it to finally feel better.

In Conclusion, Basement suites are BAD BAD BAD! The basement was never meant to be a place to live, thats where the Romans locked up their prisoners, and the slaves lived underneath the rest of people. Homes were built to have cellars, store food, supplies, equipment. They were only a place to hide from tornadoes, or escape thieves. And those that became locked up in a basement type place, lost their health, their hope, and sanity. Trust me on this one, basement suites should be avoided at all costs!

I forgot to mention 2 more points.

9. Smoke and gases will settle in low areas. That means your basement suite is collecting cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and other fumes from furnaces and such when the windows are open. Why do I say this, because all our neighbors around us smoke, and if any 1 window is open the basement is full of smoke. It doesn't rise like you would think, it quickly cools when in the air and settles in the lowest point around, your basement suite.

10. Basement suites are rarely Legal. I know our landlord spent thousands of dollars to upgrade our furnace room to fit the city standards, but this was only because the new installed furnace workers said the basement was not up to code. I am sure there is other things, but I won't discuss it further.