My parents are pretty cool. Yeah, I lose a bit of my freedom but I'll save a fuckton in rent and can save up to buy a condo or house at the end of the stay. I only plan on staying for about 6 months or so until I find someplace else to live. I won't be out until November and fuck moving in the winter so there's that.
Total rent was $1,110 a month for a 1200 sq ft apartment. My share was $555 before other expenses. I'm not on the lease at all. I'm listed as an 'occupant' so breaking the lease is my roommate's responsibility. I can't afford a one bedroom in this complex. I either need to get a better paying job or just not spend any money to do that.
I would need to look in a 'not as nice' part of town for something I could afford. If I buy a house, though, the mortgage would probably be less money than an apartment and I build equity at the same time. That and I could have a room just for my music shit and I could display all my CDs on racks instead of storing them in boxes etc.
Personality wasn't an issue and he was traveling a lot so I had this place to myself about 70-80% of the time.
I don't blame you for not wanting to go to an area with Hood-like qualities:Spin: because when you usually go below a certain $ amount, you usually end up getting what you pay for. Sadly, this comes from personal experience.
Also, I strongly recommend this to anyone who reads this...do NOT rent from a privately-owned building. That means that the unit that you are renting out is part of a building that has been purchased by one person. He/she bought it outright from an association, they own it even though it may be a 'section' of apartments together, they are all individually owned.
So that building might very well be the only source of income for the owner. They might even live in their own unit in the building. That definitely means they will be deep in your shit if they choose to be. Mine happened to be an European hag in her early 60's (looked like she was pushing 80). She was constantly hanging around and pestering me about noise and cleaning. The place had many issues with the drains. I literally was watching a DVD one day when I heard a dripping noise, over the tv sound mind you...when I paused the movie and heard a lot of water spilling. I got up and turned the light to see that the kitchen sink was filling up with sewage water without me even using the sink for hours.

uke: I had to get a bucket and transfer the water to the bathtub to dump out. Sadly, that wasn't the only time that happened.
Even though that was beyond shit, I stayed there because it was close to my job and cheaper. When I say cheaper, really was all the shit I went through worth it for saving a stinking $50 a month? In retrospect, not really. If you put your mind to it, there really are a lot of ways to both blow and save money. It all depends on the mental energy you're willing to put into it.
It's also great that you have cool parents. Not everyone is so lucky. I've been on my own & paying my own way since 18. I don't want to think about all the shit jobs I've worked and rent I've paid in my life (easily six figures I'll never see again.) If your P's let you stay with them & not charge you much/at all then my experienced advice would be to live like a motherfucking shut-in for as long as you can and don't spend an unnecessary dime if you have to. Obviously I don't know you or your expenses but if you can make it a year and bank JUST the rent you were paying, then that'll be $6660 (praise Satan:Spin

you can save, let alone anything else you can throw in. Trust me when I tell you that $10,000 goes a LONG WAY on a mortgage down payment.
Well, thanks for reading and good luck! Keep us informed!