This lines up with Nashville as well. Downtown solo will run you $2500-3000ish. You need a roommate to hit that $1200-$1300 zone. That doesn’t include utilities or renters insurance.
Downtown Dallas one bedrooms are running close to what you mentioned for Downtown Nashville. There are other central city neighborhoods in Dallas within a few miles of Downtown that are a little bit less expensive. That's where there are some deals on mediocre, older apartments that can be found.
Not to derail the thread but you think the job market is so bad that we can’t get other jobs right now? As in “if you have a job keep it?” Should we still be actively searching?
The white collar job market has been in recession since 2023 and has gotten progressively worse in 2024 and 2025. There's very little hiring going on right now in various white collar fields. Layoffs have been piling up since 2023. The general advice to employed people in white collar jobs is to be grateful to have a job in 2025. Employed people in subpar working situations can look for other work, but it is likely to be a waste of time for them since they are unlikely to get hired.
There is also another risk in changing jobs in 2025. If someone manages to beat the odds and change jobs in 2025, they put themselves at risk for a layoff in their new job likely in Q4 2025 or in 2026. Many companies conduct layoffs based on a "Last In, First Out" model. That means the newest hires are the first to be laid off. If a company decides to do layoffs in early 2026, someone hired in the second half of 2025 would be a prime candidate to be laid off.
Getting laid off is a major issue for men in terms of their sex lives. It doesn't matter what a man's relationship status is at the time of the layoff, there is likely to be some impact.
Most white collar men in relationships are dumped due to their layoff. Men in non-marital relationships who don't live with the girlfriends are the first ones to get dumped because it is easier for those women to exit. Those girlfriends usually exit within 3-4 months, which is often not enough time to get another white collar job. The married men and the men living with their girlfriends get a little bit more leeway with the breakup because those breakups are a little bit more difficult. These men might get 6-12 months before the divorce papers or breakup happens. In this market, that might not be enough time to get a new job.
Men who enter unemployment with no LTR and maybe 1-2 short term sex partners are also somewhat affected. It's true that they won't be losing their monogamous girlfriend during unemployment. Their short term sex partners would have been lost anyway regardless of employment status. For these men, the worst thing that happens with a layoff and unemployment is that it gets more difficult to seduce new women.
Childless men who end up unemployed might lose their independence and end up living with a parent or parents. Living with a parent or parents is less of an issue for men under 30. Living with a parent or parents becomes a bigger issue in seduction after a man's 30th birthday. I do not recommend men past college graduation age live with a parent or parents. It is generally going to negatively affect their sex lives, no matter how relaxed the parents are.
Getting laid off is less of an issue for women in terms of their sex and relationship lives. Boyfriends/husbands generally do not dump unemployed women. There's less of a penalty for women for living with their parents if necessary too.
I also want to point out that blue collar males are in a better position right now with the economy as it is. Also, blue collar men are treated differently by women during unemployment.