I'm worried about taking a loan

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And that's ridiculous since it'll take at least a year no matter what I do before I can get one big enough (I'm saving for a place of my own), and realistically thinking it'll probably be 2-3 years before I could close a deal. I just happen to be the type that simply has to plan ahead, to think of all the possibilities, or I'll get really anxious, even more so than I do about the planning.

It's not that I'm worried about over spending and not being able to handle the monthly payments because of that; I'm good at budgeting after all. What worries me is that what if I loose my job? Or have to take a long sick leave? Or if, before buying the place, I accidentally overlook the need for some big and expensive renovation which I can't afford? These are situations that could lead to me loosing the place but still having a huge debt. And that's what worries me the most, the worst case scenario.

Of course, there are other problems with buying a place of my own, too. What if I really don't like the area I pick? It's highly unlikely I could buy from where I live at the moment; I got lucky when I rented the studio I live in now, but selling prices tend to be really high around here. And even if the area is good, what if I end up with bad neighbors? I don't mean the slightly annoying kind, but actually dangerous ones or ones that, despite not causing direct harm, make lots of noise and such even at night.

I suppose this is what they call adult problems...?

Yep. Adult problems.

I feel like most neighborhoods in Finnish places would be much safer than some neighborhoods in NYC.

A rule of thumb people use in the US----is that they don't spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent or mortgage. If you make $2,000 a month, say, you should seek to pay less than $600 a month for rent or mortgage, according to that viewpoint.

I would make sure I live close to public transport. That’s #1.

^ I'm sure you're right, but just because it's safer doesn't mean it's safe. I'd really rather not take any unneeded risks when it comes to my safety. Financial risks I can deal with, but I'd rather keep the risks to my health as minimal as possible.

That's a very good rule, but I can't follow it even if I wanted to since I have a rather small salary and living is really expensive here... at the moment my rent takes a bit over 32 % of all my income (including disability benefit and such) after taxes, which is actually less than I expected, but there are also things like home insurance bills... and the fact that I'm renting a studio right now, but when I buy my own place I want it to have a separate bedroom, perhaps an office too if I manage to find a good deal (unlikely, but not impossible.)
But then again, we do have a similiar rule here, except here it's 40 %, so by Finnish standards I'm actually doing okay... oops.

Yeah, having public transport is a must for me since I can't get a driver's license due to disability. Thanks to this I need to be careful of the "dying areas" too; even if they had public transport when I moved there, they might not have any after a few years.

Big ups on the adulting. I can't even imagine what it would be like to consider buying a house since my credit is horrid. I think you have a pretty good approach.

Just curious, what is it that you worry about with safety?

^ Some areas have a lot more people with drug and alcohol addictions than others and I've heard it's pretty common in these places for those people to come and ask for money from strangers, often agressively.

I'm also sceptic about living in the centers of the bigger cities (not that I could afford it) since that's where majority of the bars and such are and drunk people can be dangerous, especially for a woman my age.

The third point also links directly with me being a woman; I don't want to move in to an area where there are lots of people from cultures where women have considerably less rights than men, for that would raise the chances of me getting sexually harassed (it's a real problem in those places, especially one area in particular.)

My advice would be to save, save , save. Keep saving your money, give some consideration to which area you'd like to move to, and otherwise don't worry about it too much until you've saved up enough for a deposit. You don't know what will be on the market when you've saved up enough money, so worrying about it too much at the moment isn't going to help with much. I think the saying "cross that bridge when you come to it" applies here.

^ No can do; I'm the type that likes to be prepared. What if, when I have the money, I find a good place yet hesitate 'cause I haven't done enough research? Plus, I want to understand what kinds of renovations are expensive and troublesome before I start seriously looking, so I need to study. I don't want to waste time studying when I have the money because then I'd have to keep paying rent 'cause I don't have enough knowledge to buy right away.

Make sure you’re near public transport.

I would pick a newer place—because they usually require less renovations.

I would make sure the electricity system is modern. And the plumbing.

If I’m concerned about a neighborhood, I would take a trip during the day and after dark. I would look up crime statistics, and how good the schools are.

^ Yes, public transport, good public transport to be exact, is a must. In the area I went to school for grades 1-6 there are some very cheap places, but the public transport is poor so that area's out. I mean I wouldn't like it anyway, but still. Oh and having a library at a walking distance would be great, too.

Oh yeah, the plumbing. That's the one thing I'm rather well informed about, at least compared to other things. It's troublesome and expensive, so a place where the plumbing has been fixed in the last five years would be for the best. Newer places would have that fixed of course, but they are also a lot more expensive.

A trip or two probably wouldn't give much information about the safety, but about local services it could. I was actually planning on checking a few areas this summer, but I just kept pushing the plan back. It's not all that cold yet though, so maybe I could still go instead of waiting for the next year?

If there are people hanging out in the streets late at night in a neighborhood, especially if there are no shops in the area, then you know it's probably not a safe area.

^ I hadn't thought of that... do groups of teens count? My current area has lots of those hanging at school yards and parks, but the worst they've done to me during the six years I've lived here is yell insults.

Groups of teens don't tend to make a neighborhood feel pleasant to the adults who live there. It's not necessarily "dangerous"---but it could be. The teens could be in gangs.

First I avoid buying any place that needs work. Unless it's something you can do yourself and do over time when you get the money, get the place.

Do research on the area first, rent an apartment first or room if you are not sure of the area. If you are moving there job related, find a place to rent and if you don't like it there, try to find a job elsewhere and then move.

Check how much it costs to live there, look at home pricing, look at rent costs there, how much utilities cost.

Perhaps look for a house that isn't so close to neighbors.

Yeah life sucks and you can't predict s**t happening or who your neighbors will be or if a sex offender will move in a block away from you.

Sounds like anxiety there you are dealing with. Most people accept these things could happen but they don't obsess over it and fret and worry.

^ Hmm yeah maybe I should rent in the area first... the area I'm renting from now is safe, but it's expensive and I've already lived six years here plus went to school in the area three years on top of that and, well, am kind of bored, so I'd rather not buy a place from here.

Something like painting stuff or putting up wallpaper I could do, but other than that I'd need help... I have nothing against having to paint, but anything harder than that I'd like to avoid.

Yeah, gotta check the prices... though I'm not all that sure why I should know rent prices of the area if I'm buying?

I won't buy a house; I want an apartment in a multiple story building or a row house, preferably the former. Plus it's extremely rare here for a young adult to buy a house as their first place, especially if they're single.

Really? I thought this was normal.

to be honest, I wouldn't take a loan

That's always an option too of course, but if I just tried to save up for a place of my own, I'm sure I'd be at least 50 before I could buy one, not to mention I would have to pay rent 'till then, so my money would most likely go to someone who did take loan. An apartment is a good investment if you buy it from the right place.