(Food is cooked and delivered to home, beach is a 10 minute drive).

The people sleeping in the tent have access to the house for cooking and the bathroom.

Cleaning cooking greese off of the wall behind the stove?

Which currently lands me at exactly that 5.5-8.5 range you're referring to. 

The numbers on Columbus seemed low to me at first glance, but I guess if the data is only considering the actual city of Columbus and not any of the surrounding suburbs/bexley it makes more logical sense. 

I hope you're adjusting well.And you're not far from me at all. 

Why not buy a simple small home, preferably with an en suite and from there convert it into a simple 2 stage apartment.. you live in one half of the ‘house’ an the other pays your half.Both would need work I know but with the en suite all you would need is a cooking facility for the other section/apartment an another small toilet for yourself...

When I was living off-campus in college (2017-2018), I rented out an entire apartment and found roommates to rent with me at prices I determined.

My guy , who normally charges a good price on floors and makes up for it elsewhere, is quoting me at $2.5k. 

They cost just a couple of cents each in bulk and are a good starter for guests.The kitchen is load with spices for baking, cooking and grilling.