Tara lives in a small yet homely shack in Bravil that a friend bought for her, Although she spends most of her time in the Arcane university studying like the model lille mage she is

In all my previous games, I got Rosethorn Hall as soon as I could. Early on, I'd get the shack on the waterfront in the IC, Benirus Manor in Anvil, later, the houses in Skingrad, Cheydinhal and Bruma but in this game, I'm at Level 3 so far and I'm thinking I'd like to really cut back on all that. It's a lot of work to get enough gold to get and furnish all those houses. So far, I'm staying in the guild rooms or not sleeping much. I have a deed to Frostcrag Spire but it's unfurnished. The Cheydinhal house was my first ever and I love that house and the one in Bruma but the Bruma house doesn't have a fire in the fireplace. My options are wide open at this point so we'll see.

I forgot that

She′s there at least once a year for the tournament

Yes, he loves having a warm fire to return to after hiking in the mountains all day

My pretty little shack on the waterfront

love it

There is a mod on Nexus to fix that:

Bruma_House__Fireplace_with_Fire-2800

possibly the best mod ever made

Oh thank you! Of course there would be...I wouldn't be the only one bothered by not having a fire in the house in the coldest climate. Such talented modders. It looks like Amarie Srinna will be living in Bruma in a warm, cozy house.

For those of you on console, who want a fire in the Bruma house:

Drop 4 to 5 lit torches in your home. Anymore than 5, the fire sounds like a roaring bonfire.
Leave your house. Fast Travel to the Imperial City or something.
Save your game.
Quit your game.
Reload your game.
Go back to Bruma House.
Enjoy an ale next to the fire.

Great advice and what I do even though I′m on PC. But I would strongly suggest no more than 4. As Big Daddy says, it′s like having a bonfire in your house and it can be disturbing.

But it′s no wonder why the Bruma house doesn′t have a fire going. Go take a look outside, the chimney is at the wrong side of the house!

Oops.

This is what Skarsgard did. Nice cozy fire on the cheap!

Do torches dropped on the ground last forever or do you have to replace them like you do when you hold them? I haven't experimented with torches long enough to find out.

I cannot say yet, but Lothran′s have lasted two whole winters now

It's in the northern United States...
...oh wait, you mean in Oblivion? I alternate between Battlehorn Castle and The Adventurer's Store in Chorrol. Nice area to live in.

Indeed. I love battlehorn

I recommend the 'simple portable tent' mod - you can set up your tent just about anywhere, and it provides two beds, a table and to chairs and, most importantly, safe storage!

As for permanent residence, Aerin is currently living in his shack on the Imperial Waterfront.

Edit: Now how the hell did I end up in the Oblivion forum??

You want to be here. Admitting it is the first step

Do you have these blackouts often? Next thing you know, you'll wake up in a prison cell, with an annoying Dunmer in the next cell.

But first a guard said, " Stop right there criminal scum!"

Well, my argonian assassin was recently promoted to Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, and so has been spending quite a bit of time in the Listener's Chambers
(http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=22135)
brewing up some new poisons. But most of the time, he's got a pack donkey that follows him around to carry his supplies, and just tosses a portable bedroll down anywhere under the open sky. At least, as long as there aren't any enemies nearby. The only downside is that bedrolls seem to attract bandits from miles around, so he often has to kill someone first thing in the morning before he can be on his way.

I used to buy every house in the game, but nowadays my characters tend to maybe buy one or two houses for convenience and spend most of their time in inns and camps.

No matter how far she travels or how much she is carrying, Rita always rides back to Skingrad to Rosethorn hall.
She does however sleep in inns, guild beds and even bed rolls in camps along the way.

They do last forever, as long as they don't roll away or something. Luci Pheria threw 5 torches outside of her house, threw them right on the ground. She arranged them so that they were in a pentagram shape. As long as she put them on flat ground, they stayed where they were, and that was outside. In a house there should be no problems

Then why do I get Lothran to collect every torch he finds??

I don't know what you're saying? Are you saying torches vanish in your games? In my games, torches tend to stay where they're put.