There is increasing pressure on young adults to move out of their parents’ house these days. This makes them think that once they are eighteen, they must move out to seek independence. And while this is all well and good, is it necessary? Is that the only way to gain maturity and independence? A lot of people will say yes, and a lot more will say no. Irrespective of the opinions, moving away from parents' home sure brings about a lot of "first" experiences and we will highlight a few of them here.
Moving Away from Home
Indecision
This has got to happen at some point. When you leave home, you become primarily in charge of all your decisions; as opposed to the time when you were back home, there is no one to fine tune decisions anymore. When family is around, there will always be a second opinion when you want to do something, there will either be a "go ahead", or "I don’t think that is a great idea". But once you are alone, you become your own parent in terms of decisions and this can be a bit overwhelming at first.
Inability to adjust
From fatigue to sleepless nights, adjusting to the flow in a new environment is something you experience when you are starting living on your own. Things will have to change; you now are in charge of things like cleaning your home, washing your clothes, and buying the grocery. Having to leave behind a particular way of life you have been used to takes a toll on the psyche. This is expected to happen usually within the first three months of moving away from home and it is completely normal. The best way to adjust to the new environment is to visit the places nearby and familiarize yourself with them. This makes it a lot easier to settle in.
Missing home cooked food
Who can deny this one? Mom’s and sometimes dad’s food always appears in front of you without much effort on your part. But now, you’re on your own. This is a harder task than one can imagine and it usually presents itself one day when you are either too tired to cook, or when you realize you have spent too much money buying takeout. For others who are used to eating with siblings or at the dining table with other family members, it is going to be difficult to eat meals by themselves after moving out. But you gotta suck it up because there is no solution to it (unless you’re interested in getting a flat mate).
Fear of failure
You may choose to limit what you experience in a new environment because you are afraid of doing something that will make you move back. All of a sudden, failure becomes horrific. Thoughts come to your mind, like "What if I can’t sustain myself and have to move back into the family house?" If such thoughts become dominant, they could hamper your progress, both physical and emotional. Fear is normal when one is about to experience something new, but that fear should quickly be substituted for excitement and willingness to explore new horizons. Don’t forget that!
Extra expenditure
Moving away from home is not cheap. One who has left home is now in charge of all the bills from electricity, rent to food. This can be a lot to take in until you are fully adjusted to the fact that you are living alone. Speaking of alone, you may find yourself taking "a loan" from one friend just to support yourself because you may have too much ego to ask parents for the money. However it is wiser to ask your parents for the money in cases your friend is also facing this kind of awkward situations since this is a common issue for those starting to live on themselves.
Regret
It’s going to get tough at some point, either when one is unable to make rent, when one is starving, or when one is just home-sick. At that point the regret sets in. One starts to think it was stupid and unnecessary to leave the house in the first place. It is important to note that it is not necessary to move out in order to learn independence and maturity. But know what? Moving out fast tracks the process of "growing up" because now you’re in charge of your own life. And that’s what adults do!
Meeting new people
This happens most of the time. When you are moving away from home, one of the realities which hit you is that you are moving away from friends and people you could relate to. Once in a new environment, you may find yourself struggling to make new friends. It is suggested that people in a new environment should observe the place that they are in, visit landmarks, popular eateries and cafés around the area, and get to know what's going on in the environment. Once this is done, they will become more comfortable in the new home and making friends becomes easier.
Feeling forgotten
When young adults move out, they would get calls from their friends and family often. It is easy not to feel too distant in the early stages of moving but sometime soon, in like six months or so, the calls reduce and the checkups are not so often. When this happens and it will happen, one starts to feel forgotten and there is a certain sadness that creeps in at the back of one’s mind. It is not necessary to feel this way but it is human nature. The truth is, at first when you move away, everybody is thinking that you need support so they all call and check in regularly. But after a few months, it is clear that you are handling it well and so the calls and texts reduce in number. And when you understand this, you will make peace with the fact that they don’t call as often as they used to!
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