Moving back in with the rents

The pros and cons of living at home after Graduation

Pros

Saving Money

Moving back home is the perfect platform for saving money, whether you simply can’t afford to move out, for a short term goal such as going travelling or the longer term goal of saving for a house deposit. Your parents will often charge you little or nothing to live at home. And even if you do pay rent you often won’t have to cover the bills and food which can save you a fortune, particularly the expense of costly council tax payments which you dodged as a student.

Pampering

Although some students are lucky enough to enjoy top notch accommodation, most have spent three years in a small room in a cold, damp, possibly dirty house so moving back home can be heaven! Warmth! Double glazing! A clean shower, a kitchen bin which gets emptied regularly rather than just piled up and clean pots are all delights. Best of all there’s a chance your washing and ironing will get done for you! A tip is to say “I don’t have enough washing for a full load so it is more economical if you wash my clothes with yours, think of the planet.”

Food

Food deserves a point all of its own. Moving home can mean meals are cooked for you and not only that but, proper meals made with nice ingredients, so no more vegetable pasta for a while. And don’t forget the bountiful fridge! Of course home cooked Sunday dinners never taste as good as your mum’s.

Seeing your mum/dad/sister/brother/dog

Okay so you never admitted this at uni but you probably missed your nearest and dearest sometimes, or maybe you didn’t but moving home has enabled you to bond in a new way, you’re now a grown-up after all. Everyone loves a cuddle and some family gossip now and again.

Support and Security

Finishing uni is sometimes a bit daunting. All of a sudden your daily routine and not to forget, your social life falls away around you. Living at home once again with your family can offer you the structure you need until you build up your new life. Your family can also be very supportive through the whole challenging employment process. Starting a new job can be very tiring and stressful at first and may well really appreciate their support. 

Cons

Lack of Privacy

Okay so your family are letting you live at home for next to nothing, they are feeding you good meals and you are getting your washing done, however, they seem to have forgotten how to knock. Apart from being annoying this can seriously hinder phone conversations about the night before and your relationship with your boyfriend/ girlfriend.

Serious reduction in coolness

Gone are the days of sipping coffee with your contemporaries in the local fair-trade cafe and staying up all night partying. Now you help your mum with the weekly shop and have a drink with your dad in the local pub. Not quite the same as being the cool football captain is it.

Taking a step backwards

Even though you can see the pros of moving home it can also feel like you have taken a huge step backwards. You may well have imagined more adventures after university rather than this. Coupled with the anxiety of finishing uni and maybe finding it difficult to find a job, this can feel like you have just undone everything you accomplished. But really this is a stepping stone whilst you are sorting yourself out.

Less freedom

You have had full independence for three or four years but now you probably have to tell someone your every move. At first this can seem very unnatural. Your mum calling you at 6pm to see where you are and if you are coming home for tea and if not who you are with, where are you going and what time you are coming home. You’ll go from staying out all night to being told off for worrying them if you’re late home. Before you could eat what you liked, have people round to your house if you wanted and sleep all day if you felt like it but things will probably change now.

Irritating habits

Being away means that your memory has dulled about your family members’ irritating habits and how they aim to embarrass you in public. Whether it is your little brother stealing the remote and insisting on watching sky sports news all night, every night or your dad rushing into the bathroom every morning one minute before you do, or your mum making jokes at the dinner table about you being a beaver in your school show - the ones you love often annoy you the most. It is best just to remember that you’re annoying too!

Read more about life after graduation.

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