I was 18 when I moved an hour and a half away from home to go to college. Before I finished my first semester, I had signed a lease for the next school year. By the time I was 19, I officially lived in an apartment with one roommate. I had not realized how unprepared I was to face the reality of living on my own.
1. Living on your own is expensive.
Especially around a college campus. Even the crappy apartments are ridiculously expensive, since landlords in university areas like to rip off students who are trying to better their future as much as possible. And not even just the rent, but also the electric, gas, internet, cable, and whatever other monthly bills might come along with living on your own.
2. Groceries don't magically appear in the fridge.
There was nothing better than the feeling of coming home and opening up the fridge after a fresh trip from the grocery store. The shelves stocked high, fresh fruit and vegetables, ice cream in the freezer; what could be better? Now, you open up the fridge to see beer and cheese in a can.
3. You are responsible for killing all the bugs now.
No more just screaming for someone to kill the bug who has come into your home and invaded your personal space. Now, you have to put on your big kid pants and squish that bug all on your own.
4. If you don't put your stuff away, no one will.
Remember the good old days when you would come home and the house would be spotless, and all of your belongings would be placed in your room? Or maybe your parents were feeling nice and folded your clothes for you every once in a while. Well, now if you leave you clothes on the floor and your shoes everywhere or just random every day items you use out in the open - they stay there. Who knew cleaning up after yourself would be such a tedious task.
5. You either love living with roommates, or hate it.
Roommates can be such a great part of moving out. Your roommates become your best friends, and suddenly you all become so comfortable around each other that you do things you never thought you would do in front of anyone with them. I mean, why lay on the couch all day binge watching Netflix with a bag of chips laying on your chest alone, when you could have other people do it with you? And while having roommates can be awesome, you also have to keep in mind that the more roommates, the messier your home can get, and the potential for conflict. Before signing a lease, it is important to make sure you and all your roommates are on the same page.
6. Living alone can be super lonely.
If you are a person who doesn't like having roommates, that is no big deal. For some people, however, living alone can be lonely, since there is no one around for you to hang out with at 2:00 am when you can't sleep. I would recommend getting a dog or cat, so you can at least have someone to come home to every day.
7. Living without a dishwasher is life changing.
You know when you were younger, and your mom would ask you to load/unload the dishwasher, and you would throw a huge fit? Yeah, not anymore. It's something you don't think you need, because how difficult can it be to wash your own dishes? You never realize how many dishes you actually use in a day until you live without a dishwasher. I can tell you what the answer is: a TON.
8. Older apartments/houses = cheaper but creepy and sometimes gross.
Would moving out really be moving out if you didn't have horror stories about your first apartment? Living on your own is expensive, but living on your own in a nice apartment is close to impossible. Therefore, you are stuck with some beat up old apartment that you are pretty sure someone was murdered in. At the time, it isn't so great, but looking back one day you will appreciate the live lessons you learned while living in that crap hole.
9. You find yourself deciding between buying a shirt or paying the electric bill.
Is the $20 shirt you found for a super awesome deal more important than having electricity this month? Or air conditioning? Definitely not, but having to make that kind of decision is really depressing. Who knew electricity could cost so dang much.
10. You miss your family more than you ever thought you would.
After you move out, you really start to appreciate everything your parents have done to put a roof over your head and food on the table. Going home for the weekend is the best two days of your life, because you get so much good food and home-cooked meals that don't come from a box. And after living away from them, and getting the personal space you need, they start to become your best friends.
Living on my own has definitely been a journey, but each and every one of these new responsibilities helped me in becoming the woman that I am today, and I couldn't be more appreciative.
