For my first semester I attended a university four hours from home. At first I thought it would be awesome getting to live far from home on my own. I imagined getting to explore a new area and have many adventures. Now, don’t get me wrong, for some people this may be perfect, but I found out it wasn’t for me. I always felt like I was lacking so much and missing out on so much! I decided after one semester away to transfer to a university closer to home. This was the best decision I could have made! I now live only about an hour away from home and it is the best descision I could have made!

1. Events

Is there something in your hometown that you love to go to every year? Maybe a county fair or homecoming football game? Well the perk of living close to home is that it's still easy for you to attend these events without a whole lot of hassle. If you were to go to a college far from home it would take a lot of planning to attend these events, like planning for travel time and transportation. If you live close to home it's as easy as driving home for the event and driving back right after! You aren’t going to have to struggle to clear more time in your schedule for traveling and staying in town. No more missing out on your favorite events!

2. Save Money

Also going to college closer to home saves you money! Going home for events and appointment, or just to see your family will be less of a financial burden. You wont have to plan for large cost in gas or even alternate transportation like plane tickets (depending on how far you are from home.) Being broke college students, this is a huge plus!

3. Friends

If you are still close with your hometown friends, living close to home is another perk! Imagine if you have a really good friend who goes to school pretty far away, if you live close to home its easy to set up a meeting when they are in town! Another example is maybe you have some friends who still are in high school, by living close to home you are able to go and visit them easily as well. Just because you go to college, doesn’t mean you have to lose your friends.

4. Family

The biggest thing I have found is the best by living close to home is family. Family for me is my biggest support system in college. It's nice to have my parents close by if I need them. I may not live with them anymore but I still know that they are always there. It's always nice to be able to go home for a home-cooked meal whenever! Not to mention my family pets are always close by if I need a relaxing day of cuddling.

5. Salvation

Have a long week of exams? Swamped with homework? Feel like you need to sleep for a week? It is no doubt that college is stressful and having home close by can be the best cure for the stress-blues. Like I said having home close by means that you can go home for a home cooked meal whenever you want! Nothing feels better than going home for the day and spending it relaxing with good food, family, and for me, my pets. Also if you are in a dorm sometimes the best remedy to being really overtired is to just be able to sleep in your own bed!

6. Independence, but Security

Lastly, a perk of living closer to home is you still have independence. You’re not living at home so you are still getting to experience the independence of growing up, but your support and help is never too far away. A lot of high school kids dream of getting away from their parents, but you never realize how hard things can get when you need their help and they aren’t readily available to help you. For me living an hour away is perfect. I still get to live and do things on my own, but I always know my parents and friends will be here in a heartbeat if I need them.