Moving Back Home: A Post-Graduation Checklist
Posted by Katie Farrell, media relations intern on Apr 23, 2010 in Intern Posts, Katie Farrell |
As graduation approaches, many students are going to be moving back to their hometowns. With the average graduate taking six months to land a job, this is not surprising.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I will be moving back home after summer classes. It’s not that moving back home will be a bad thing — because there are a lot of positives to it. Saving money and less financial pressure among them. It’s just a big adjustment from living on your own for the last four (or so) years.
A few things I will be doing when I move back home:
- Changing my “childhood” room in some way. I know I will need a good work area when I move back home (which I don’t currently have). I plan on re-structuring my room for my needs now.
- Making a plan to pay off student loans. Luckily, I don’t have credit card debt like many other students probably do. But paying off student loans will be a high priority when I am saving money by living at home.
- Getting out of the house. I get along well with my parents, but since living at home is an adjustment, I know I will need to get out and do things. Being poor is not an excuse! There are plenty of free (or cheap) things you can do. You need this to keep your sanity.
- Taking time to research. Deciding on where I want to live after moving out of my parent’s house.
What do the experts say? Moving back home:
- Gives you an adjustment period between college and a full-time job.
- Allows you to save money if you do have a job right away.
- Should be temporary. Set a plan for when you are going to move out.
- Allows you to search for the job you really want, instead of one you feel you’re settling for.
What’s on your moving home checklist? How will you deal with living back at home?
I lived at my parents’ house for about half of college. In that sense I feel like I am in the opposite boat, I’ve done my time living at home, saved my money, and am now ready to move on to bigger and better things.
The hardest part about living at home, for me, was that I grew up in an extremely dull suburban setting. It might have been a great place for a family with children, but now that everyone in the family is an adult, it’s hardly an ideal location. Whenever I wanted to visit friends it was always a long drive and it became tiring and tedious very quickly. That’s not necessarily the case for everyone who is going to be moving back home, but it’s definitely something to think about for those who are.
Rob,
I definitely understand your situation. I’m from a very small town, and we live a good 10 minutes from any type of store (20-30 minutes from “the city”). That’s a good thing to think about as well–but definitely goes along with my “getting out of the house” tip! I know I’m going to need to once in a while.
Katie