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How To Be More Responsible Living Away From Home

How to successfully adult on your own

By Laura MayPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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How To Be More Responsible Living Away From Home
Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash

Every year, hundreds of thousands of young people across Canada leave home for the first time. It’s a thrilling and challenging period in their lives — whether they’re moving for college or to explore the world on their own terms.

Living away from home comes with a whole new set of responsibilities though, particularly when you start to think about where you’ll actually be living.

In this article, we’ll address this major life step and provide advice that’ll help you to be more responsible towards your new home, neighbours and yourself whether you’re renting or buying.

Take safety seriously

You might be desperate to enjoy your new found freedom now you’re living away from home. But you’re out on your own now, and you need to start taking care of yourself.

That means ensuring where you’re living is both safe and secure.

Whether you’re buying for the first time or renting an apartment in the city, it’s essential you understand what safety issues might apply to your new home.

When you move into a property (or ideally, when you’re viewing it) make sure there are procedures in place to keep you safe. Landlords should be fitting all their properties with carbon monoxide detectors, for example, while potentially major hazards such as leaky pipes, holes in the wall and issues with gas stoves should be raised immediately.

Likewise, you need to keep an eye out for any mould present on walls, ceilings and floors, particularly in bedrooms and bathrooms. This kind of problem can spread quickly throughout a property and cause serious damage to you and other inhabitants. Canada’s Restoration Services have a good guide to tackling these issues.

It’s not just health concerns you should have a heightened awareness of either, but security ones.

Security issues can affect anyone, even the most vigilant tenant or homeowner. Conduct a thorough check of all potential security risks before you purchase a property, such as broken window latches and faulty locks.

For renters, consider trying to rent exclusively from landlords who have renters insurance. While not a legal requirement, renters and contents insurance can give both parties peace of mind throughout the renting experience. And if your landlord is reluctant, services such as Duuo offer flexible, short-term arrangements for their insurances, meaning a landlord can include this within the package exclusively for the length of your tenancy and cancel it at the end of your contract.

Get on top of your finances early

Some of the real shocks of living away from home for the first time take a while to settle in, particularly when you check your outgoings at the end of the month.

Not only is renting a costly experience, but everything that comes with it can leave you with a lot less than expected after payday.

As soon as you get into your new place and unpack, turn your attention to getting your bills and other essentials in line. This Love Money guide has some great pointers.

Sign up for electric, gas, internet and any other essentials as soon as possible, ideally in the days preceding move-in day. These can become long, drawn-out processes and getting the internet set up, in particular, can set you back multiple weeks. This is crucial for not just financial order but a more comfortable living experience.

Imagine that feeling of accomplishment knowing everything is set up and you won’t have to head back to your parent’s house for mail you forgot to redirect — feels like adulthood.

Live light

For many young people these days, responsible living means sustainable living. One of the best ways you can live a life away from home that is both sustainable for the planet and your own ambitions is to live light.

Living light means cutting out all the clutter that would otherwise make you feel irritated in your own home and make the process of moving into your next one even more frustrating.

Think of it as some pre-emptive spring cleaning. Minimalist living is a huge trend, with young people both reducing their possession count out of lifestyle choice and necessity. It’ll make it much easier to manage your next move and mean you’re being much less wasteful, as you don’t need to chuck out five boxes of junk to fit into the moving truck.

By decluttering, you’re giving yourself the room to build a new life in a new home and cutting out the potential for tripping or fire hazards.

Find temporary ways to personalize your space

There is a whole industry built around making rented spaces feel more like homes, from guides to decorating your student dorm room to how to put some personality into your first apartment. What’s important though, is that you understand how to do so in a responsible way.

One of the most common charges renters will face is for damages caused by personalizations and decorations. Marks on the wall from posters, damage to the carpet from furniture and burns from candle accidents.

Rather than risking your deposit make sure you find temporary solutions that won’t have a lasting impact. Use dehumidifiers to prevent mould, frame your posters rather than using staining tack (if you do end up with greasy tack stains, here’s a good guide to removing them from Hunker) and find a specific area for your plant collection that won’t cause damage to the interior.

Your first time living away from home is not one for big investments. It’s all about experimentation and finding out what style of living suits you. That’s why, for the first few years at least, you should be a bit less permanent in how you live.

There’s no way to possibly explain the amount of responsibility on your shoulders living away from home until you bite the bullet and do it. Some people have support systems to guide them through the process while others are out there on their own. Follow these tips and ensure you ask question after question. After all, it’s your money and reputation on the line.

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