Why We Should All Be Terrified and Excited to Move Out

I am currently 23 years old. The 13 year old me had planned to be swimming in riches, moved out, be happily married and expect to not bump into any major problems for the rest of my time on planet Earth. Many old 13 year olds probably share this dream too. If you can tick all the above critera, then good for you! You're living a fairy tale. Unfortunately, it has not happened that way for me and does not happen for the majority of people. In this article, I will list reasons as to why we should be excited to move out and why we should be equally terrified.

Why You Should Be Excited

1. There will be no one to bother you.

Whilst I was at university, for three years I had my own freedom. No one to tell me to tidy my room or get out of bed and do this and that for whoever. I could decorate however I liked because there was no one to turn around and say they didn't like it. I wasn't even close to my original nest so no family members could randomly knock on my door and barge in. Bliss.

2. You can pick anywhere you want to go.

I for one to do NOT want to remain living in my hometown. Some people even decide to leave the country, I am finding that more and more people my age are travelling to places like Indonesia and Australia. I can count about four people I know that have not returned. Landing new job opportunities can also push you out of your comfort zone and be the trigger that makes you get up and leave.

Picking a new town can be very scary on your own but if you have an outgoing and confident personality, I do not doubt you will whip up a fresh batch of friends. If you are moving with others, this will be even easier to do. For those that have left to another hometown before, like I have, I am even more determined to move to a whole new town. There is nothing to fear.

Alternatively, you can just move next door to your parents. I kid you not, the house next door to mine was up for sale and I looked into the costs of living there. One of my closest friends left his nest a few months ago and when I asked where he has gone to, he simply replied "The estate next door."

It doesn't really matter where you go. If you don't like it that much then you can just move again (if you have the funds, time and patience). The world is your oyster.

3. Furniture shopping and Ikea trips.

Ikea is extremely fun and always has been since the beginning of time. When I was a kid, I could mess around in the children's furniture area and just ask for every toy/bed I see. Now I'm older, I love looking at the colour coordinated shelves and picking out what furniture I would have in my house or flat.

Ikea also have their restaurants integrated into their stores which sell the most amazing food. Not to mention it is also extremely cheap with generous portions. Occasionally, my friends and I will take a trip to Ikea just to go and eat the food and I don't doubt there's many others that also do the same.

Secondly, online furniture shopping is great fine and surprisingly time consuming. My favourite site is Wayfair.co.uk. I can spend hours planning what colours I would have my living room, my bedroom, the accessories for the bathroom etc. Even if you have no intention of moving out anytime soon, it's just fun to do . You can also get a feel of how expensive furniture can be and the amount you will need to have stored away to be able to afford house basics (e.g. bed, fridge, sofa, television). It also helps to understand why people fight over items on Black Friday, because this stuff is not cheap...

4. Growing your independence.

This is something we should be looking forward too as you can never be too independent. When you leave your family home into your own home it is one giant leap of independence and 'adulthoodness'.

You will be able to focus on yourself more, make your own decisions and be responsible for pretty much everything surrounding the house. When something goes wrong, you'll have no one to blame but yourself! But this is how you learn lessons in life.

Why You Should Be Terrified

1. Money. Mortgages. Monthly payments.

All just additional confusion and stress that every human being will succumb to at some point in their lives. Moving out is expensive and it cannot be avoided. You have: legal fees, deposits, council tax, water, gas, electricity, broadband, THE LIST IS ENDLESS. How are you meant to be pay for all that, your car (if you have one), phone, food and whatever other bills you have on your own? Well, it is possible. People do manage it, your parents for example.

2. House, flat or houseshare?

This is my biggest dilemma when it comes to moving out. What option do I pick? For first time buyers like me there are a few positives to a house: (i) there are schemes to help us out financially such as the Help to Buy scheme and Shared Ownership options (ii) due to the rapid increase of the human race, there are a large amount of new houses being built all over the country (iii) the housing market has been hit pretty bad due to events such as Brexit and COVID-19 lowering the prices of houses (iiii) You will also have a lot more room in comparison to a flat and especially a boat.

Despite all this, a house is a hell of a lot of work and houses are still fairly pricey (depdending on what area of the United Kingdom you are moving to). Once you have a house, you will have that mortgage attached to your name and soul for at least the next 25 years (I do not know how mortgages work and so I won't try and explain). If you end up with noisy, disturbing neighbours then good luck to you!

Should you live in a flat? Personally, I have no problem with living in a flat and not having a house until later in life. It is conveinient because (i) if you're unhappy you can move until you find somewhere you love (ii) you won't be tied into a contract of 25 years+ like a mortgage (iii) less housework to do (iv) does not require a million pieces of furniture like a house does (v) requires a much smaller amount of deposit in comparison to a house (vi) if you're based on the top floor you might have an absolutely beautiful view.

The biggest problem with flats is the renting part. Where I live, it can cost around £700 for a one bedroom flat per month not including bills. A two-bedroom flat is about £900. If you add the bills on top of these fees, then you might as well of got a house because you're probably paying the same amount per month as someone who owns a house. This does not sit comfortably with me and I am not intent on wasting my money this way.

House sharing is extremely common for students and in large cities such as London, where it is far too expensive to live alone. I know a small handful of people who are currently house sharing in London and decided to do my own research on this option using Spareroom.co.uk. I found that it's a perfectly safe website, with beautiful houses/flats and the majority of bills are always included in the rent. Deposits are rare but if needed they rarely go over £300. The major downsides are: you may not get along with the people you share with and you're only really renting a room.

So, this can be a temporary option for you. Even though it will feel like you're at university and actually the only space you have is the room you rent, it is a very do-able option and is extremely popular amongst people working in London.

2. You have to learn everything from cooking to cleaning.

Everything is in your hands. Although, for some this may be nothing new. If you already know how to cook and if you already do a lot of cleaning, when you leave your family home it will only just increase.

Whilst I was at university, I was addicted to frozen food, specifically Birds Eye (currently eating waffles and chicken fingers as we speak), because it tastes good, there's ketchup involved and it's so quick to make. But you can't go on eating Birds Eye food forever. Our bodies needs natural greens, vitamins and everything else positive you can pull out from meals made from scratch. However, learning to cook should not panic you. I like to perceive it as simply following a set of instructions and over time you will learn to add/minus ingredients and spices to make it your own. So, anyone can cook, you're just choosing not to.

There's also the small things that we forget about like doing the laundry, the food shopping, washing your own dishes and being responsible for having to pay for any house repairs. These are your jobs now! All can be extremely timely and costly so you better start that emergency fund.

3. You will miss your pets, gravely.

I currently live with six other household members, including one cat and one dog. If you were to ask me who I would miss the most when I eventually leave the nest, I would tell you the cat and the dog. Well, actually I would say the cat but I feel bad to the dog.

Whilst living on my own, I had an entirely pink room. Nearly everything was pink. I decided to buy more pink decorations for my bedroom in the form of two picture frames. Who made it in the picture frames? One for the cat and one for the dog.

Our pets are our best friends. The only form of species you will let sit next to you or on top of you for hours on end and not start to get annoyed because you're surrounded by fluffy goodness. When this era is over, it feels like something has left your soul. The only good thing about moving out is you can now buy more pets (unless you are renting then you should probably check the policies for pets). Whichever species you want, even a pet Shark.

4. If you're living with friends, be aware that it can all go wrong very quickly.

I do not advise you buy a house with a friend at the age of 20 odd and have a joint mortgage. What if one of you wants to run away to Neverland? You still have to keep up with the mortgage payments! What if one of you has met the love of their life and wants them to move in, but you hate their partner? Big dilemma. There are endless big dilemmas if you buy with a friend.

I also do not recommend living with a friend who is financially unstable. As both of you are living under the same roof, if one of you misses a few months of rent/mortgage then that is the both of you in trouble...

Ultimately, LIFE IS NOT A RACE. Do not compare your chapter 5 to someone else's chapter 25. Money and the housing market is not an asset to be playing around with, slow and steady wins the race. Give yourself time to plan for what you want.

I know people that have been living on their own from the age of 18 and I know people who are still living at home at the age of 28. I have had friends move out, back home and out again about three/four times and the one thing they always turn to me and say is; "Stay at home for as long as possible." So, that is the advice I am going to give to you. Stay at home for as long as possible and save your money. There is nothing safer and no roof more secure than a family home.