I’m in No Rush to Move Away from Home

I know, I know, you probably are thinking, “of course, another Millenial who wants to mooch off her parents for years to come..” Maybe that’s what you think of when you hear about a 26 year old living at home. Maybe you think “oh what a shame they can’t go get a real job and start a real life.” Maybe you even think they’re a lazy person. I can’t change what you think about me or anyone else in my situation, but I can explain why I’m in no rush to move away from home.

I actually moved several hours away from home for college. I went to a bigger city and I loved it. I made great friends, got two degrees, graduated Summa Cum Laude, joined a sorority, and had a great time. In fact, I hated having to move back home at first, which unfortunately, I had to do because the only job offer I had was $12 an hour doing data entry. Fun stuff, right? But back home, I had free rent and a retail job that offered me higher pay than that, so it only made sense to move back in with my mom and start working in retail full time until I could find a better job. Keep in mind, this was several years ago, so it sadly was when the economy wasn’t doing too great, and jobs were very difficult to come by.

I worked about a year and a half full time in this retail position before finally landing a full time job, with a company that had an office literally 11 minutes away from my mom’s house. When I got the full time job, the starting pay wasn’t much more than $12 an hour, but it was something I felt I could grow in. However, one thing I couldn’t believe was all the people asking me when I was going to move out and get a place on my own. Yes, according to today’s society here, I was definitely in the right age to be moving out on my own, but I had to wonder, why did everyone want me to be in a horrible apartment in a sketchy part of town where I paid too much in rent, just to get out of my mom’s house? It didn’t make sense to me, especially since my salary wasn’t really something to brag about. However, I had friends and family asking me the same thing, and I kept giving them the same answer: moving out would be dumb. Let me explain. I didn’t have a curfew or anything like that, I didn’t have to ask permission to leave anywhere, I could come and go as I pleased, same as if I lived alone, except I had someone to talk to when I got home from work, and I also didn’t have to take care of everything myself, we worked together on it. I certainly did my fair share of chores, but I mean, as an adult, who isn’t doing chores like laundry and dishes all the time? Beyond that, why on earth would it be logical for me to move out when my office is an 11 minute drive? It’s not like I was driving an hour out of my way, I was literally a few minutes down the road.

I decided, the smartest option was to save my money and continue living at home. While discussing this with another coworker of mine, one who happens to live at home as well, we started wondering, why was everyone telling us we needed to move out? His situation is similar to mine, he comes and goes as he pleases, he helps with chores, cooking, chips in for discounted rent, and pays different bills and other items, but he doesn’t feel like he’s unable to go live his life. Part of it to me seems that society has decided you must move out after college, and that’s great if you get a good enough job that you are financially able to do so. But I also know several people who had to move in with boyfriends/girlfriends/other friends to be able to afford a place. Doesn’t really sound like living on their own to me. Meanwhile, I’m pitching in, helping pay a discounted rent, buying groceries, etc., while also saving up money and paying off debt.

I went to college so that means I have student loans. I was getting commissions on my sales in retail, and so I opted to try to repay my loans faster, which means a bigger chunk each month. It’s difficult some months, especially when I first switched away from retail and barely had $20 at the end of a month for spending money, but ultimately, I’m glad I went with this option. I’m able to save much more than I would having to pay rent, utilities, internet, and everything else, and I know my mom is able to spend less each month because I’m picking up some of the bills too. It’s a win-win for both of us. I’m paying off my car and loan debt, and it’s going to be paid off before I hit the ripe age of 40, and I couldn’t be happier about that.

So, before you judge and assume we’re all lazy, look around at the rent prices, look at how much it costs to live on your own, and look at the average salary. Rather than push myself and put myself in a bad situation, I opted to go ahead and continue living at home, and put myself in a better financial situation for my future. More than that, I get to enjoy time with my mom that I otherwise wouldn’t have.