PROS AND CONS OF LIVING AT HOME WHILE YOU'RE AT UNI

So you’ve hit that awkward age where half your friends have ventured out into independent living and the rest are still at home eating their mum’s baked dinners.

After hanging out at your mates new apartment, where coasters on tables aren’t a thing and the phrase, ‘Lauren I don’t understand why you need to have this many bottles and plates in your room’ is never uttered, the idea of moving out of home is looking pretty tempting, right?

For the small percentage of you who, after reading the first two paragraphs, have already packed your bags and left the nest, I bid you good luck. For the rest of you who need a little bit more reason to move out then not being nagged about your dirty dishes, then here are some pros and cons to living at home while at uni.

PROS

• You never have to worry about grocery shopping. Well except for those times when you need to do a quick milk dash. And every once in a while you come home to find your room clean cause your mum got sick of walking past and seeing the mess. It’s the little things like that, that when your sitting among a pile of unwashed clothes, eating 2-minute noodles, you start to wish you appreciated more.
   
• You’ve got this really handy support network literally in the next room. I don’t know about you, but uni can pretty stressful and there’s nothing better than being able to come home and vent to your family member of choice. Sure a phone call could achieve the same thing, but nothing really can replace one of mum’s hugs followed by ‘its okay you haven’t completely ruined your life’.  
   
• You don’t have to pay bills. As Lunchmoney Lewis once said, “I’ve got bills, I’ve gotta pay, so I’m going to work, work, work, everyday”. Obviously, Lunchmoney Lewis wasn’t still living at home. Poor Lunchmoney Lewis. Living at home while at uni means that you are able to save lots of money, which can then be put towards more useful things, like saving for a house, holidays or helping your online shopping addiction. 

CONS

• It’s really hard to um… well… lets just say it’s hard to get privacy. It was okay when you were 13 and kissing was kept to a minimum cause ew, boys, but now bringing home a date for Netflix and chill while you’re still living with your rents, well it’s just plain embarrassing. Not only is it hard to find a window of opportunity to get jiggy with it, but finding some peace and quiet in general is often a rarity. Turning this on the flip side however, you’re probably not the only one in your household trying to get around this issue. Yes, it’s an ugly thought, but some parents apparently enjoy doing other things besides yelling at you for not emptying your pockets before you put your pants out for a wash. Having your own space would be a win-win for all parties and would avoid those awkward situations we don’t even want to think about *shudders*.
   
• I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard, “My house, my rules”. It’s an old ancient proverb which has the power to win all arguments, reasonable or not. It has even more power when you’re not contributing to paying the bills. You’re pretty much helpless against it. If it was an UNO card it would be the draw 4 card.
   
• Sometimes it’s difficult to feel independent. Despite the fact that your 21, sometimes it still feels like your parents treat you like you’re 12. All parents do it, it was programmed in them when you were born. Their need to protect you from the awful doings of the world sometimes means they forget that you’re actually a capable adult. While it is nice to know that somebody cares, it can get a bit frustrating when you want to go out and find who you are and how you fit into this world, when you’ve got a 1am curfew.

I don’t know about you but when it comes to deciding whether or not living at home during uni is the way to go, I think the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

But then again I guess I am a little bias, after all, I’m writing this in my parents living room, eating mum's spaghetti.

WORDS BY LAUREN SUTTIE