30 Apr 10 Disadvantages of Moving in with Your Parents after College
Graduating from college is an amazing accomplishment for anyone, so congratulations! If you’re reading this, then you’re probably about to graduate, or you already have graduated. That sense of freedom that being on your own in your college dorm gives you is sweet, and everyone loves being able to do what they want. However, so many students are choosing to move back into their parents’ house after graduating, eliminating that freedom and that sense of being independent. If you’re struggling with making the decision yourself, here are ten reasons why you might want to reconsider moving back in with your parents after you’ve graduated.
#1: You won’t have as much freedom.
Let’s face it; staying in your own room was amazing. You were able to do whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, whether it was staying up to binge watch Grey’s Anatomy or to go to that party across campus. There’s a freedom that comes with living by yourself, and it’s incredibly difficult for that freedom to go away. While it might sound trivial, it can have a big impact on how you feel and your own sense of being.
#2: You can’t learn how to be an adult.
A major disadvantage that comes along with moving back in with your parents is that you can’t learn how to be an adult. Your parents will take care of you, both financially and emotionally, which can be good in some situations. However, when you graduate from college, you’re in the perfect place to learn how to be a “real” adult; moving in with your parents hinders that.
#3: You’ll be sharing living areas again.
While it might not sound like a big deal at first, sharing a bathroom with siblings or a living room with your parents can be really difficult. You’ll have to start planning when you’re going to take your showers again so that you don’t run out of time because of anyone else stealing all the hot water. If you want to watch a TV show, then you had better hope that no one else is using the nice TV with the comfy couches in the living room. Sharing living areas can be really difficult if you’re used to being on your own in your campus housing.
#4: It’s harder to manage your social life.
Managing your social life doesn’t always come to mind when you’re thinking about moving back in with your parents after you graduate, but it’s an important thing to think about. Graduating can be a stressful and difficult time, and you’ll need your friends in your life. If you’re living with your parents, it can be really difficult to have people over or to hang out at night after you get off work. Curfews and other things can be difficult to work around when you and all your friends have jobs.
#5: You’ll have no privacy when it comes to your life.
If you thought your mom calling you every other day to see how your life was going was stressful before, imagine moving back in with your parents after you graduate. You’ll never be able to go out with friends or on casual dates without your parents knowing about it, and there’s no way you’re going to be able to get away with trying to date someone for a while before introducing them to your parents.
#6: It’s another temporary place.
Everyone agrees that college is a wonderful time that’s full of experiences and friendships that will last a lifetime. However, those few years are just temporary; and after graduating, you begin to realize that temporary places aren’t as fun as they used to be. When you move in with your parents after graduating, you’re just adding to the list of temporary places that you’ll be. With no stability in your surroundings, you can start to feel isolated and alone really quickly.
#7: You lose that sense of independence.
College is all about learning how to control yourself, whether it comes to your partying life or procrastination. You learn how to exist on your own and how to be independent. When you move back in with your parents, you’ll lose that sense of independence, and you’ll start to rely on your parents more. While this isn’t always a bad thing, it can make moving out to start your own life one day that much more difficult.
#8: Your parents will constantly bug you about what you’re doing with your life.
Remember when everyone started asking you about what you plan to do after you graduate and the momentary panic when you realized that you have no idea? That’s going to become much more common when you move back in with your parents after college, but with all kinds of topics that deal with your life. Think about questions about marriage, jobs, savings, or buying a car; those are going to be a daily thing in your life.
#9: You won’t learn how to manage your money as you start to make money.
A major reason to live by yourself after you graduate and not to move back in with your parents is that you’ll learn how to manage money. Managing your money consistently is important, and learning how to do so when you’re just starting out in your adult life is even more so. If you’re living with your parents, you probably aren’t learning how to handle your finances as well as you would be if you had bills and rent due every month.
#10: It’s even harder to leave your parents’ house again.
Remember how hard it was to leave your parents when you were moving to campus? Imagine doing that again, but instead of leaving to go and get a degree, you’re leaving to just pay bills and to live alone. While that can sound tempting, it will be much harder to bring yourself to move back out again. It can be lonely, and it even sounds lonely—living by yourself. And if you know that your parents will let you stay with them for as long as you need, it’s tempting to just stay there for as long as possible, putting off your adult life for years.
