The Hardest Thing About Moving Out Of Home

One of the questions we have been receiving a lot lately on our Year13 socials is “Should I move out of home?” or “Should I move away for uni?”. I’ll be the first to say that moving away is one of the most exciting and life-changing opportunities. You will learn a lot about yourself and the world around you, and you will experience lessons that you didn’t know you even needed. A lot of the time it will truly feel like you are living straight out of a movie but I can promise that it’s not always going to be easy.

There are so many positive sides to moving away and stepping into a new chapter of adulthood. Being on your own and having all the responsibility of looking after yourself and keeping it all together, makes you realise a lot more about yourself then anything else. You have to navigate through finances, paying for rent, bills, groceries, cleaning, working, being okay being alone sometimes, and honestly just all that tricky adult stuff. I have to say these are some seriously game changing capabilities to have and it can feel pretty empowering knowing that you're doing all this stuff on your own.

Moving away, in a sense, is like creating a whole new life for yourself. You are living in an entirely new environment, with a new job, and a whole bunch of new people. Once you have settled in and started to make some friends and gotten used to the environment, there will definitely be times where you look around and realise what you have created for yourself, and it feels pretty special. Moving away to a new place in general is gonna be a lot of fun – exploring a new place always is. There will be so much for you to do, and you can just completely reinvent yourself if you would like, or even just pretend for a day. I mean, no one really knows you in a new place, you can be whoever you like!

Once you make that move and leave home, I know it’s daunting, but things will never be the same. By all means this isn’t a bad thing, but it can be a really hard thing to wrap your head around. You will definitely miss the version of yourself that was just a free little teen with no responsibilities (I mean, I do all the time). Moving out marks a massive milestone in your life and it’s inevitable that it’s going to mean a lot of change both internally and environmentally.

Depending on how far you’ve moved, if it’s longer than a short drive away, you will miss your family and friends a lot. It can be super hard when you first move and you don’t have that instant support system, sometimes coming home after a hard, long day, all you want is some affection and comfort. Getting home and realising you’ve only got yourself now can feel quite uncomfortable. I’m not going to sugar coat it. It really isn’t going to be easy at times. You can take these uncomfortable feelings and really create a beautiful thing for yourself in your new environment. It may just take time.

Overall, for me personally, I would say moving away has completely changed me as a person. I wouldn’t change it for the world. It gives you a completely new perspective in life and has made me more confident than I have ever been. It will force you out of your comfort zone and force you to make things happen for yourself. And this is extremely empowering. Once you build up this new life for yourself there will be a day where you take a step back, and need to be proud of yourself. It really is life changing.

A lot of the time you will mourn your home, but you are in a new chapter. You can always go home, but keep in mind that you can always create a new home for yourself. Home is people and where your heart feels most full. It is what you make it, and there is no limit to where you can create it. There is nothing stopping you from making a new home that is just as special.

If you were tossing up moving out of home, I honestly don’t know if I’ve helped convince you or steered you away. Ultimately the decision is going to depend on you and your situation. All I can promise is that if you’re looking for a change and ready to grow and learn a whole lot more about yourself, then this might be just the move for you <3