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Home › Forums › Hanging Out › Moving out for the first time
I am moving out for the first time and am SO EXCITED! But also a little daunted.
What are your best living out of home tips??
@earthmama How exciting! Moving out is scary at first but it’s the best feeling once you feel on top of everything.
Are you moving out by yourself or will you be sharing accomodation with others?
My number 1 tip is to save for your bills! It’s tricky to estimate how much your bills will be for the first quarter, but just start putting money aside for them anyway so it’s not a huge shock when they arrive, maybe $15-20 a week.
I’ve lived out of home for 4 years so I work on auto-pilot now but I’ll definitely think of more things and let you know. When are you moving?
Woo! How exciting!
If you are living with housemates my number one tip is to try move in with people who are like minded as you! and always try to be up front and communicate with your housemates in any issues if they occur (passive aggressive isn’t never fun)
My last tip is a bit random but if you are moving in with housemates and are setting up the house. I would recommend everyone buying one big item each (i.e. fridge, washing machine, couches, TV ect.) rather then splitting all these costs. Its much easier to navigate prices when someone eventually moves out hahaha
Best of luck with the move!
That’s great! So exciting!
Similar to what @sextronaut said, with bills me and my housemates round up our weekly rent by a few dollars and transfer it into a separate account and that way each week after rent it is paid we are all putting a bit of money into this account so when bills come around they are super cheap!
We also have a little cleaning roster which we all rotate on cleaning different areas each week so it’s fair on everyone and that when we go to move out it’s not such a big task of cleaning the house!
@earthmama YAY HOW EXCITING!!! I’m so happy for you!
I agree with @sextronaut about the putting money aside thing. I’ve been living out of home for 10 years now and it’s been a hugeeee help putting a little bit aside each week in preparation for bill day (or emergencies!)
If you’re sharehousing, be prepared for conflict. That sounds really dramatic, but what I mean is even if you’re moving in with friends or people you know, it’s likely you’ll run into issues at some point. Learning how to deal with that in a safe and positive way is important, so I’d recommend having open communication with housemates if that’s what is happening.
I’ve lived in a share house before with and without friends so many mixed experiences but letting people know how I feel if I’ve had a problem has worked out great. I live on my own now which is also great haha!
My tips:
1. Budget, but over-estimate the costs! This way you’ll have a kind of safety net if things end up going over.
2. Explore your area! This is just a fun tip to like, get you connected with where you live? I’ve found it makes renting feel more like home if I’m better orientated with my community.
3. Verge hunt for furniture!!! BUT NO MATRESSES oh god no matresses. I took a risk with one once and bed bugs are so real !!!!!
Thank you @sextronaut, @curiousss, @GoldenRose and @tea for your excellent advice. I have been AWOL because everything just happened so quickly. I think just writing that post must have jolted the universe into action. I have spent the last two weeks signing, obtaining furniture, scouting out the area etc.
I think it’s going well so far. I have tried to buy as much second hand as possible, but I have never felt as grateful as I did when the lovely people hauled my fridge up the stairs on 30 something degree day…Such resilience.
I have moved in with one friend and our communication is going well so far- I am totally aware of the inevitability of conflict, but so far, so good.
Next step- getting brave enough to attend events/classes locally!
@earthmama YAY how exciting!! I’m glad things are moving in a positive direction for you!!
Amazing @earthmama do you feel like moving out has led to a lot of personal growth? What kind of stuff have you learnt? I’ll be 25 at the end of the year and my Mum says I have to move out by then, I’m kind of scared haha
@purple I feel like moving out has provided me with SO much personal growth. You’re thrown into the deep end and the feelings of vulnerability and freedom are really what make it such a huge thing. It’s scary to start off with, but you just need to find your groove which would take about 3-6 months.
@purple it is the GREATEST! I was starting to feel quite trapped in my life and like I couldn’t really grow beyond the parameters my family had set for me. I think that there comes a time where you realise you have all the tools you need and it’s just about being brave.
My lovely mum actually drew a picture for me when I was really nervous, that helped a lot. She drew two cliffs, with me jumping between them- she said, the past is solid ground and the future is solid ground, you just need to take the leap. And it turned out to be true <3
@earthmama Um your mum is the cutest, that’s such a good saying!
Life is so different when you’re out of home, definitely lots of personal growth! It’s scary but that’s kind of what makes it fun? I think moving out of home made me realise the kinds of things I enjoy more than when I was living with family. I get to explore things more and make mistakes for myself, which helps me figure out what’s good and what isn’t.
@EarthMama that is so, so cute! It sounds like most people feel that it’s scary but worth it! I’m definitely feeling at the end of the year I’ll move out even if it’s just for one year for some independence. I’m realising this now because for a few weeks in December I was hooking up with someone who also lived at home (normally I find myself dating people who have their own place etc) and it was just a nightmare organising when we’d come over to avoid parents etc and it felt like I was in high school! I just feel like having a sexual relationship with someone if they wanted to come over would be near impossible in my tiny house haha
So true about the sex @purple.
And yes, @tea! I feel like it’s harder to brave when living with family in many cases, because you have the choice to not be brave. I’ve noticed already that I am trying out new things and attending events, even taking more risks because I’ve realised it’s up to me to create the life I want. There are also less people to take your anger out on… which I think is good for personal growth/realising that lashing out is not the answer.
@purple did you have to sneak in and out of the window? hahah
@earthmama YAY TO TRYING NEW THINGS!!! Ahh, that’s so exciting! Hmm yeah true about the venting thing, I have a counsellor in my pocket at all times for this. Also, I’ve found keeping a diary to scream at instead of another human helps a lot, especially if I’m being super irrational.