Moving Out

Moving out of home is very much a rite of passage for most young adults. I certainly remember thinking so when I was in high school – independence, everything happening on your own watch, freedom, excitement and all the other wonderful things a teenager tends to associate with growing up – what more could you want? My girlfriends and I would talk excitedly about ‘moving out’, imagining warm, sunny apartments full of kitschy home wares (with plenty of space for dinner parties and dancing, of course). We seldom thought of the responsibilities and commitments that also go with living away from home, nor did we think there could be any major downsides to living independently. Moving away from home is a different experience for everyone; however, like most things in life, it is what you make of it.

As I can now attest, moving away from home is definitely exciting – how could moving ~230km away on a university adventure not be exciting?! Hobart is big, busy and the scenery is gorgeous (I’ve been waking to a snowy Mt. Wellington outside my bedroom window for the last two weeks). Packing, buying home wares, house hunting and then making the move made for a big, busy, exciting month or so and it was a great experience. The unit I live in is both warm and sunny and my bright red colander and collection of teapots tick the kitsch box nicely. I have plenty of time to myself – well, not totally to myself, I don’t live alone – and I am totally independent from my parents. 

All this being said, though, moving out of home is also a total paradigm shift. I’ve spent about six months in Hobart now and I’m still getting used to living 230km or so from everyone and everything I’ve been used to. Leaving my family, friends and hometown behind has proved to be quite difficult. Telephone calls and Facebook conversations are one thing, but actually being around the people I care about is what I have missed more than anything else. It has certainly made me appreciate the people in my life and the time I do have to spend with them. Then, of course, there’s the matter of money. I have become a master of both budgeting and bargain-hunting; funds are usually scarce with rent and bills to pay, food to buy and horribly overpriced textbooks to purchase. On the upside, this also means I have become very apt at cooking tasty meals on a low budget. I’ve also come to understand the value of money and I don’t ‘throw it around’ as I probably once did.

All in all, I admit living away from home has turned out to be more difficult than I had imagined as a schoolgirl. It’s certainly not something to be taken lightly, nor would I recommend trying to live on your own before you’re really ready to. It isn’t something you can do by half. However, it has so far been a wonderful experience and a lot of fun; I’m now more or less used to living in the ‘real world’ and can spend less time worrying where the money might be going (which means there’s more time to study and sleep and enjoy life!). I feel very much like an independent adult… but I still love going home to a home-cooked meal and a hug from my parents.

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