At twenty five years old I have now been living at home since my stint in student accommodation back when I was nineteen. I dropped out of university after the first year with no idea of who I was, what I wanted or where I was going in life. The only thing I did know was that I was moving back home. Gone were the days of mouldy cookers, sticky floors and a bin with the ability to refill in the blink of an eye and hello were the comforts of home and the luxuries this afforded. Now I am paying off my debts from university and saving for a house to achieve the impossible and get on the property ladder but to do this I have had to embrace home so that I could start a career and go back to university. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of moving back home.
The Good
Infinity-Fridge
Becoming a student the first time round has really made me appreciate the infinity-fridge of home. No matter what I fancy there is always something to satisfy me and it comes with the perk of being good quality food, think M&S instead of Tesco Value.
Cooked Meals when I get home from work
I save so much time and find meals already cooked when I get home from work a god send. Being able to come in the door, throw my bag down and indulge in a well cooked, tasty hot meal is one of the greatest things about living at home.
Saving
Now this is the crucial point in living at home in your twenties and why many people move back/stay. The ability to save. Renting is often seen as dead money and with prices suiting the high demand for rental property at the moment people are choosing home and the money box instead. Now I do pay 'housekeeping' to my mum (she hates the word rent) but it's only a fraction of what I would have to pay for bills, council tax and rent out in the big wide world.
Company
There is always someone at home. This can be a double edged sword due to the lack of privacy and I will come on to that in the bad but sometimes when you just need some company or a friendly face to talk to there is always someone at home. Zac (the dog) is also nearly always at home and always happy to play if you need some TLC.
Luxuries
Freshly washed fluffy towels, ironed bedding and a quick laundry service are just some of the luxuries that living at home affords. Maybe it's getting older but a fresh warm fluffy towel when I get out of a hot relaxing bath to cuddle me is a luxury that I never want to stop.
Nurse Mum
This is one of the best things about living at home. There's no sitting on the sofa feeling sorry for myself or trying to work up the courage and energy to get up and make some food. Everything that you ever need when sick is delivered without asking at precisely the moment you need it. Mum's just know.
The Bad & The Ugly
Lack of Space
As an adult I find that I need more stuff just to get through life and trying to contain this to just one room of my own is so difficult. I feel like I'm constantly trying to clear out to make some more space and as soon as I get it done I have to start a new clear out almost immediately.
Parcel Shame
This may not apply to everyone, but every parcel I get delivered instantly gets scrutinised as to whether I should have bought that. Did I need it? This scrutiny doesn't even come in a verbal format it is just simply a look that makes me question my life choices right there and then.
Boundaries
What boundaries? Now I am more adult than kid, more seems to be shared which can sometimes be too much information.
Privacy
This goes hand in hand with boundaries, but there is a serious lack of privacy. No situation is uninterruptible. A long soak in the bath can end in a conversation through the door, using the toilet can be interrupted by the request to speak to a relative on the phone or trying to catch up on MIC can take 2 hours instead of 1 just because someone will walk in every 10 minutes just to check I'm still here and breathing.
Siblings
My brother is also now living at home in his twenties, although admittedly he just turned twenty last summer. This means that although we get along better than when we did as kids and the biting and hair pulling has stopped, yes we did that, when we do fall out as adults it's ugly.
Lack of Lie-ins
It's Saturday morning, 08:48 and I have had a stressful week with work and college, ballet last night was intense, I ache all over and I'm just indulging in a few extra zzz's to get me through the next week. Cue my door being opened with Zac being encouraged to jump on the bed and "get her". Post 9am is unheard of unless I go away or my mum goes away. Even on Sundays.
The bad and the ugly may be a list longer than the good, but the good positively out-weigh them in the circumstances. My mum is my best friend and living with her is always more fun than hassle. James is an honorary member of the household who comes over and has pizza nights with my mum and brother on Fridays while I go to ballet. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to live at home while I try and stretch for the bottom rung of the property ladder. In the wise words of Dorothy There's no place like home and while I want to make my own home it really isn't all that bad.
Do you still live at home? What are your favourite things about it? I'd love to know if you find the same things. Make sure to follow me on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with my twenty-something struggles with life.
