I am asking this question because the young adult in question, is me. I am to move out in a few years, and it feels impossible to move far away from my hometown (which I want). I have no idea how to juggle both finances, a job, and the move itself. With the global inflation going on, it feels impossible getting hold of a decent apartment to rent.
What advice would you give someone like me? What should I keep in mind and prepare* myself for? What are your experiences moving out, or moving away from your hometown? How long did the process take for you, and how did you manage keeping a job that paid all your taxes and rent? If you could look back and give younger you some advice, what would you tell them?
(If it provides any context, I am North European.)
Lots of advice here already, so I’ll mention one that is overlooked by a lot of people: learn to cook for yourself at home. You will save a lot of money and be more healthy in the process if you prepare your own meals.
Came here to say. Learn to cook, learn to sew, learn basic plumbing and carpentry.
Sewing is good but basic plumbing and carpentry can wait until the OP is is a position to buy a home. Learning how to make your landlord do necessary repairs without getting evicted (and being aware that this may be impossible) is a more important skill for a tenant.
- know where the fire extinguisher is and how to use it
- ensure there are adequate and working smoke detectors. also carbon monoxide detectors if there is a risk from clothes dryers, etc.
- keep at least 2 gallons of bottled water per person stored at all times
- keep candles and matches in a location where you can find them in the dark
- keep a fully stocked first aid kit
- know where the nearest emergency room is and how to get there
be safe and well! :)
Buy a plunger before you need it.
I would look at making a budget beforehand. For rent, look at actual listings in the area you want to move to. You’ll probably need roommates.
And keeping a job isn’t that hard as long as you treat it like a strange form of high school where the teacher or principal can fire you.
One I haven’t seen mentioned here is familiarize yourself with tenancy laws in the place you want to move to. It is always good to know your rights, and with landlords these days, you have to be as savvy as you can. A lot will come from experience, but knowing what they’re allowed to do or not do is priceless.
Lots of good advice in this thread. My contributions are to say don’t move in with friends you aren’t willing to lose. I did it despite the warnings and it turned out terribly. I can’t say I regret it but depending on how the situation turns out for you it could range from losing someone youve been close to for most of your life to downright traumatic.
Don’t be afraid of renting rooms for a while (as a male, can’t say that’s a good idea for women or people in marginalized groups). It’s cheaper, less binding, and frees up some funds to develop other areas such as reliable transportation, good furniture, etc.
Take your time finding a place and be realistic with what you can afford. Being on your own is expensive and it’s important to make sure you’re moving somewhere you actually want to live and that will give you access to the things you need. Be it groceries, good job prospects, or education.
I’m from the US so I’m not sure how things are in your country but it’s rough out there. Take the time you have now to figure out a career field that you’d want to work in and that would provide the income for you to be financially independent. Immerse yourself in the culture and structure of that group. Find community pages, forums, websites and programs. Read it all and get an idea of what you’ll be getting yourself into. You may become aware of adjacent industries or specialties within that field that interest you more than the job you were originally thinking about.
Best of luck!
If you don’t need to for safety or sanity, don’t. Now is a bad time to try and set out on your own.
If you must move out from your parents, find someone to do it with, not a romantic partner but a platonic one that you can be good roommates with (maybe harder than finding a romantic partner lol). Going alone these days is near impossible unless you’re already well off me have a healthy safety net, something most people don’t have today.
Going alone these days is near impossible unless you’re already well off me have a healthy safety net, something most people don’t have today.
He’s from northern europe so the government most likely provides him a safety net. I’m also from northern europe and I had no problem moving on my own and start studying without any savings.
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Make sure you have a towel. I say this as a guy who dried off after showers with an old tshirt the first week after I moved because I am a great planner.
Extend that to other less glamorous essentials. Think about the mundane things you use daily that blend into the background.
Entire books have been written on this subject, always know where your towel is.
don’t get cable tv
