Moving Home After Graduation
One minute she’s the laundry fairy. Like Mrs. Brady, all sweet and kind and sympathetic-like, she picks up my dirty socks and magically returns them to the closet matched and folded and smelling like clean mountain air. Then a second later she morphs into Mrs. Costanza. Her deafening screams reverberate through the house. “Georgie!!! Get dressed it’s time to go to work! Coffee’s not breakfast! Don’t forget a hat!!!“ Yes, despite having supposedly graduated from college and entered the real world, I have moved back into my childhood home. It was the worst/best/most regrettable/most financially necessary decision I have ever made.
I know some people (and not necessarily just my pale skinny friends from Halo conventions) who stuck it out until just shy of their 30th birthdays. Others barely made it a week before moving into the first overpriced five-by-five studio they could find. Every recent graduate has to figure out what’s most important — freedom or finance, a dishwasher or sanity. The key is to be smart and do the math. Check out The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly for some helpful tips on staying solvent and sane.
The Good
The Price is Right
Let’s do some math. A starting salary of $50,000 brings in about $32,00 a year, or $2,600 a month, after taxes. Not a bad chunk of change to cover bar bills or Manolo Blahnik fetishes. But then there’s rent, which on average will run $1,000 a month. Still $1,600 left. But then there are utilities: cable, Internet, and cell-phone; and miscellaneous necessities like dry cleaning, toilet paper, and toothpaste. All that leaves $1,200 a month, or $40 a day, on which to eat, drink, dress, and be merry. Not impossible by any means, just difficult. But let’s now reverse, returning the toothpaste, the utilities, and best of all the rent and what do we end up with? A whopping $80 per day. So maybe Chez Costanza isn’t so bad for a stretch.
Convenience
Going from a few classes a day to an 80 hour work week takes some getting used to. Compounding that stress with finding an apartment, getting it furnished, paying bills, and doing laundry can be a serious shock to the system. But at home they’ve got dishwashers. At home they’ve got fully stocked fridges. At home they’ve got laundry fairies. In terms of maximizing those precious few hours of relaxation, home can be a godsend.
- Set boundaries – A frank conversation early on detailing the lay of the land can go a long way to making life with your parents fight free (or at least infrequent).
- Help out – Offering to do the shopping, cook dinner, or clean the dishes is like earning rewards points that very well translate to a couple new pairs of Choo’s or that flat screen you’ve been coveting.
- Save – Just because you have it, doesn’t mean you should spend it. Saving money while living at home only makes moving out that much easier.
- Accumulate – Your parents have all sorts of stuff in the attic that have been collecting dust for generations. Much of it may be cool retro stuff that you can use to outfit your new pad when the time comes.
- Enjoy – Once you move out, it won’t be so easy to catch a game with your dad or go shopping with mom. Make sure to maximize your free time together (emphasis on the word FREE).
Just a note of encouragement. I thought moving home would be the worst thing ever. But after a few weeks with my mom she surprised me with how much space she can give. She really has started treating me like an adult. I think the secret lies in doing the dishes and cooking special exciting meals while she is working. If we earn our stay, parents can not be so bad. Plus, we might get a puppy which would be a great way to ease the I-miss-my-roommates blues!
Some of what you have written here is accurate, but some of it is also incredibly biased. You state that rent "at the lowest end will run $1,000 a month." That's not entirely accurate. It depends largely on where you live. I live in Tennessee in a very nice two bedroom apartment. It is in a good neighborhood and rent monthly is only $575. A fitness center, pool, and laundry facilities are all included. I live with my fiance and that cuts the rent in half, leaving us to pay roughly $288 a person each month.
My main reason for posting a comment on this topic is that I want others to know that living out on your own is not completely intangible. Sure, you may have to sacrifice things like cable, extravagant meals, and needless shoe purchases. But get real- we're adults and should be taking responsibility for our lives. Not to mention that some people may not even have the luxury of moving back home. Also, you speak of your mother as a "laundry fairy." I find that degrading and stereotypical. It is not your parents responsibility to pick up after you or wash your clothes after you have graduated college.
I believe that moving back in with your parents may be a positive choice for some individuals, but I do not agree with the figures you have posted above. My advice is to estimate the cost of living in your own geographic region and weigh many other factors before moving back home. The first few years on your own may be difficult, but not impossible.
Wow, thats awesome. I want a place like that for 575. I'm in Boston and rent is so so high. It's a good point that for some people the parent route isn't even an option. My dad flat out told me I could only stay with him if I could be home by 10pm every night. Bah! I'd pay any amount to escape the return of a curfew!