Living at home/moving out

Pet

Do you think it's better to live at home, or to live away from home while you're a student?

Obviously, the perks of living at home are well-known - free food, no paying of bills/rent, DISHWASHERS, etc. But do you think it's a bit too much of a cushioned existence?

I lived at home during my first attempt at first year, and I moved out this year, and I have to say it was the best decision I ever made. The extra time was obviously a big plus, but also the whole experience of living away from home. I was always extremely independant, but I took it to a whole new level this year, and I'm much better off for it.

Even for the students who live within practical commuting distance of college (Meath is a bit too far) - do you think you're missing out on the whole "college experience"? I didn't think so until I moved out, but then again there were many extenuating circumstances in my case.

And for the students from down the cunthry, would you prefer if your parents' home was in Dublin so you didn't have to move out?

xebec

Moving out was one of the things I was most looking forward to when going to college. Although moving into Halls wasn't quite as liberating as moving into a place by myself.

Rented a flat for the first time this year - totally different to living in college accomodation! Had to deal with landlords, floods, mice and even blown lightbulbs that we didn't know how to get at (they were in behind some cover things). This wasn't always a pleasant experience but I will have no problems with moving into somewhere new again. The most positive things from it that I got though were learning how to deal with landlords - ask for things in the right way and you can get almost anything.

IMO to get the real college experience you need to leave home, even if it's only for a year. You learn so much about the crap that you are going to have to deal with in the future at a time when it is relatively easy to deal with and there are plenty of areas that you can go to for support.

Am currently looking for a place in London for the summer (if you think the rent is bad in Dublin, have a look there £120+pw!) and then back to Campus next year then who knows what city/country I'll be renting my next place in.

Ron DMC

I would say that there's advantages to both.
Living at home is so cheap it's unreal. No rent, no shopping bills, plus parents and siblings to make tea and food for you when you guilt them into it.
Living in college is also fairly cheap (provided you have a room-mate with tons of cash, but this is probably a rarity).
Living in college is a whole lot better socially, but this tends to lead to very little academic work being done.
When coming all the way into college from home, you feel like you might as well go to some lectures or you've wasted your time coming in. This is not so when you're already in college when you wake up.
As much as I wanted to go to the library this year, it was much more likely that you'd find me in the Buttery or the Pav (when you live in town, people expect you to come out any night they are, which results in a different group of people to go out with every night).

Overall pluses for campus:
no commuting,
no nightlinks/taxis,
plenty of social life,
always things to do/ people to see.

Overall pluses for home:
free food, no rent,
no need for an alarm clock (mammy wakes me up),
more time to study,
less busy in general.

europerson

In my opinion, the biggest difference is having to buy and to cook one's own food. However, that has both advantages and disadvantages: while buying what one likes oneself is fun, having to go to the bother of purchasing and cooking it isn't great.

Crash

Cept I much prefer cooking for myself - surprisingly enough on average I eat healthier on my own.

John

What crash said

shay_562

I do enjoy the comforts of home, but I'd love to live on-campus (Schols-willing). I can definitely see the benefits outweighing the inconveniences of having to provide for myself, and I'd like to think I'm disciplined enough that I'd attend at least as many lectures from an on-campus flat as I do from home. Hell, maybe more, since I wouldn't have that "Ung, I need to get up at 6.45 for my 9AM, screw it, I'm going back to sleep" factor.

Living away is better IMO. My parents live in the middle of nowhere so I haven't any choice but to live away therefore I have to pay the rent and all that anyway. I didn't find it that big of a deal living with students to be honest, I was used to cooking and cleaning and all that anyway, and my parents have never woken me up to go to classes or anything like that. The only people who have a problem are spoiled mammy's boys and girls, from my experience.

Most of my college friends are from Dublin and live with their parents, they say it's grand but I think it's because they don't know what they're missing. Yeah it's handy to get your meals cooked and clothes washed, but for me that wouldn't be a reason to choose to stay at home. No matter how liberal your parents are, you don't get those night long chats with randomers, playing cards, randomly going out and things like that. You don't get to live with people from all over the country and the world studying different things. I remember a friend of mine once having to ring her mum when we went to the pub after school to say she wouldn't be home for dinner and I was so glad I wasn't in that situation. I can come and go as I please, eat what I want when I want. You grow up so much in the first year away from home and I was a lot more mature than I would have been living at home.