Is It Worth Living At Home During College? This is What You Should Consider

You’ve just graduated high school and are trying to figure out your living situation. Most students choose to live on campus to have the full college experience, while some decide to take the path of living at home during college, mostly to save money. Here are all the pros and cons of living with parents during college that should be taken into consideration when weighing out your options.

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The Advantages Of Living At Home During College

1. Financially Friendly

The most obvious advantage of living at home during college is that it’s a lot more affordable than living on campus due to the high costs of housing and meal plan costs.

Depending on your relationship with your parents, they are likely to allow you to live with them at home for free, or at least for a very minimal cost. Living at home during college can allow you to save up and eventually get your own apartment. It can help reduce financial stress while in school for both the student and their parents, since college tuition fees can already be very hefty.

2. Healthier Options

Not only can living at home be cheaper, but it can also be a lot healthier. It’s likely that the food you have at home will be healthier than the food provided on campus. Just the fact that you will probably have a lot less sugar-filled soda and a lot less fried foods is already a big step.

Eating healthier meals can help you succeed academically, as you will likely feel better both physically and mentally by fueling your body with the right things. Living at home is also healthier in the sense that it provides more a stable routine and is generally more of a clean and calm environment. Living with parents during college also means that there will be less temptation to drink alcohol.

3. Support System

Living at home during college means that you will always have someone worried about you and checking in on your well-being when you come home from school. Living at home allows you to maintain a strong relationship with your family and see them on a more regular basis. Leaving home can be a very stressful experience for some people, and homesickness is very common, especially for freshman students.

4. Decreased Distractions

Living at home during college can also help limit the distractions around you. Although everywhere always has its inevitable distractions, you at least won’t have to worry about a loud roommate coming back to your dorm room in the middle of the night after partying.

Living at home during college also means that you will have a quiet place to study, if you take the necessary steps such as turning off your phone and TV. Living at home means that there will be fewer temptations to go out and party every night, and can help you be more serious and focused on your studies.

5. There’s No Place Like Home

The saying that “there’s no place like home” really couldn’t be any more true. Living with parents during college means that you don’t need to worry about going to a laundromat or worrying about cooking and cleaning all by yourself. College can be a drastic change for many students, and staying at home can help with the difficult transition.

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The Disadvantages Of Living At Home During College

1. Travel & Traffic

There are both pros and cons of living at home during university, and both sides should be understood.

Depending where your parents live, you could have a very long commute to get to campus every day. Sometimes, there are unpredictable things that can happen such as traffic jams, accidents, or even just bad weather that make the commute even more difficult and long.

Commuting to campus not only takes more time, but also means costs in gas and parking fees if you travel by car. Looking for parking when rushing to school in the morning can also cause extra stress throughout college.

Even without a car, a bus or train pass can be quite costly depending where you live.

2. Campus Events Are Less Accessible

While your family might be great and a whole lot of fun, it’s not the same as attending campus events such as football games or taking part in on-campus clubs. These things are much easier to take part in when you live on campus, and the commute from your parents’ house can be limiting for you to attend these events.

You likely won’t want to make the special trip each time there is something going on. This is something that should be considered when weighing out the pros and cons of living at home during university.

3. Off-Campus Social Life

Not only will living at home during college prevent you from attending on-campus events, but it can also limit your chances to connect with other people and make new friends throughout college. It can feel strange to bring friends over to your house with your parents around, depending on your relationship with them.

Living at home is a lot less spontaneous when it comes to making plans with peers, and you might not always be told about activities going on. People might not always invite you to events or parties since you aren’t around outside of classroom hours.

4. Boundary Issues

Although living with parents during college means that you are under their roof, you are no longer a child, and sometimes it can be hard for parents to remember that. Expectations are not always clear from both sides, and it can take away from having a healthy sense of independence from the college student.

5. Can Take Away From The Full College Experience

This basically sums everything up about the disadvantages of living at home during college.

Living at home means not having the college roommate experience that allows you to learn to deal with all kinds of people and situations.

College also means spending endless nights in the library with friends, and eating dining hall food regardless of what it takes like. Living on campus forces you to step out of your comfort zone, sometimes for the better.

College is a chance for self discovery, to learn to take care of yourself and challenge yourself. Living with parents during college can be very limiting for these developments.

Conclusion

When considering living at home during college, there are many things to take into consideration. Both living on campus and living at home have their pros and cons, and it’s important to note that there are ways to deal with everything.

Setting up a budget, talking openly with your family, and setting boundaries with your roommate can all be game changers. It’s up to you to weigh out the benefits of living at home, and decide what’s right for you during this exciting time.