This month marks the one year anniversary of me moving back into my parent’s house. At the beginning of 2020 I moved to Providence, RI to start my first job out of college. Three months later, Covid hit and my company told us to work from home. We all thought we’d be remote for two weeks and then back to the office like normal.
Well Summer came around and I was still working remote with no date set to return to the office. That was when I really started to think about the idea of moving back to Virginia to be closer to my family. My apartment lease was up in January and I really didn’t want to move in the middle of a New England Winter, plus it would be close to the holidays so I decided to move out at the end of October (and yes I still paid my rent until the lease ended).
Moving back in with your parent’s when you’re in your 20’s is so much different than living there as a high schooler or even coming home from college for summer breaks. Here’s the truth about moving back home in your 20’s.
Yes, we argue
If you come from a family that never argues, then congratulations (and also maybe adopt me?). But I think most of us can relate to getting in arguments with family especially since the pandemic forced us to stay inside for months with them.
I still haven’t unpacked everything
I thought this move would be temporary, 6 months MAX, but I’ve been home for a year and I’m still living with boxes. Most of them are filled with my kitchen stuff or decor pieces but I’m sure there’s a box somewhere with random beauty items that will have to get tossed whenever I unpack it.
And don’t even go down into our basement. I’m about to expose myself over here. Not only do we have all the stuff that my parent’s already had down here but now my couch, dining table, chairs, tv stand, and a bunch of boxes are all down there too.
My only personal space is my bedroom
I went having a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment all to myself to sharing a house with my family. My only real personal space is my bedroom which seriously lacks storage and like I mentioned above, it’s still not completely unpacked. My room is also my WFH office which probably goes against some productivity rules but it’s the only space I have. It’s definitely been an adjustment.
Saving $$$
Now that I’m no longer paying $1800 in rent every month, I’ve been putting that money towards more important things. This month I just paid off my student loans 🙌🏻 but it would have taken me a lot longer if I was still paying rent.
I’ve also been saving for things for the future. I’ve always wanted to own a home so I’ve started saving money for a downpayment. I’m also saving for a car. I currently drive a 2001 Toyota Avalon and I know it won’t last me forever so I want to be financially prepared for when I do have to purchase another car.
My dog loves living in a house
When I adopted my chihuahua Josie, I was still living in my apartment. She’s a small dog so she did fine but now that she’s gotten used to having a yard and being able to watch the squirrels, I don’t think she’d ever forgive me if I brought her back to an apartment. More incentive for me to save for a house with a fenced in yard!
I can scratch my design itch
When I was living in my apartment the most designing I could do was with furniture or hanging art but sometimes you just really want to paint a wall. I’ve heard some landlords will let you paint but none of mine have. Obviously as soon as I moved back home I started talking about the projects and painting I wanted us to do.
The first project was a full gut of the main floor half bath. I also managed to convince them to replace their 25 year old range before it totally broke, leaving us without a range for 6 months because of Covid delays. Slowly I’ve been helping my parents to update their house and it’s amazing how even the small projects can change the look.
Obviously your experience with moving back in with your parents might be different than mine but I just wanted to share in case it’s helpful. Let’s get rid of the stigma of living with your parent’s while in your 20s!