Living with parents vs living with friends

If you’re just starting college, or you’ve just got a job and can finally afford to move out of home, you may be in the midst of making the decision between living with your parents, or living with your friends (or strangers too).

While moving out sounds like the best option at first glance, things aren’t always as simple as they seem…

Benefits of living with your parents

Cost
Even if you are paying your parents rent, it’s not going to be as much as what you would pay a landlord in the city centre. You need to think about whether or not you want to save your money, or splash the cash. What kind of future do you want – a memory bank full of good times, or a bank account full of money to get your own place somewhere?

Food
Nothing beats your mammy’s cooking. Even if you don’t like it now, a couple of weeks of beans and toast will have you running back for the Sunday roast. The fridge in your parent’s house will never be as stark as the fridge in your rented flat either. There’s ALWAYS a few slices of ham kickin’ around!

Heat
It’s getting into those winter months now, which means you’ll want to be curled up in front of the fire every night. Heating costs money though, and if you’re renting you may find yourself doubling up on jumpers instead of flicking that switch. Not so cosy!

Hygiene
If you move in with strangers, you don’t know how messy they’re going to be. At least at home you can rely on a certain level of cleanliness!

Benefits of living with friends

Freedom
Living away from home gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want. No questions asked! What could be better?

Privacy
Irish mammies are known for their snooping skills, but living away from home means you don’t have to lock your diary away in a bullet proof safe. If you don’t change your address though, be warned: they WILL open your post!

Guests
Woohoo! You can invite your boyfriend over, and he can even stay the night! In fact, you can invite all your friends over and have a party, brilliant!

TV
If you’re living with friends, you’ll probably all like similar TV shows so there won’t be too many arguments over the remote. Unlike living with your parents where you have to watch everything on your laptop because Nationwide is never ending. Ugh!