I was hesitant to move back home after living in halls. There were factors I was unsure of but now, having experienced living out and at home, I have gained a different perspective. There are pros and cons to living at home I’ll share my experience with some of these.
Social life?
That dreaded fear of missing out. It’s easy to feel like you won’t be able to socialise and meet people but living at home doesn’t mean you need to always physically be at home. I spend most of my weekdays outside the house whether I’m making use of the campus libraries, at netball practice, attending society socials (there are over 250 societies at Kings!) or just having dinner with my friends. I can then head home or crash at my friends’ places if it’s a late night. In some ways, living at home drives me to make more use of these opportunities to socialise.
Being practical and saving money?
Not having the extra stress of paying rent, bills and buying groceries on top of studies is definitely appealing. Travel is now the only main cost consideration, so I have more to spend on social events and visiting friends who have moved away for Uni. I’d recommend getting a Student Oyster photocard to save 30% on your travelcard.
Independence?
There is that question of how much independence you will have at home. Living with your family doesn’t mean you can’t do things for yourself – I still wash my own dishes, do my own laundry and take out the bins like I did when I lived in halls. While it won’t be the same as living on your own, you can still take a more active role with cooking and chores around the house.
Comfort?
In my first year, I would find myself being so busy trying to keep on top of my coursework that my meal planning did go out the window. My flatmates would readily tell you that I often just had instant noodles stashes left– I’m surprised I can still stomach pot noodles. It just makes me appreciate coming home to cooked meal now and again. An advantage of living at home is that University can stressful so it’s great to have your family – a support network – behind you.
Overall, I do enjoy living at home as it has made me improve my planning and time management enabling to me to have a better study-life balance.
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