Moving away from home

September is fast approaching, and with it comes the start of a new year at school, college, or university. For many people, this September brings the start of uni, and that is often paired with moving away from home. 

Moving away can feel overwhelming - a new place, with new people and lots of independence can be really scary, but it is also really exciting! You will be meeting new people, making friends and learning how to navigate life independently, so it’s important to focus on the positives. Something I always keep in mind is that everything gets better with time. 

Chances are you will feel homesick the first day or two, but by one week you will start to become comfortable in your new lifestyle, as you adjust and adapt to your new routines, and soon after you will be able to call your new place your home. 

There are some ways to help you transition more smoothly into your new home, and to make it easier to get used to the big change. One way is to keep some constants in your life. For example, this could be regularly calling your parents or family whilst you are adjusting to your new home. This will help to ground you as it may be overwhelming to experience completely new things constantly. Similarly, you could check in with old friends who have also moved away, or even go and visit them! This will help you to feel less alone and you will find yourself getting used to living away from home much easier. Finally, make sure you take some time to yourself too. As important as socialising with friends (old and new!) and family is, taking time to do things like decorating your room by yourself can help you feel even more at ease. 

Of course, the most important part of adjusting to a new lifestyle are the people you will meet. If you’re living in halls, chances are you will make friends with your flatmates and they may stay your friends for life. These people will help you to adjust to your new life, they will be there as a support network and they are all in the same situation as you. Parties, social events and even just cooking dinner with friends will all help you feel comfortable and adjust to your new environment quickly. 

Moving away also brings with it new responsibility. If you live with parents or carers, chances are that they do the cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. Living alone at university/in halls often means you have to do these things yourself. Making sure you have all the essential equipment is step one of the process - if you’re self-catered this means pots, pans, plates, glasses and everything you need for cooking. This also means buying food and ingredients yourself - setting aside a budget for this per week can be useful as you will also need to learn how to manage your money. Learning a few simple recipes can also be helpful - essentials such as pasta are always useful to know. Making sure you are prepared to do these things can really help your mental transition to living away from home. If you are stressed about the responsibilities you will face, it will be harder for you to adjust and to feel comfortable in your new place. Knowing what you will be responsible for and preparing as much as you can will help the moving away process and it will mean that you experience less stress when you’ve moved out. 

Finally, moving away is about freedom. You will start to have the freedom to have fun and do whatever you want, but with it comes responsibility. Balancing work and fun can be really hard to do, but it needs to be done. Ultimately, you should be excited about moving away and even if you are dreading it, you will soon see that there is nothing to be worried about. Being scared is so normal, but you’ll forget those negative emotions after your first housewarming party!