Youth Incorporated Magazine

Students have started and are moving out of their homes for college. The eternal dilemma faces all the students going through the college application process : To stay in your hometown or to move out. While study shows there is a higher rate of students moving out of their hometown for educational purposes, most of these colleges are located within 50 miles of their hometown displaying the need for students to stay at home. However there are certain benefits of moving out of your home.

Moving out

Moving out of home can be a transformative experience for students. Although initially hard, moving out of home at a young age teaches one various life lessons. It teaches young minds the importance of living on a schedule, budget and planning your life down. It pushes the young adolescent to move out of their comfort zone and learn various life skills that can only be acquired through being on your own. Along with basic survival skills such as cooking, cleaning, learning to fend for yourself, taking care of yourself, it also helps you develop emotionally.

It allows you to build your network and helps you meet a diverse set of people while expanding your social network. The process of moving out and entering into a whole new place on your own is lonely and hard. There are times where you will feel discouraged, sad and completely alone especially at the initial stages.

However if one pushes past the stages, you learn to appreciate your own company and overcome various adversities. When you are all alone, it is then that you truly understand who you are and how you have grown as a person. It is advisable to choose the right company and trust your gut instincts as well because when you have moved out.

One learns to navigate throughout the more strenuous parts of their college life learning resilience. Going to a new place for educational purposes is an immersive experience which can lead to a comprehensive and engaging college life.

Staying in your own hometown

Some students opt for staying in their hometown for educational purposes. It is then when they are able to make the most of their time. Students staying at home often have more time and freedom on their hands. Due to less responsibility and living in the comfort of their own home, students are able to learn more courses, take up internships and acquire new skills.

Access to internship opportunities help you brush up your CV. This will be quite helpful in your future while you’re applying for a job. Hands-on skill is the most important and one of the number one skills a company searches for.  With the reduced living costs, students will be able to make better use of the financial resources elsewhere.

Familiarity with the place can lead to less stress and better mental health helping the student to cope up with the added challenging complexities of a college life. There is always the anxiety of starting your first year in college which whether you’re a hosteller or day scholar, will never go away. Having a place to come home to and loved ones to comfort you makes the process easier. It helps you motivate yourself and ease the transition from your high school life to college life. Staying in your hometown has various other benefits as well such as easy access to local resources.

There are various alternatives a student could take up. You could do your undergraduate in your hometown and your postgraduate in another, you could choose a college not far from your hometown but still close enough to come back often, you could get an apartment near your college instead of staying in the hostel as it would help ease your situation. Whatever the situation may be, each student’s situation is unique. It is very important to carefully analyze the pros and cons of each living situation and choose accordingly. No matter the living situation, student choose the best option which could  further their educational and professional career.