Written by Carl Maswoswa
A study curated in 2020 states that 52% of young adults from ages 18 to 29 live with their parents. There are plenty of good reasons for living with your parents during adulthood – saving money, having extra support just to mention a few. The Covid-19 pandemic, job losses, economic-related reasons are keeping many young adults in their parents’ houses longer than their counterparts in previous generations.
This has been a sensitive topic on Twitter for a while where Zimbabweans argued and threw in their concerns on the platform. If you are pondering how to make a move out of your parents’ house this article is for you. Moving out should not be out of peer and societal pressure but emanate from you as an adult that you are now flexible and independent to handle your own life without nagging your parents.
Are you moving out for the right reasons?
When you look around you do you see you have the capability of living alone? Ideally moving out requires you to take a 360-degree look at your life. Have you made any progress towards your personal development goals in terms of education, work, social, financial, or family life? Living on your own requires a high level of responsibility. Are your parents giving you support to move out or do they still want you around?
This is what you need to have in mind – moving out should not be premised on the fact you are having a toxic relationship in the instance of living with an extended or polygamous family or there is that one uncle or aunt who constantly makes things difficult for you because you live in a family house. Moving out is only the sound prerogative for your mental wellbeing and sanity.
Do you know how to keep a budget?
If you are now a working-class citizen of the nation this should be easy for you to do. As you plan to live on your own a cost analysis is key to making key and critical decisions. Can you manage to pay for rentals, groceries, commuting fares, clothing expenses, school fees if there is without nagging your parents for a bailout in the instance your salary fails to cover all your personal expenses?
In the first months when you are starting out it may be permissible, if it is always frequent then moving out is not yet for you. This you should look at when you are living with your parents’ Are you financially stable – can you buy your own kitchen utensils or furniture rather?
Have you picked out your parents’ brains about how to adult?
Whilst it might be nerve-wracking to stay on your own. This is when you discover things you thought were mundane and unnecessary but vital in your being an adult. What happens when you have to unclog blocked toilet drainage or when you have to choose to leave out without something in your life? Your parents have removed you from their list of dependencies on their medical aid.
Now the bill is on your tab. Are you emotionally present to deal with all the issues facing you? What breaks my heart every day is thinking of what to cook, l always laugh and think l have not prepared anything yet l need to eat – taking bread and beans every night is after all not healthy for my body.
Whilst other things may lead you to want to move out like privacy, craving to have a quiet time with your boyfriend or girlfriend, curfew seems to hold you from enjoying your night outs ultimately there is no right or wrong decision it is up to you to decide whether moving out is right for you or not. If you miss your family, you can always pay a visit. Moving out as well does not mean your parents don’t need groceries and assistance from you. They still need you just from a mile away from their house.
