Moving Out: Why Teenagers Shouldn't Leave Home
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By Suzy Moore/Posted: Jan 5 2015
Moving Out: Why Teenagers Shouldn't Leave Home

When you get in a heated argument with your parents, you might daydream about what it would be like to move out on your own. Before you make that decision, think it through first.

In many cases, you’re better off to stay right where you are until you’re older and have some money behind you. There are lots of things you need to consider before making a major decision like that.

Living Accommodations

At your parent’s house you have it made. You have your own room, plus free run of the house, and three meals a day provided for you. If you move out, where are you going to go? Your friends may have been quick to say you could go to their house.

But when it comes right down to it, will their parents really let you move in? If not, you’ll have to look into hotels and apartments.

Your Bank Account

Do you have enough money to cover first and last month’s rent, along with utilities and food? Even if you move in with one of your friends, you’re still going to need to pay for your own food, and in most cases something toward the utilities. Nobody is going to let you live with them for free indefinitely. All of these things cost money.

Social Assistance

Some teenagers consider financial assistance or welfare as a way of moving away from home at a younger age. However, in order to qualify for financial assistance when you’re under 18 your parents have to sign a form saying they are unwilling to support you financially.

Most parents won’t sign the form because they are willing, as long as you live under their roof. Even if you do qualify for social assistance, you’ll only qualify for the minimal amount and will barely have enough to cover your living expenses and food. You won’t have enough money to cover a social life or entertainment.

Extra Hours on the Job

If you didn’t already have a job, you’ll need one now. Part-time hours won’t be enough to cover the amount of money you’ll need to keep your head above water, so you’ll have to grab extra shifts when you can. That will mean working most of the time when you’re not in school.

Juggling Schoolwork, Work, and Life

When you’re in high school and living on your own, there’s no one to tell you it’s time to do your school work. You need to figure that one out on your own. You also need to go to work to make money to support your lifestyle. If you can handle all three, you’ll be doing okay, but most teenagers can’t.

Between schoolwork and work, you’ll probably find that you’re too tired or too busy to maintain much of a social life. Or, you may find that you go a little wild with the freedom living away from home gives and you let your job slide and leave your bills neglected.

Many times it’s the schoolwork that falls behind, when teens consider work and their social life their highest priorities. As a result, they wind up dropping out of school and working more to earn enough money to pay their bills and support their social lives.

Don’t be so quick to threaten to move out in a moment of heated anger. Think about everything involved and realize that until you’re truly on your feet, you’re better off at home with your parents. Once you’ve graduated and have a job, it’s totally doable. But, for now, let them worry about the bills, so you can worry about your studies and your social life.

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Comments (26)
Britxovo  - Sometimes i wanna move out but im waiting until im 18 then im outta that bih - Jul 23 2017 - Like
tincellar  - i already moved out BITCH - Jul 10 2017 - Like
lea_00912  - I dont feel like moving out i have a loving family - Jul 6 2017 - Like
computerfish  - fuck you mylol im gonna move out and im gonna get hit by a train and no one can stop me - Apr 26 2017 - Like
Aglaesia  - I compleettteely agree with Bruzzix. I was going to share rent in a place with two friends. When your parents say you're making excuses and to grow up and get over it when you were medically diagnosed with a psychological disorder.. Well, it's not fun. Not to mention you used to be abused by one and you never want to be around them again. Also, the rules are ridiculous as to not making sense. They make me feel like shit and when I ask to go somewhere and they say no, they just say, "Because I said so." They would cancel my plans with friends at the last minute with a bunch of random excuses. When you have a baby brother but you always fight with your parents, you wouldn't want to be in the house and make it worse for your little brother growing up either. It's not healthy to grow up in an environment like that. Trust me, I know. Anyway, this article disregards anyone who actually knows that they're getting into and knows what they need to do, but still want to move out. Just saying. Sorry, small rant there. - Oct 13 2016 - Like
Bruzzix  - I'm 17 and moved out because my dad treated me like dirt. I live in a small sharehouse with two flatmates and it's fucking awesome being able to do whatever you want whenever you want. There are some downsides though that you should seriously consider. The obvious downside is that you gotta take care of everything yourself and that's time consuming and takes a lot of effort. Another is that you don't have that parental figure there for you to seek out life advice from face to face and have those long chats to help you out with issues in your life. If you can tolerate your family, I would advise to live with them for enough time for you to be able to learn the basics of how to take care of yourself (cooking, cleaning, laundry, finances) and earn some decent savings. You must, I reiterate, must, be a hard worker in order to keep your head above the water this young. Have a stable job before you move and be willing to grind because it does get hard sometimes. When you move out, invite lots of friends over, smoke weed and play video games (if you're into that), get bitches (or dudes) and kick back and relax - Oct 9 2016 - Like
<|XII|>  - Probably helpful if my parents hadn't kicked me out. I'm just living with another friend right now, but in early September, I'm about to get a studio apartment, and rent is only $409. I don't like my current job, but I'm actually pretty stable in financials. But in all reality, as long as you're nice to your parents, and you talk to them often, it's best that you stay with your parents. - Aug 28 2016 - Like
Zombs  - Yeah, this is the sterotypical lifestyle, mom and dad do everything for you. You have everything you cauld want and one little argument causes a teen to move out. This isny like most cases, most cases a teen doesnt get three meals, already pays for food and phone and blah blah blah. Least thats my lifestyle, so moving wouldnt be much different, the only thing is i just quit my job. - Aug 24 2016 - Like
onfleek100  - @I am Jesus showoff - Mar 2 2015 - Like
onfleek100  - I'm 17 && I'm living with my grandparents and I want to move out as soon as possible because they stress me out a lot. But I may just end up staying with them for a while as long as they give me more freedom. Hell, they're finna give me more allowance so I guess I can stay for a bit. - Mar 2 2015 - Like
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