POLL: When did you move out of your parents' house?

I moved out of my father’s house when I got married at 21. We rented an apartment on our own and I have never moved back home. I do not regret leaving when I did. I do regret having married the guy I did. The best part was being on my own, the worst part was having to pay my own bills and having to be married to the guy.

Im kind of in a limbo of sorts as far as moving out. I technically have my residence listed as my grandparents house (whom raised me), but I haven’t really lived at home since I started college. I have been living on campus and during breaks I usually stay at my boyfriends house which is near our college and my job. I still go home every once in a while but usually not for more then a couple of days. I still get most of my financial help through my grandparents but provide my own food, and other provisions for myself. They pay for the important stuff that I could never afford at the current age of 20, like my cell phone, car insurance, and car repairs. I would like to start paying for the cell myself but my grandparents are very giving people and usually refuse. I love not being at home because of the freedom, but its nice knowing that there is someone there to help you. I could never fully live on my own at the moment.

I never did. We always kept the family together, it’s tradition. Now that I’m an adult and have my own family, the remaining members of my remaining family (mom, grandma, aunt) live with us in the same home we moved into when I was younger. Eventually, when my partner and I have better finances, we might move out and have the three of them live in an apartment next to us.

At what age did you move away from home?
Within a week of 18yrs old.

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
I moved by myself and my cat, didn’t get a roomie for a few years (got married).

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
It was an apartment that backed up what we called “motel row”, a scuzzy part of town where hookers worked.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
I’d already been working while in high school so I just added a few p/t jobs around my college schedule. It sucked. My parents didn’t help and at first I was too stubborn to accept money from my grandparents.

Did you ever move back home?
Nope.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
No way. I would’ve left sooner but my stepdad bailed on my mom and their baby so I stayed a year longer than I wanted in order to support them. When he came back around then I bailed before he could.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
The Best- peace & self security.
The Worst- being tired all the time, being broke all the time rather than having $ hoarded.

At what age did you move away from home? 19

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend? By myself and off to the U.S. Army

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house? An open bay dormitory with about 30 other guys in my platoon in basic training.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents? Uncle Sam made sure I was paid, fed, housed, and well trained.

Did you ever move back home? Yes, for a little while after my first marriage ended.

Do you regret leaving when you did? Not at all because that first enlistment in the Army was the beginning of a military career now in its 22nd year.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home? The best part was the excitement of starting a new adventure in a military career. The worst part was leaving behind excellent parents, two very cool brothers, and a lot of great friends.

I moved out when I was 17 right after I graduated from high school.

At what age did you move away from home?

19

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?

I was supposed to move in with a friend of mine, but she pulled out at the last moment so I did it on my own.

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?

Apartment.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?

Working.

Did you ever move back home?

No, except for one temporary stay of a couple of weeks when I lost one apartment unexpectedly due to a flood causing ceiling weakness and I needed somewhere to go quickly.

Do you regret leaving when you did?

Not at all.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?

Best part- freedom. Worst part- paying rent!

At what age did you move away from home?
18 years, 2 months

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
A high school friend was suppose to move with me but backed out after I signed the lease. A friend from my job moved in with me instead.

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
A big old Victorian house that I discovered, very quicly, I couldn’t afford to heat.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
My parents’ financial support ended when I moved out. I moved with the wisdom of an 18 year old. I had a job and decided, why go to college when I have a job?

Did you ever move back home?
Once

Do you regret leaving when you did?
Not really.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Best part: It has brought me to where I am today. Worst part: At the time, it broke my Dad’s heart. I was set to go to college. He told me if I didn’t start the semester I was accepted, he’d not pay for it in the future. I went against his wishes. Later, I moved 700 miles away and I cleaned houses and went to college part-time to get my degree.

I moved out at age 23, when I got married 6 weeks after college graduation. I had a job working for a bank, my spouse was in grad school, and worked 15 hours a week. We had one car for the first 9 years we were married, and didn’t own a television for the first three years. I never moved back home, nor did parents help us pay bills after we were married.

My oldest daughter moved into an apartment on her own at age 19; she had $10,000 in the bank. I pay her cell phone and car insurance, because her car is in my name. Our arrangement is that when the contract expires on the cell phone, she’s on her own. She pays for repairs on the car, and I will continue to pay insurance until the car stops running, she buys her own car, or she moves to continue her education. When she moved into the apartment, I bought her household goods, kitchen stuff, etc. (She went through undergrad on a full academic ride, and paid for grad school with loans.)

For my other daughter, I’m paying college expenses. Freshman year, she went away to a state school, and worked on the weekends for spending money. She came home, lived at home and went to community college, and saved her money to move out. She moved out this summer, and works full time at a minimum wage job. She pays her rent, utilities, food, gas and car maintenance expenses, and I pay tuition, medical bills, car insurance, and cell phone. I bought her some household goods, but she moved into a situation where the other roommates had been living together for awhile, and she only needed her bedroom furniture and kitchen things.

For me, the worst part about leaving home was having no experience managing money. I expected to live the same standard of living I had in my parent’s house, and that just wasn’t possible.

I was 16 and moved out to go to college. I stayed in a dorm my freshman year. My parents took care of 90% of my expenses. I had some savings an worked. By sophomore year I moved into a house with 3 other guys . Rent was cheap and they were a smart group. I learned a lot. I had a part time job.
At the end of Junior year I had a very good part time job working for an engineering consulting firm. I finished my masters.with my own money and got a full time job that started 10 days after graduation. Always moving forward.
I never moved back home.
I got married, kids, life…

At what age did you move away from home? 17
Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend? By myself
Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house? Apartment, campus affiliated – lived with 3 other terrors girls.
How did you support yourself without the help of your parents? Luckily had money set aside for college.
Did you ever move back home? Moved back home after 9 months, then out again, then home again, now out… forever!!
Do you regret leaving when you did? No, leaving at 17 for college was a great decision.
What was the best and worst part about leaving home? Worst was leaving my sister and dad alone while my parents were splitting up but I needed to do me for a little while. Best part was the freedom, and the freedom from the hell that was my parent’s separation, and trying to be the rock of the family and hold everyone together (although, that will never really fully stop).

At what age did you move away from home?
At 18 years of age on January 7th 2007.

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
I moved out by myself, but moved in with a roommate.

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
At first I lived in a house and then I moved into an apartment.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
Self-employment and my savings.

Did you ever move back home?
No.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
No.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
The best part was being able to start a new chapter in my life that mainly involved my passion/career.
The worst part was and still is not being able to see my parents very often and no more home cooked meals.

At what age did you move away from home?
22

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
By myself

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
Apartment

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
I had a job working in SF for the Phone Company

Did you ever move back home?
When my Dad died, I moved home to help my Mom thru it. I was there 2 years.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
No

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Christmas morning, finding nothing under the tree. Of course I knew there wouldn’t be, but my heart sunk.

When I graduated high school I spent a lot of time at my boyfriends, but I still technically lived at home. I worked part time and went to school part time. At the age of 18 I transferred to an out of state university and lived in the dorms. Living in the dorm was fantastic! I loved it, did it for two years. My senior year I lived with two friends in an apartment. My parents paid for all of my tuition and dorm fees/rent.

After graduating I went back home for a few months and then moved to FL. In FL I lived with a friend for a couple of weeks, and then my cousin for about a month. I found a job and lived with a roommate in a townhouse for a couple of years, eventually moving in with my fiance at the age of 24. In FL I paid for everything myself, except for one time my dad sent me $1,000 to get me through a tough time in-between jobs my first year in FL.

I never regreted leaving home. In fact, college was one of my most favorite times of my life, hanging out with friends, all of us around the same age, in the same frame of mind. So much fun, I have wonderful memories.

Moving to FL also was fantastic. Being back home after graduating, in my home town was upsetting for me, missing my old boyfriend. Moving was like opening a new chapter in my life, like the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulders.

At what age did you move away from home? 21
Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend? I moved in with my boyfriend, who is now my husband.
Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house? We lived in an apartment (his) and after a few months we moved into the house that we are currently living in.
How did you support yourself without the help of your parents? By working hard and learning to budget our money.
Did you ever move back home? No.
Do you regret leaving when you did? Not at all, it has worked out really well so far. I feel like I was ready to move out when I did.
What was the best and worst part about leaving home? The best part was that I got out before my parents split up, so I didn’t have to live there while the whole household was falling apart. The worst part is that bills still suck. :)

After I graduated from college, I went home for five or six months because I couldn’t get a job. There was drama around that, but that’s not for this story.

At 22 and a half, I then moved to NYC and found an apartment with a couple of other guys. We shared the bills, and we probably had separate food. Later I moved to two other houses in Brooklyn. In each case I had two or three other roommates and we all shared the bills.

I got a job doing fundraising for various causes and was able to make enough to support myself as long as I shared living spaces. Work gave me a car, so, all in all, I was able to afford a much nice place than I otherwise would have.

I haven’t been back home, except to visit, since. In fact, I don’t even really like going there. People always say it’s a beautiful part of the country, and it is, but that’s not enough to make me want to live there, ever again.

The best part about it was being on my own and not having to worry about parental thoughts and restrictions. The worst part was worrying about money. But I’m a good saver, so that soon stopped being a worry, even though I was barely making enough money to keep me out of poverty. The marvels of living with other people. It helped that we were all friends and lovers.

I moved out when I was 20. That was only a year ago. I moved across the country….I don’t regret it for a second. I didn’t have a home that I could hang out with friends in…my mom’s boyfriend that we’ve lived with for 10 years is awful and it made for a terrible environment to be with friends in. I just had to get away. I love the independence….I miss family and friends and my pets but I just couldn’t stagnate here any longer. It sucks though, when I moved into my first apartment I had one roommate and paid 500 a month and realized what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck and it blows but again, I don’t regret it. It never gets too bad. I now live with my boyfriend who makes a ton more money than me….we split rent 60/40…and I thought that was nice! That is really generous of your boyfriend to offer to support you. And I wouldn’t think of it as being “dependent on a man”....think of it as what it is, someone loves you enough to want to support you while they know that it would be unhealthy for you to go to school and work full time. And if he’s capable, why not? A lot of people warned me that living with him would create a ton of problems and we’d “argue about things you can’t even imagine yet!” but unless you’re dumb, then you don’t. Unless you’re a slob and inconsiderate, it’s not a problem. In fact, I freakin love it. I love snuggling every single night while I sleep. It is so beautiful.

At what age did you move away from home?
18 for college, but that doesn’t really count considering I would move back home for summer and all. I guess technically it would be when I was 22 when I moved to Wyoming for grad school (so that’s how I’ll answer the rest of the questions).

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
By myself.

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
Apartment.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
I got a stipend for grad school (research assistant). The cost of living in WY is super cheap, so even on a measly grad student salary, I lived OK. Rent was inexpensive, and my friends and I would get together all the time and make dinner for each other.

Did you ever move back home?
No, but it was a definate possibility. Had I not gotten the job I have now out of grad school, I would have moved back with the folks and maybe gotten a teaching certificate or something.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
Nope. I was 22. It was time.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Having lived relatively on my own for almost ten years (and moving further west every time), I have to say I really miss my mommy and daddy. I don’t like being a grown up. Especially when being a grown up is added to being a grown up all alone in this big crazy world. :-(

At what age did you move away from home? 17/21/25/29
Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend? by myself, then traveling/living overseas with friends, got married and moved uot
Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house? yes to all three in that order.
How did you support yourself without the help of your parents? worked, taught
Did you ever move back home? three times
Do you regret leaving when you did? no, each time was the right time, now I am waiting for them to come move in with me, and then move out. We are doing the whole thing over in reverse.
What was the best and worst part about leaving home? Missed them, they missed me. Mom’s cooking.

Moved out at 19, into an apartment with my then boyfriend. We both paid rent, no help from our parents. We have since lived in two apartments, a year back home with my parents, and now almost a year at a townhome, and we’re considering moving again.
I don’t know if I regret leaving when I did, I do think I rushed it with my relationship at the time…we could have used some more dating. (we were going out for like, a week)

I moved out after my Freshman year of college when I transferred to a college in another city. I returned briefly each summer and then moved out completely after I got out of school. I got an apartment by myself in a city about 50 miles from where my parents lived and supported myself with my own income.

I moved back home briefly many years later for about 8 months. My parents had offered to let my family do so in order to put aside money for a down payment on a home.

I did not regret moving out because it was a natural part of life and growing up. The best part about it was being on my own and being able to live my life according to my desires and beliefs. The worst part was that it was the end of an era for me and also for my parents because I was the last child (youngest) to leave home and leave them with an empty nest.

At what age did you move away from home?
At 21
Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
I bought a house and got a roommate.
Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
It was a little tiny house (only 15 feet wide)
How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
With a job (or two or three). I was also going to college.
Did you ever move back home?
No.
Do you regret leaving when you did?
Only because it left my younger sister at home without me there to run interference.
What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
The best was being independent, the worst was the roommate. Later got a different roommate and things improved dramatically.

At what age did you move away from home?
27. I was saving up for a down payment on a house so that I wouldn’t have to pay rent.

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
My brother and I bought a house together

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
I had a well-paying job with Pacific Bell.

Did you ever move back home?
Nope.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
No, because I never had to pay rent and I paid off my mortgage in 1997.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Best part was the freedom to party out and blast tunes.
There weren’t no worst part. :-p

At what age did you move away from home?
19

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
With my then boyfriend (we’re now married and still together)

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
A rented apartment, though we bought a house in less than 12 months.

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
We both had jobs

Did you ever move back home?
No

Do you regret leaving when you did?
No

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Best – getting away from my parents, being an adult. Worst: Having to transport my stuff 100 miles without a car.

I was 18 years and 6 months old.

I had just turned 19 and graduated high school the previous June. I moved away to college, into a dorm room with two room mates. I supported myself largely on student loans, to some small degree money from my mother. I never regretted moving and I never moved back.

I moved out of my mums house and into my dads house when I was 19 and then, at 22, I finally flew the nest (I’m now 24 years old.) I live alone now (unless you count my dogs) but my boyfriend is here a lot. I live in a ground floor flat with my own little garden. I have a job that pays the bills and rent but I still need help at times. My dad and boyfriend help when things get tough. I don’t regret leaving, I love my little home but I get lonely sometimes.

I was 22, working fulltime after graduating from college. Moved into an apartment with my girlfriend. I moved back for a few months when we took a short break from each other, but still paid rent to my folks. We decided to get back together, same apartment. Other than help with college no family support. Never regretted any choices, they made sense at the time and now. Best part of moving: Independence. Worst part: Not much

At what age did you move away from home? Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend? Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
I moved out to go to university at 18… My first year was in dorms, and the next two were in a shared house (there were 5 of us).

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
My parents supported me through the three years of uni, so I wasn’t independant until the age of 21 when I graduated. At this point I bought a house (ah, those were the days) and was studying to be a teacher, but that received a grant that more than covered my living costs. (Again, those were the days!) After that year I got a job (not in teaching) and haven’t really ever looked back. I do miss that first house though, tiny though it was. Edit – I do now teach, but music one to one, not classroom.

Did you ever move back home?
I moved back for 10 weeks over the summer last year, when a relationship breakdown left me with nowhere else to turn. They were great! I hated the idea of moving back, but they were so kind and caring, and let me get on with my own thing, that it was truly the best thing I could have done. I now know I never need feel trapped again, because I will always have that bolt hole open to me.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
Going off to Uni was the most natural thing to do, so no, absolutely no regrets whatsoever. And they had brought me up to be strong and independant, so I never particularly missed home after I’d left. Loved going back for the holidays, but also just as happy to stay away.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
It was the right time to go – as I say, just the natural progression. The best part was becoming more of my own person, someone with their own identity rather than an extension of my parents. I can’t think of a worst part…

I moved out a few weeks after graduating college. I was 23. I moved several states away, where one of my best friends already had a place lined up for us. She’d graduated the semester before and had been living out here on the east coast for a few months before I joined her. After living rent-free for a while (house sitting) we got an apartment together. I’d lived in a dorm or campus apartment through college, but spent my breaks at home. I don’t really look at that as moving out. I took the first job I could find to get a paycheck, then kept looking for a better paying job with actual benefits. Luckily I found one after only a couple of months. With the money my dad gave me as a graduation gift plus my first couple of paychecks, I was able to cover my half of our expenses when my friend and I found an apartment to rent.

No, I don’t at all regret moving out when I did. I never even considered moving back home. My parents were in the process of getting a divorce and I was happy to be away from all of that. I met my husband after being in CT for only a couple of weeks and was having a great time!

When my husband and I got married, we decided to live with his parents for a while to save money for our own house. My in-laws were very helpful, especially once our daughter was born, but it was such an amazing feeling to finally buy a house and move out! We were lucky to have my husband’s parents help us so much without driving us crazy in some way. There were moments when we all drove each other crazy, of course, but overall it worked out well and we were able to buy a house sooner than if we’d been paying rent those first couple of years.

The best part of leaving home was getting away from my parents. They drove me crazy. They still drive me crazy, but being so far away makes the crazy manageable! It was also kind of exhilarating, taking the risk of moving so far away to a place I didn’t know anything about, no job lined up or anything. The worst part was being so far from my other friends, the people I’d known since middle school. I also wish I’d packed better when I moved. I left a lot of things behind on the assumption that someday I’d go back for them. When I visited my dad I’d pick out a few things to take with me, but then he moved and just got rid of everything in my old room. There are some things I wish I’d brought to CT with me for sentimental reasons: yearbooks, books, notes and letters from friends, photos, things like that.

I was 14 when I looked my dad in the eye and said “make it good you mutherfucker cause thats the last time you’ll ever touch me!” Funny cause I left with a pair of coconut heads, a book (don’t remember title) and a hand held electronic game. This was back in the summer of 79…..oh yeah. But for the first two weeks I lived in a goodwill box. Which gave me lots of things to occupy my time with. Still have one coconut head, the only item they didn’t fight over my grandfathers carcass for back in 1970.

First time I ran, I was seven maybe eight and it was the hotel clerk who ratted me out when I stopped and asked if I could spend the evening there.

At what age did you move away from home?
17

Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
I moved in with someone.

Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
Apartment

How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
I worked. . . A lot. At one point I was averaging over 100 hour work weeks.

Did you ever move back home?
Nope.

Do you regret leaving when you did?
Yes. In retrospect, I would have waited until I was done with school. I know I rushed things. Adulthood looked so enticing before I really understood what it meant.

What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
The best part was the freedom. Making my own rules is why I left so early in the first place.

The worst part was realizing there wasn’t a safety net anymore. I had to learn to manage my money (something I will be SURE to teach my kids). There were periods I didn’t have time to play or was simply too tired. It was a lot more work and responsibility than I thought it was.

I always wanted to be older than I was. In retrospect, I wish I embraced my childhood and early adulthood more.

I moved out at 26. That was just a couple months ago, as I am still 26. My partner and I have been trying to for a while, but being recent college grads we had few job opportunities and a lot of debt. We now support ourselves with jobs: we both work security, and I also work in teaching wilderness skills (which I will hopefully be able to do that exclusively soon). I regret not being able to move out sooner, not for my own sake but for hers, since she functions better away from her parents.

I’d say the best part is freedom, but my parents were always pretty cool. I guess being able to have sex without sneaking around is a big improvement, though, and it usually makes me happy waking up with my partner right there in the morning. I could say that the worst part so far is probably all of the dishes and other mess that doesn’t always get cleaned up, but that can be true of any situation. I guess the only really bad thing is paying rent. Oh, and not being able to go do whatever shit I want in the back yard, like shooting my longbow or chopping things with machetes, because I live in an apartment in a close suburban area instead of deep in the woods. I haven’t kept up my archery skills as much.

At what age did you move away from home?
17. Shortly after HS graduation.
Did you move out by yourself or with a roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend?
Moved out by myself – but lived w/ a college roommate for the 1st three years.
Did you live in a dorm/apartment/house?
Dorm 1 yr, apartment the next 2. Then moved abroad on my own.
How did you support yourself without the help of your parents?
Worked 5 jobs. Literally. 5 verrrry crappy jobs.
Did you ever move back home?
At age 25 (26?) for about 2 weeks – after coming back from living abroad for over 5 years I needed a place to stay while I searched for a job. It was tough—I honestly think my parents did not want me to stay with them a minute longer than I did. I rented an apartment after securing a job. Took me 2 weeks to find a job, apartment and purchase a car w/ the savings I saved while working/living abroad.
Do you regret leaving when you did?
No. It was expected. I was told that at 18 I was to be out of the house for good and on my own.
What was the best and worst part about leaving home?
Best part – freedom of course. I was able to truly do whatever, whenever (I lived about 200 miles away from my parents).
Worst part – running out of money equaled not eating. Had I been home still I feel pretty sure my parents would have let me eat some of their food..