Why Living At Home During College Is Actually Awesome

“I can’t wait to turn 18 and move out.”

At some point as a teenager, everyone has thought this at least once. But for some of us, this never happened for various reasons. I know I used to think that all the time, and here I am, 21-years-old and still living with my mom, younger brother, and crazy granny. So for those of you out there like me, no you’re not a loser for living with your parents. And I'm going to tell you why.

First off, if your family lives within a 30 minute radius of the college you’re attending, you have it made. What’s the point of spending at least $1,000 a month to move out when you get the same things at home for free? It makes no sense. You could be getting so much Chipotle with guacamole with all that money. But instead you wanted “independence” or “your own bathroom”. Lame.

Second, you’re always going to risk having horrible roommates. I actually did move out for six months to intern in Austin, Tex. and luckily I had amazing roommates. But I’ve heard enough stories about their bad roommates to last me a lifetime. They never take out the trash, do something illegal, or let their dog poop all over the floor. Bad roommates just ruin friendships and add drama, and that’s the last thing you need during the best years of your life.

Lastly, your parents are right about everything. And you will soon figure this out. It’s like having a real-life google to tell you what to do when you’re panicking because you don’t know how to do taxes. Or how to get out of jury duty. Plus they don't have a party while you're trying to write your 13-page paper you put off till the last minute. Why would you want to leave that?

So, take it from someone who’s had the best of both worlds. Being an adult sucks, why would you want to make it harder? Living at home means having extra money in your pocket, and less stress. You don't have to worry about making ends meet and working your butt off just to be able to stay out past 1 a.m. (which you'll never even do if you move out because you're too exhausted to do anything past 11 p.m.).

I mean, come on. Coming home to dinner your mom made will always beat eating Ramen for the third night in a row in a dirty bowl your roommate was supposed to clean.

Who’s the loser now?