Congratulations! You made an important decision to move out of your parents' house. To make sure the process goes smoothly, you need to design a comprehensive moving plan. Even if you've moved before, your parents were probably in charge of all the logistics. Now, it's up to you to make decisions and implement moving plans.
Taking the leap to move out of your parents' house can feel like a whirlwind. You'll need to determine what to bring along, how much to save for the first month's rent, what to leave behind, and how to coordinate all these details without spinning into chaos. Sure, you could turn to your parents for help, but there's something uniquely thrilling about navigating these waters on your own. What's the secret weapon to keep the overwhelm at bay? Just a dash of solid advice and a whole lot of self-confidence.
Let's take a look at things you need when moving out of your parents' house and how to arrange a seamless move.
Benefits of Moving Out of Your Parents' House
While you are thinking about the upcoming move to your own place, you can review the key benefits of moving out of your parents' house. They are:
Full Independence
Even if it's been a while since you turned 18, the level of independence you have while living at your parent’s house isn’t too high. When you exist on someone else's territory, you have to play by their rules. While this works for younger children, adults need to set their own rules and schedules.
By moving out of your parents' house, you are gaining the much-needed independence to plan your own day, eat meals whenever is convenient, and bring friends when you want to. Once you move out, you would also need to hone some independence-related skills, such as:
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Cooking
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Doing laundry
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Cleaning
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Managing personal finances
If you’ve always dreamed about getting a pet, now is the time to do it. Make the decision before moving out. If you are planning to rent an apartment, you need to warn the landlord about your plans for getting a furry roommate.
Living alone means throwing parties whenever you feel like it, going out at night without warning anyone, and enjoying the entire morning in bed without anyone trying to wake you up.
The Much-Needed Privacy
No matter how old you are, living with your parents means giving up a big chunk of your privacy. When you were a kid, your folks got used to knowing all there is to know about your personal life, activities, dreams, and thoughts. This kind of access to another person's life is hard to give up.
No matter how hard they try, your parents are likely to ask you a million questions every day, walk into your room without knocking, try to find out why you are staying out so late, and much more. The only way to stop this is to move out.
Once you move away from your parent's house, the endless inquiries will stop. Of course, you would still answer some questions over the phone. But phone conversations can be short and much less annoying.
If you are in a relationship, the privacy issue is probably very acute. By getting your own place, you get an opportunity to spend time with the person you love without continuous privacy infringement.
Free Planning
While you live in your parents' house, you need to make plans with their needs and schedules in mind. This often means that you can't go on a trip because you have to look after the cat, younger sister, apartment...you name it.
When you move out, your plans are your own. Of course, you still have to help your parents every once in a while, but the majority of your time belongs to you.
Once you have your own place, you can rethink your entire schedule, from the morning routine to annual vacationing.
Better Relationship
This may sound unexpected but once you move away from your parents, your relationship with them is likely to improve. When adults live in the same house, they usually have issues with each other. Small problems like dirty laundry on the floor or loud music in the evening could hurt the relationship between parents and grown children tremendously.
Once you move out, these issues turn obsolete. You will notice how much better your relationship with your parents becomes. Meanwhile, you will miss each other, so you’ll look forward to every meeting instead of dreading your mom's 100th visit to your room during the day.
How to Move Out of Your Parents' House: Where to Start
Moving out of your parents' house doesn’t seem easy. There are many things you have to consider. The first and foremost is choosing the location. Once you know where you are relocating, you can start saving money and planning the move.
The first thing to do is figure out whether you can move on your own or need help doing this. Many people mistakenly believe that a move is a simple process that can be done with the help of a few friends. In reality, a DIY move can be time- enough money-consuming, frustrating, and even hazardous to your health.
Alternatively, you can consider hiring a professional moving company. Movers can help you with a variety of tasks, including:
- Packing
- Furniture assembly
- Unpacking
- Storage
With these professionals at the helm, you can enjoy the move instead of stressing about it.
Even if you already have experience with moves, you may want to delegate this important one to the experts. Otherwise, it’s easy to make mistakes and face unexpected monthly expenses.
Pros of hiring professional movers include:
- Speed - professional moves can be 300% faster than DIY moves
- Insurance - professional movers insure your belongings so you get compensated in case of an accident during the move.
- Efficiency - professional movers know how to transport your belongings in the most efficient way possible.
- Safety - you don't need to carry heavy furniture and risk hurting your back while doing so.
If you are moving to another state or across the country you may have a hard time arranging the move on your own. Long-distance moves require significant knowledge about the process and local moving requirements. Whiteout moving professionals in your corner, it's easy to make mistakes and lost money.
Tips for Moving Out of Your Parents’ House
The median age of people who decide to move away from their parents is 19. By the time they turn 27, about 90% of children leave their parents’ homes. The moving process doesn't have to be complicated. These tips can help simplify the move and allow you to make the most out of it.
1. Make Sure You Are Ready Financially
Once you move out, you have to bear a variety of monthly living expenses you are not used to. If you are renting an apartment, besides rent, you have to consider utility bills, internet expenses, car payments, and mobile phone expenses. You also have to set up an emergency fund.
Ideally, you need to sit down together with your parents and ask them to share their experience. What do they pay for now? Will they help you take care of the upcoming expenses? Even if you are moving out with some furniture, you would still need to save money to buy something for your new place.
Make sure you are ready for these expenses. As a rule of thumb, add around 15% to the overall cost of the move for unexpected moving expenses. They are highly likely to happen.
2. Talk to You Parents
Many grown children make a spontaneous decision to move out without discussing these plans with their parents. When it comes to moving out of a parents home, your parents are your best advisors. While they may not be too happy about you moving out, your family is highly likely to give you some useful tips.
While it may seem that you’ve thought of everything, a fresh perspective never hurts. Meanwhile, such discussions can strengthen your relationship with family and friends and make your move easier for your parents.
3. Set The Date
Your moving date is the most important piece of information that you will need to make moving plans. So once you decide to move, set the date as soon as possible. Once you do, you can start making plans.
The first thing to do is to book professional movers. Many of the reliable companies in your area can be booked for weeks in advance. The faster you do the research to find the best moving company for your needs, the more likely this company will be available on the date of your move.
If you are planning a DIY move, you have to ask friends and family for help. You will also need to buy moving supplies and equipment as well as rent a truck. All of this should be done well in advance.
4. Choose Your New Home
Choosing a new home can be a time-consuming process that requires serious budgeting skills. If you are planning to buy a house, you need to save money for the down payment, review your own credit score and history, explore different locations according to your budget, and much more.
If you are planning to rent an apartment, and your budget is limited, you can consider renting with roommates.
The location of your new home can also depend on many factors. Some people prefer to live closer to work while others would rather stay close to their parents. In addition, you need to consider the quality of life in your chosen city and your ability to cover the living expenses.
If you don’t have any preferences about the location, you can research the new city according to your hobbies, weather, entertainment options, and the availability of outdoor activities. Ideally, you should talk to someone who already lives in the city. For that, you can explore Facebook city groups.
5. Make Sure Your New Home Is Ready
Before you start moving furniture and belongings, you have to make sure your new place is ready. Consider cleaning the new apartment or house before you bring your new stuff in. Some places, especially corners where you will put furniture, will never be that accessible again.
Next, you have to take care of all the utilities contracts. Make sure that water, electricity, gas, and internet are taken care of. You don’t want to be dealing with related issues on the day of the move.
Spend some time considering where you want to put your belongings. When you bring all your stuff to the new house, you don’t want to spend time thinking about where to put it. If you already have a plan, the unpacking process will proceed much faster.
6. Create Your "Moving Out of Parents House" Checklist
The more planning you do, the easier the move will be. By creating a checklist, you are simplifying the process and making sure you don’t face anything unexpected. Your moving out of parents' house checklist can look like this:
- Find and book a moving company (alternatively, make arrangements with specific people to help during the move, get a rental truck, and rent or purchase moving materials)
- Arrange utilities' contracts at the new location
- Furnish the apartment/house if necessary
- Pack your clothes and other belongings
- Label all the boxes (keep labels on the side of the box)
- Discard unnecessary items if necessary (arrange a yard sale or donate)
- Pack a small bag with documents and things you may need on the day of the move
- Discuss the moving process with your parents (how they can help)
If you aren’t planning to ask movers for professional packing services, you need to make sure all your belongings are properly packed. Otherwise, some of them can be damaged during the move.
You don't need to buy new packing boxes for your move. There are many places where you can get free moving boxes near your parents home.
7. Be Smart About Packing
Packing is a complicated process. It's much more than simply throwing all of your stuff into a box. If you take a smart approach to packing, you can have an easy time arranging your belongings in the new home.
Consider the packing-by-the-room approach. Let's say, you have two rooms in the new apartment, a bedroom, and a living room. Start packing your belongings according to the room you are planning to put them into. Of course, you are going to have to purchase something extra along the way. But most likely, your parents can give you the most important things you need for the first week or so in your new place.
If you delegate packing to the moving company, you don’t have to worry about the order or schedule. However, if you are packing on your own, make sure to take it one step at a time. Don't leave it all for the last day. A good rule of thumb is to start packing a week before the moving date.
8. Consider Moving Insurance
If all you are moving are clothes, you may not need moving insurance. However, if some of your belongings are expensive, you may want to protect them. Moving companies usually offer some type of moving insurance. Speak to them about the options.
If you aren’t hiring professional movers, your homeowners' insurance may cover fixed expenses for the move. If you don’t have such insurance yet, consider speaking to an insurance company about available options.
How to Move Out of Your Parents House: First Apartment Checklist
The things you need when moving out of your parents house can vary depending on the stuff you already have. To make sure you don’t forget anything, you need a first apartment checklist. It includes:
- Kitchen - cookware, cooking utensils, cutlery, dinnerware, food storage containers
- Bathroom - cleaning supplies, towels, shower curtains, plunger, trash can
- Bedroom - bed, mattress, linens, blinders, lamp, nightstand.
- Living room - seating, lighting, entertainment (TV, computer), storage options
Once you live in your new place for a week, you'll figure out what other essentials you need. You could discover that you need a toolkit, extension cords, a first aid kit, and more cleaning supplies.
Next up is the list of important numbers. It's better to make this list before you move in. The list should include:
- Apartment manager
- Doctor or nurse
- Neighbors you share walls with (ask them for the number as soon as you rent or buy)
- Animal control
- Veterinarian (if you have pets)
- Power company
- Internet company
- Trash company
- Gas and water companies
- Insurance provider
- Plumber
You can get the majority of these numbers from your neighbors or friends who live in the area. Put all of them in your contacts and print a list out for emergencies.
Enjoying the Move
Moving out of your parents’ house is always exciting and a little scary. No matter how old you are, the process can seem stressful. To take the stress and frustration out of the picture, you need to do some serious planning and get as much help as you can.
With the right checklists, packing tips, and a little luck, your move will proceed smoothly. To maximize the chances of its success while taking the burden of complex planning off your shoulders, you may want to consider hiring professional movers.
