Why Moving Back in With Your Parents in Your 20s Isn’t the End of Everything

Picture this: you’ve finished your degree and have the world at your feet, it’s an exciting

concept to be able to do anything and achieve it all. And after all this excitement, you’ve

ended up staring at the walls of your childhood bedroom. Well some of us, such as myself,

don’t have to imagine this. It’s the dreaded concept by most graduates and a horrible set back

to the dreams you once had.

Or is it?

As much as you and I might spiral down that rabbit hole, does one step back determine your

entire future?

I had this discussion with a friend recently, choosing to move back in with my parents after

finishing my Masters degree. I had a dissertation to finish, life was busy and I would have to

fight tooth-and-nail to have a full-time job that I didn’t really want. It was tough being

surrounded with students who have a different situation to me, being able to move to

expensive cities without employment. But for me, all that weight both emotionally and

financially is on me. I needed a break. And so with my lease up for end, I moved back in with

my parents.

Although it feels like I might as well have returned to my eighteen-year-old self, what I am

afforded is a blessing. For anybody moving back in with family, there is a safety net you’re

able to fall onto which is a comfort not all people have. A step back is barely ever a stopping

point, it’s a breathing space to allow you to have those three, four even five steps forward into

the life you’ve dreamed of.

And to those of you who have just moved back with your parents, or who are dreading

stepping back into that childhood bedroom, just know that it isn’t always the death sentence

you think it is. Take time, reflect and bask in fun times with your family. To be able to have

the chance to do this is a blessing; to take any and all opportunities that will come next is

perhaps the most exciting opportunity there is right now.

Written by, Grace Heriegel