Living Away From Home

What No One Tells You

The Silence Can Be Loud

At first, the quiet in your new room feels kind of nice. No siblings shouting, no parents vacuuming while you’re trying to sleep, just you and yourself. But after a few weeks, the silence starts to feel weird.  

Everyone talks about freedom, but not about the quiet. You might find yourself missing random things: your dad’s bad jokes, your mom’s cooking, even the noise of your old house. The trick is to fill that quiet with your own life. Call a friend while you cook, eat with your flat mates instead of hiding in your room, or study somewhere with people around. Join a sports team, a student group, or even just say hi to your neighbor.  

Cooking for yourself gets easier, too. Start simple - with pasta or fried rice. You’ll feel proud the first time you make a decent meal. 

Money (The Constant Background Stress)

If you think independence feels good, wait until you pay your first rent. Suddenly, every euro matters. Between rent, groceries, and the occasional night out, your bank balance can start to look a bit scary. Budgeting sounds boring, but it saves you. (We have a whole blog article posted about it already) 

Start by tracking what you spend for a month you’ll probably realise half your money went to coffee and late-night snacks. Shops like Lidl and Aldi are your new best friends, and meal prepping is ideal as well. Cooking with flat mates helps too, it's cheaper and you get company. 

Living with other students is both the best and weirdest part of moving out. You’ll find people who become your chosen family, the ones you share dinners and deadlines with.  

But here communication is everything. Set your rules early: who cleans what, who buys toilet paper, and when the trash goes out. It sounds boring, but it prevents a lot of stress and possible conflicts. And when things do get annoying, try to laugh it off, student housing is temporary, but these friendships can last way longer. 

Flat mates: Your New Family

It’s okay. Missing home doesn’t mean you’re not doing well. It means you care about where you came from. Bring small pieces of your home with you: photos, your favorite blanket. 

Go on a day trip, plan a movie night, or cook your family’s favourite food. Little traditions like that help you feel more at home. 

You Will Grow Without Noticing

One day, you’ll visit home and realise you’ve changed. Your old room feels smaller, your old routines feel different, and you suddenly know how to cook and fix a broken sink. You start to see how far you’ve come not because everything is perfect, but because during the time you were gone you learned to handle things yourself. 

Living away from home forces you to grow in ways no class ever could. You learn patience, and how to laugh when everything goes wrong. And while there will always be days when you miss home or feel lost, there will also be moments when you feel completely amazing eating breakfast in your own kitchen, biking through your new city, and most importantly realizing that somehow you built a new home for yourself.