15 Things All 20-Somethings Miss During Their First Year Living On Their Own

1. Cable.

Watching Friends on Netflix just doesn’t have the same charm as watching it on TBS. Channel surfing always seems boring when you have the option to do it anytime, but when you move to your own place and can no longer afford more than four channels, it seems like a luxury.

2. Having food in the fridge.

And snacks in the pantry. And leftovers that are actually the result of a home-cooked meal, instead of leftovers that are sitting in a takeout container.

3. Matching furniture.

Furniture with a purpose. Furniture without an Ikea label.

4. Having all of your friends within a two-mile radius.

If you move out on your own directly after college, it feels bizarre to have to actually make an effort to see your friends. In college, it was just a given that you could see your friends at pretty much any hour of the day, without any hassle. But after college, even if you and your very best friend move to the same city, you could still live three trains rides away from each other.

5. Your family dog.

If you moved from your parents’ house, and you had a dog, there is a 100% chance that you will facetime your parents just so that you can see your dog, AKA the love of your life.

6. Your college roommate’s book/DVD collection.

We all had that one roommate who we may or may not have been close with, but who ALWAYS had the books we wanted to read, or the movies we wanted to watch.

7. Related: HBO Go/Hulu/Netflix passwords.

You relinquished them when you moved away from your parents, or your old college roommates.

8. A bathtub that was clean enough to actually take a bath in.

The luxury of having a clean bathroom is something we all miss when we move out of a family home, but at some point, you grow up and realize that the bathtub was not just magically clean; someone else was cleaning it. (And that’s how you learn to a) be forever grateful to the family member who cleaned it, and b) to clean your own damn bathroom.)

9. Always having someone in the living room when you needed them.

You could usually count on someone being there to talk, vent, laugh, cry, or just share a moment together.

10. Living in a place that had collected years of personality.

Having a clean slate is amazing, as is having a place that you can call your own, and decorate however you see fit. But it’s hard not to miss the character that comes with living in a place for a long time. Whether it was two years of living with college friends in the same on-campus apartment, or years spent with parents or another family member, getting used to a place that doesn’t have old photos and invitations piled up on the fridge is an adjustment.

11. Dining halls.

Dining hall food is objectively terrible, but for anyone who didn’t learn to cook prior to moving out on their own, suddenly sodexo-planned meals that required no effort (other than to swipe an ID card) sound delicious. Sometimes it’s hard not to miss endless cereal options, piping hot mashed potatoes, and comical amounts of cheese-covered pastas.

12. Not caring about rent prices.

Once you’ve moved out on your own, especially if you live in a big city, you start to notice that all people EVER talk about is gentrification, 3% rent increases, and up-and-coming cities that still have affordable housing options. The moment you start having these conversations, you realize one chilling truth: they never stop. You’ll miss the blissful ignorance, and the days of not caring about price hikes or hip neighborhoods.

13. Dorm-related organizational tools.

Plastic drawers, shoe hangers, highly specified shelving, etc. Those pre-freshman year Target trips yielded some damn creative products, and you secretly pine for those under-the-bed storage innovations.

14. Random people bursting into your room at all hours of the day.

When you’re living in the middle of chaos, you’re dying for some peace and quiet. But once you’re on your own, you want that chaos back.

15. Raiding your sibling or roommate’s closet.

Let’s be honest: even when you’re completely in love with your wardrobe, it will never be as good as having endless options in someone else’s wardrobe.