5 Reasons It’s Too Soon To Move Back Home

1. If you really think about it, you don’t actually want to live at home. 

Your parents are probably great. They want to help. They’ll welcome you back with open arms. Very open arms. You know how its super nice the morning after you meet someone to leisurely make coffee, maybe even breakfast, and alleviate whatever awkwardness might linger because no one else is there? Well, now your Mom is there, making coffee and getting to know your new… friend.

But I mean, if no one’s bowing down before your skill set, and no potential employers are taking notice of the flex you’re pulling from your home workstation/command center, then maybe you need some tangible reasons:

Look, it’s that perilous time when your first-job savings are running out and you’ve painted yourself into a year-lease with one of your employed best friends because of course you’ll find a job in time. How couldn’t you? It’s you we’re talking about! You don’t even list your narrative poetry thesis on your resume anymore. [Whatever ostensibly exciting new place you moved] will surely take a knee.

2. The scene has shifted.

You probably still have friends back home, but guess what? Now they have new friends!

But wait, you’re always down to meet new people and infiltrate new scenes! What’s the problem?

Problem is that you’re irreparably behind in their burgeoning relationships and kind of always will be. This is not to say that you’ll perpetually be on the outside looking in (hang around long enough and you’ll have a place at the table), but I mean, you sorta will be. Your old friends are used to you; their new friends may not have the time.

3. You and the-one-that-got-away won’t in fact pick up right where you left off in some fated, miraculous fairytale that makes the whole thing worthwhile.

This is always a nice thought though, right? Like, that person in high school that you had a total [will they/won’t they come back] thing with is home too so I mean what’s to stand in the way this time? #2 can’t possibly apply if it’s fate!

4. There’s no reset button.

Another nice thought is that you can go home, recharge your batteries and be extra motivated to go out and be the career-minded go-getter that’s been revving his American-made engine all along. Besides a hitting-rock-bottom scenario, you will not be given a new lease (so to speak) on your future prospects after two weeks of “recalibrating your priorities,” “re-acclimating,” and “making a plan.” You know that job you’ve fantasized about getting at your favorite hometown establishment whose low-key, stress-proof work environment will allow you to get back on your feet financially while extracurricularly paving the road to your super fulfilling dream career? If it’s as easy as that you can just do it where you are and not write off another six months of your life as a collateral learning experience.

5. You can make anywhere “home.” 

People do it all the time. You’re not going to love every second no matter where you are, but being without the emotional backing and comforts of home forces you to confront the little issues. You chose to move, now it’s time to make it work and, once you’ve carved out your new niches, met new people and established yourself in a whole new context, you won’t just be making it work, it’ll just be working. Nothing just falls into place, you have to set it there. You don’t think you have a reason to stay? Make one.

Plus I hear niche retail and coffee shops actually prefer to hire based on no experience, but willingness to learn, a firm handshake and lots of eye contact… so you’ll be fine.