Both living at home with your parents and living away from home have their own advantages. The freedom that comes with living away from your parents is, but there's nothing quite like coming home every evening to mammy's cooking. Whether you've moved out because of college or a full-time job, or you're staying at home because you're stuck for a bit of cash at the moment, here are some of the main differences between the two living situations.
Food
At Home
Home-cooked meals are the single greatest thing about living at home. That and a fully stocked fridge. The day your Mam goes food shopping is also often the highlight of the week.
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On Your Own
The staple of diet of most people living away from home is noodles, noodles, and more noodles. And take-away food, when you're feeling lazy. Or hungover. The fridge situation is often much bleaker than it is at home, with the highlight of the week often being when you look in and there's more food still in date than there is food that's gone off.
Parties
At Home
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When your parents are home, you are restricted to certain parts of the house, and when your parents are away, you still probably should restrict certain rooms, to avoid any fancy plates being used as frisbees, or the liqueur cabinet being broken into. Even if it is just stocked with random spirits that your parents got as presents and never drink.
On Your Own
The freedom to throw parties whenever you want it probably the biggest advantage of living away from home. You also don't own enough expensive stuff that your friends would be likely to break, which is also a bonus. Within reason of course. There is usually a landlord to keep happy after all.
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Housework
At Home
When at home, you either do all the housework that you are asked to do, or you risk feeling the full wrath of an Irish mammy. A terrifying prospect for anyone.
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On Your Own
This is really down to personal preference, and how often you want to hoover is entirely up to you. Although if you're living with people, there preferences do sometimes need to be taken into account. They shouldn't have to come down to a pile of dirty dishes in the morning if you decided to have a midnight feast after being out the night before, regardless of if you can remember it or not.
Washing
At Home
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This varies from home to home, but usually everyone's clothes are thrown into the same load, and you're never stuck for clean clothes, which also happen to be ironed for your convenience. Another thing that should never be taken for granted.
On Your Own
Washing does not happen nearly as often away from home, nor does ironing. Unless you've worked out some arrangement with your house mates and everyone actually does their share of work. That's something not to be taken for granted either.
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Heating
At Home
You never have to worry about it, mammy and daddy have it covered.
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On Your Own
Grades improve over the winter months as you spend more and more time in the nice, warm library, staying as long as possible before going home where you don't even know how to turn on the radiators because you've never turned them on.
Television
At Home
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This varies from place to place, but there's usually a digital signal of some form coming into the house, and a relatively big telly to go along with it. Not that there's ever anything on.
On Your Own
There's not usually any television, or one that works at least, but the development online streaming with a decent WiFi signal has made this less of a problem.
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Housemates
At Home
Usually consisting of your parents, and your brothers and/or sisters, if you have any, they can be annoying at times, but you've grown up with them and learned to live with them. And much and all as you might not like to admit sometimes, you do love them.
On Your Own
This can be a bit of a lottery, unless you've arranged to move in with some you know, but unless they eat or food or sniff your hair while you're sleeping, they're not too bad.
