So here goes. This is my first blog, I will mostly be musing about life as it is for me now. I am 29 yrs old, living with my folks whilst saving for a deposit for my first home. I'm probably partly to blame for the fact I'm still having to save now. I got through uni without a student loan by staying at home and going to the local uni (It will be obvious by now that I am a self-confessed home bird). Once Graduated, I found it difficult to get a job near home in my vocation, so it took a while for me to be earning a stable salary. Factor in getting a car loan, clearing a big student overdraft, having a 84-mile-round-trip commute when I did get my first vocational job to fund, a few luxury holidays with the girls and a month in Oz, you can see where the money went. I dont regret any of it for a second. I had 2 unis to choose from and the local one seemed best. I am very pleased now to not have my student debt still hanging over me and clawing my salary from me. The First job I had was a good one to have, and led me to the local job I have now. The holidays proved absolutely invaluable. I had a good few experiences with my closest friends enjoying festivals abroad, hilarious times and building lifelong memories. (would be the topic of a whole other blog!). I got a car -essential for the job but expensive to set up. Oz was the biggest expense, but one of the best things I ever did. If I could have the time again I'd have gone for a year and worked there, but I used overdrafts to pay for it, costing me dear for a good while. So its only been in the last couple of years that I've been able to afford to save.
I should tell you that at the moment I'm saving on my own. I do have a boyfriend, but its fairly early days and is a long distance relationship. It is going swimmingly and I wouldnt change a thing, but we have yet to discover if we'll ever live in the same city, let alone anything more! (do you know what, thats the subject of a whole other blog too) All of my friends are in long term relationships, some married, some getting hitched soon, most co-habiting, so my plan is to move out and live alone. I could move out now and rent. I have thought long and hard about this. A couple of years ago I nearly did just that. If I do, I will have no spare cash to put towards a deposit for a house, and I cant see any other way of getting a deposit together, so I choose staying at home, and putting away every spare penny I have into savings. Once I have a substantial sum stashed, I might move out and rent, but we shall see, until then its me and the 'rents....
This can prove interesting at times let me tell you. Its mostly great, I get on well with my parents and they are pretty easy going. I pay a minimal amount of "keep", I still get my mum's cooking a lot of the time and we gossip and can chat all day long like friends; I have my dad around to catch spiders, fix things, and talk about festivals in the 70s with. My brother drifts in and out too -he's 22 and still lives at home (and half at his girlfriend's), and then there's the dog. My Mum and Dad still seem to be happy to have us around, in fact any talk of moving out and you can almost see the worry in Mums face at the thought of us fleeing the nest. Dad just quietly puts up with us, and jokes with the old 'are you still 'ere?!' comments every now and again. We get on really well most of the time. (most). We get together with extended family a lot and enjoy going to the pub and having a few drinks. My brother and I have well outgrown the teenage attitudes and we enjoy being around our folks as adults.
The 'negatives' to living at home, if thats what they are, probably mainly come from my own perceptions of what people think of me living at home. I see all of my friends who are either married or heading that way, but nearly all have long moved out; and think how different our lives are. In a way, I feel like I havent moved on to the next stage in my life. Its easy to be forgotten about too. A few of my friends have moved to the same area, and inevitably pop round to each others for a cuppa, a few drinks, or dinner. I tend to hear about these events after they've happened at mutual get-togethers. I dont mind from a jealousy point of view, but I cant help but wonder if I'd be in the loop more if I had my own place. I dont tend to host anything now unless my parents are away, so its difficult to fit in to certain circles.
Its the same in work, I sometimes feel a bit inadequate because of it. I think some people see it as immaturity -a perception of yourself you dont want to see in the workplace. Its almost like a stigma. The old phrase 'I bet he still lives with his mum' has long been used as a negative label on the undateable man. I think the same can  apply to young women. To a lesser degree I would say, but in the age of the independant woman, there's more pressure than ever to be self sufficient and carving your own path in life.
It can prove amusing in social circles too, when meeting new people in particular. We've all been there. When we meet friends of friends or bump into people you knew from school and are making small talk. I tend to get a reaction something along the lines of "Oh....right ok, cool" (with vague head nodding while processing the next words to say), usually followed by "God I could never move back home", further proving how behind the times they think you are.  One of the worst times for this was when I was meeting some of my boyfriend's friends. His circle of friends are all from quite rural backgrounds and havent lived at home since they were about 17. They are mostly aged 31 and up now, so the thought of me living at home at my age must seem totally alien to them! There was a lot of head nodding at that time....
The other downside is how much I just want my own little place to decorate and play with! I can frequently be found sitting with the laptop browsing little cottages on Rightmove. I look at prices, imagine the work that needs doing, and can see potential in anything as long as it is a cute little cottage. I dream of what I would do with the place, picture myself going into antique stores and buying beautiful furniture to fit in my little home; imagine my dad and bro (obviously) painting the walls for me; Mum helping me choose plates and cushions; the boy kicking back while I make him breakfast when he stays over; a dog lying on a blanket in the corner (if I'm not allowed to kidnap the current one I will have to cross that bridge at the time); the girls coming round for cakes; chatting with the neighbour over the fence...I think I'd be a lovely home-owner, dont you?