Why You Should Move Around in Your 20s

I’ve talked about why it’s great to live alone in your 20’s and today I want to switch gears a bit.

When I first went off to college, I was excited for the dorm life. I picked out the perfect color scheme for desk supplies and decor and then imagined living in the dorms for a year or two before finding my perfect group of friends and moving into a cute apartment with Bath and Body Works candles and a wreath during Christmastime.

I ended up living in a different dorm for second semester of my freshman year, so I got to experience two different ends of campus, two different dining halls, and a whole new set of faces in the communal bathrooms.

The next year, I decided to move into a town home and loved it. The next year, I transferred. Now I’ve lived in an apartment on my own for four months in a brand new town, and will move into a house my family is renovating in the near future.

Sometimes I feel a little freaked about the fact that I’ve haven’t lived in one place longer than 9 months in the past 4 years. I feel a little bit like a wanderer without a home. When I say “home” do I mean the house I grew up in? The house my family lives in now? My apartment? My future home that’s not ready yet? The place I’m renting?

I’ll be honest that I felt kind of mopey about that a few weeks ago. After all, I’m a person who’s anxiety stems from feeling uncomfortable with my surroundings. It’s always been important to me to at least feel like I have a place to call home and that I like it there. I’ve had some great luck this year in finding my apartment and really enjoying my time there, even if it was a little lonely now and then.

I decided to snap out of my “woe-is-me” stage and look at the positives. Most people my age haven’t moved around as much as me, and while it has been a lot of boxes and a lot of different parking stickers, I have learned a lot.

I know that many of you may be in search of your first job and your first “big-girl” apartment or maybe you’re just thinking about going from a dorm to apartment or one apartment to the next. I know it seems like a headache, but I want to touch on why it’s great to move around in your 20s.

You get to make new friends

A lot of times in life, we say we “have to” do something and thus view it as an inconvenience. Example: “Ugh, I’m moving away from my apartment complex with all my sorority sisters in it. I’ll have to make new friends at this new place I’ll be living in.” Don’t let it be such a drag. Change your mind to say “I get to make new friends.” After all, how often is it that your current situation leads you to new company? Explore your new area or new building and introduce yourself to people you pass by in the mail room or the gym. You are getting to make new friends!

You learn that stuff is just stuff

Every time I move, I feel like I have less stuff. I end up packing up my place and realizing that I’ve never worn those shoes in three years or I absolutely never use that random piece of furniture or decor. Now I live simply and comfortably and I don’t have to worry about extra junk. Each year, my place feel more like a home without unnecessary stuff.

You get really good at moving

Moving in a week? No problem. Call me. I’m great at organizing and packing boxes. I even label. It’s a breeze.

You’re forced to try new things

I used to rely on my favorite coffee shop when I lived in my last apartment. It was the place I scheduled meetings for the church group I led, where I met with a writing partner of mine, and where I had study dates with friends. I was honestly terrified to move and give up that coffee shop, but now I have about 3 or 4 new places I go to that I love. New and novel things can bring a lot of happiness to your life, so don’t be scared to grab a latte from a new place!

You’re like, really great when it comes to restaurant recommendations

Whenever someone asks me for a good place to eat, I have to ask them to specify what city they’re in and what part of the city. If you’re in Fayetteville, I can tell you about an underrated tex-mex place that has the cheapest tacos that come with the most food on the plate. If you’re in Houston, I can tell you the best coffee shop for studying, the best for meetings, and the one that’s the best for all-nighters. I feel like a walking food blog, but it’s kind of awesome!

You learn that home is not a place

Home is something you plug into your GPS when you’re done being social for the evening and want to get back to your couch to watch Netflix. Home is a place you have a key to on your puffy-poof key chain. Home is an address you give for your online shopping orders. But that’s it. You make a house a home. And it doesn’t have to be your forever home to be special. That hostel you stay in in Europe can be a home as long as you treat it as such. And that tiny dorm room you live in for a few months, though it may smell weird and always be cold, can be home, too.

I think I’m beginning to like that “home” moves around for me. I think about one day, sitting in a home I’ve owned for years, with a wreath on the front door and candles in every room, and telling my kids about the one time there was a homeless man in the dumpster outside of my first apartment, and the giant cockroach in my sink one morning in my second apartment, and the way I could see the first snowfall through the window of my second dorm, and so on.

Everything is just a part of your story now, so even if it seems like there’s chapter after chapter, know that it’s meant to be. You are right where you are supposed to be, and these will be beautiful memories someday.

Have you moved a lot in your 20s? Have any tips for making a space a home…even if for a short while?

X,

Cristina