Poll of the Day > Confirm to me you can move out as soon as you're an adult...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...and not have to have a miserable early adulthood scraping by to make ends meet.

Go on.
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Confirmed.
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No
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You can, but you have to get a job, too.

You can't just shitpost on GameFAQs all day.
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You can if you have a high paying job or are independently wealthy.
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Sarcasthma posted...

You can, but you have to get a job, too.

"Getting a job" could amount to mean being the overnight loader at Walmart.

For lack of experience where else can you start? Not everyone gets to work in a computer repair shop, buddy.
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darkknight109 posted...

You can if you have a high paying job or are independently wealthy.

You don't need a high paying job or be wealthy to live independently. If that was the case, then very few people would be living independently since very few people have high paying jobs or are wealthy.

Heck, I am almost 40 years old, and I don't have a high paying job, and I'm not wealthy, but I have lived independently for the last 20 years.

As long as you can pay your rent/mortgage, utilities and other bills, food, gas, etc and have some money left over to put into savings, then you're good.

Depends on a lot. Like how much money you make compared to how much you expenses are. If you make enough to pay rent, all your bills, buy food, and still have stuff over to spend on yourself for things like entertainment, you should be fine. But some areas cost more than others, or don't have jobs that pay as much. So depends on the area, and also depends on the person.
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Solid Sonic posted...

Sarcasthma posted...

You can, but you have to get a job, too.

"Getting a job" could amount to mean being the overnight loader at Walmart.

For lack of experience where else can you start? Not everyone gets to work in a computer repair shop, buddy.

Look for jobs that don't require experience. There's more out there than just retail/restaurant type work.

If you don't want to go to a traditional university, then trade school is always an option too. Trades can make very good careers.

rogerskg1979 posted...

If you don't want to go to a traditional university, then trade school is always an option too. Trades can make very good careers.

You still need money to live if you insist on shipping out the second that you cross the 18-year old boundary.

Honestly the military is rather lucrative in such a situation (where you want out of the house pronto but can't market yourself at such an early stage).
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Solid Sonic posted...

rogerskg1979 posted...

If you don't want to go to a traditional university, then trade school is always an option too. Trades can make very good careers.

You still need money to live if you insist on shipping out the second that you cross the 18-year old boundary.

Honestly the military is rather lucrative in such a situation (where you want out of the house pronto but can't market yourself at such an early stage).

You always need money to live on....

What you're asking for is rather unrealistic. You're not going to get a high paying job as an 18 year old fresh out of high school with no experience. That doesn't happen.

What is more realistic is working low paying jobs while going to university or trade school or something similar, and then getting a better job after graduation. Lots and lots of people do this. There are lots of people who work two (or even three) jobs while going to school.

Trade school is cheaper and doesn't take as many years as a traditional university. You can have a career in the trades by the time you are 20 most likely.

You seem to want to skip all the training, getting experience, etc and just jump straight into a high paying job. Sorry to break it to you, but that's not going to happen. Any high paying job is going to require experience first.

What I'm saying is how feasible is leaving your parents (or worse, getting booted out) at 18 and being able to start a good life for yourself without any of the expectations that the real world wants people to have to be productive and stable? Or is there going to be an ugly grind at the start for those in such situations?

Truth be told, I didn't have this happen to me. I got to live with my mom through college until I moved out to attend university at age 20 so I never felt like I was really in dire straits as a younger man.
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It's called becoming a constructive member of society and not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

I mean I am still in the opposite situation, I am 28 and choose to live with my parents while making more money than them.
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Judgmenl posted...

not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

Unless this is also in conjunction with a regular higher paying job...
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LinkPizza posted...

Judgmenl posted...

not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

Unless this is also in conjunction with a regular higher paying job...

Nobody in their right mind does this.
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Solid Sonic posted...

What I'm saying is how feasible is leaving your parents (or worse, getting booted out) at 18 and being able to start a good life for yourself without any of the expectations that the real world wants people to have to be productive and stable? Or is there going to be an ugly grind at the start for those in such situations?

Truth be told, I didn't have this happen to me. I got to live with my mom through college until I moved out to attend university at age 20 so I never felt like I was really in dire straits as a younger man.

You can definitely live independently as an 18 year old if you are prepared for it. You're not going to get a high paying job at 18, but you could find a job that pays around $40k or so. You can definitely live on that as long as you are responsible with your money and don't blow it. Some factory jobs, construction jobs, etc can pay $40k with no experience required.

Or if you can't find a $40k job, maybe you will can get two $20k jobs and come out the same in the end except that you have to work two jobs and therefore have to work more hours. That's part of being an adult though. Being an adult isn't always easy, and you're definitely not going to have as much free time to play video games and such as an adult.

BTW, if you lived with your mom throughout college, then why are you even asking this question? It doesn't really apply to you and just seems kind of moot now.

Judgmenl posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Judgmenl posted...

not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

Unless this is also in conjunction with a regular higher paying job...

Nobody in their right mind does this.

I don't. But if I needed extra money and that was the only way to get it, then I would. And people have work an extra shitty job for more money, so...
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rogerskg1979 posted...

BTW, if you lived with your mom throughout college, then why are you even asking this question? It doesn't really apply to you and just seems kind of moot now.

Maybe he's curious. Or has a friend/relative he's trying to help. Or just wanted to ask a question and have discussion...
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Solid Sonic posted...

...and not have to have a miserable early adulthood scraping by to make ends meet.

Go on.

Work hard during school, apply for scholarships, don't waste your money on stupid shit. Study hard then choose a lucrative major. It's really not that hard tbh
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Judgmenl posted...

not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

If it pays the bills why does it matter?
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Worked for me

1. Got a job
2. Got a car
3. Went looking around local colleges for cheap places to live
4. Lied to a land lord about who I was to get a good rate on a place
5. Packed my car and flipped my dad the bird

Then came weekends of gaming, better job opportunities, different girlfriends..

Pretty satisfying :)
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Moved out at 17. Military style.

I moved out when I was 20. Needed a decent job. Plus that's when my girlfriend got pregnant so we needed our own place obviously. It was hard for the first few years but then it got easier. Good job is all you need.

JixHedgehog posted...

Lied to a land lord about who I was to get a good rate on a place

Who did you say you were?

ASlaveObeys posted...

Moved out at 17. Military style.

Same except 20.

xjayguyx posted...

I moved out when I was 20.

Same age as me when I moved out.
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JixHedgehog posted...

Worked for me

1. Got a job
2. Got a car
3. Went looking around local colleges for cheap places to live
4. Lied to a land lord about who I was to get a good rate on a place
5. Packed my car and flipped my dad the bird

Then came weekends of gaming, better job opportunities, different girlfriends..

Pretty satisfying :)

#4 confirms that this story is false. No landlord is going to allow you to be a tenant without doing a background check on you. If you don't give them your real name, then they will know, and you will fail the background check.

rogerskg1979 posted...

#4 confirms that this story is false. No landlord is going to allow you to be a tenant without doing a background check on you. If you don't give them your real name, then they will know, and you will fail the background check.

Not all rental situations are formal leases with all these procedures.
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Would have been nice. But in the place I live it got to the point it seemed like jobs that dont require experience were asking for experience.
Its a little better now though, and i put myself through college. Got a chance now, feels good
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One thing I was curious whether or not someone was going to mention, but am not surprised that no one did, is that people today tend to have extremely elevated expectations for what modern life is SUPPOSED to be, which in turn raises expenses far beyond what they actually need to be.

If you're at a point in life where money is really tight or harder to come by, because you're not in a position to really support yourself extravagantly, there are a lot of ways you can cut back on those expectations and make ends meet.

It seems like most people today have completely lost all ability to differentiate between luxuries and necessities, and treat a ton of things that aren't even remotely necessary as things they literally cannot live without. Which plays a role in why their expenses wind up being so high compared to what they're making.

It's also worth noting that there's a significant difference between someone who is moving out at age 18 and intending to start living a life as an adult with a job from that point on, and someone who is planning to go to college with the intent to pursue a career in a field that requires at least a college degree as opposed to something with more on-the-job training. Trying to hold a basic job down to help pay for schooling is radically different from, say, being apprenticed to a plumber or electrician and planning to spend the next few decades doing exactly that.

(Oh, and there's also the consideration of where you choose to live - there are a lot of places where cost of living is MUCH higher or lower than other places. Which is often tied to local employment opportunities to some degree, but it's not always a 1-to-1 correspondence).



Judgmenl posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Judgmenl posted...

not someone who still has a part time job at Dollar Tree at the age of 25.

Unless this is also in conjunction with a regular higher paying job...

Nobody in their right mind does this.

Plenty of people work multiple jobs, even if it's only a case where one is full-time and another is part-time. And any number of people will work seasonal jobs for extra cash.


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I moved out when I was 21 straight after university. I'd probably be financially better off if I stayed at home but I also can't put a price on how much I learned in my independence.

Overall I'd take moving out since I never struggled, but my savings account would probably be a lot beefier. The last considering though is the money I would have paid in board would have gone to my parents instead of some random land lord.
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Absolutely, depending on circumstances. Usually you either need a good job, a romantic partner, and/or great roommates to really make it work. Otherwise some kids will get out of college and immediately enroll in one of those English-teacher programs where they go to a country with a lower COL, not work terribly hard, and party almost every night.

And, in general, misery is less a matter of circumstance than it is outlook. You can have everything in the world going your way and still be a sad sack or you can love every second of your life even with debt hanging over your head. Case-in-point might be PotD which has a lot of people fully equipped to live wonderful, happy lives but they're often too mired by self-limitations, insecurities, etc, to seize the best life possible.
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Rent is the biggest obstacle. Get a roommate and have a personal rent payment of $600 or less.

Absolutely zero excuses not to function with even a minimum wage job at that level of monthly expenses.
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Easily, I paid for room/board during college with a minimum wage job. I only stayed with my parents for two months after college, then got another minimum wage job before moving into an apartment with friends at age 20. At 23 I realized I could buy a house and have a mortgage that was equal or less than my monthly rent, now I am paying towards owning my house instead of just living month to month in an apartment. Started off with little to no money, and worked my way up in this company, now am making salary, and should have house paid off before age 40.
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I went to Practical Nurse school for 2 years and now I make 3000-3500 Euros a month so yes you can somewhat easily live independently once you hit adulthood.
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I could move out if I never had to worry about transportation and I had someone else put down money for a house

Get a job, get a roommate, bing bang boom, you're living alright.

Also lol @ dumbasses who buy $10,000+ cars and 4K TVs 5 weeks out of high school graduation.

Well I got a scholarship and a lucrative degree. I then studied my ass off for interviews, got a well-paying job and was all set.

You can, but it's not a smart move.
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It's easy if you aren't urban... and by that I mean living in a metro, you dang racists.

The rural pay your way life is relatively easy
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rogerskg1979 posted...

What you're asking for is rather unrealistic. You're not going to get a high paying job as an 18 year old fresh out of high school with no experience. That doesn't happen.

It does if you play a sport.
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My girlfriend didn't move out of her mom's house until just last year. She was just comfortable, she still made her own money, had her own car and paid her bills while contributing to the household. You don't have to leave your parent's household if you don't want to. Shoot, when you're grown, they'll treat you more as roomates than children.
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You do not need parents, money, or anything to make it, no matter who you are, or what your background. You do need the willpower and desire to actually work, and some sense of how to spend, save and use the money you make.

Now obviously your basic traits/skills/abilities will make a huge difference in how well you do. If you learn fast, get along with others easily, and are generally likeable, you will have a much easier time. But honestly, if you are willing to work hard, you can suceed no matter what your age is, the only thing holding you back is yourself.

As young as 11 I was able to find jobs that paid enough for me to eat, and before that I was able to find other ways (worked at summer camps through the boys club for instance, through the whole summer, got jobs through Young Life, and even worked at christmas tree lots etc).

By 13 I got jobs working construction. No brains were needed for those jobs at all really (I just followed orders and was willing to work hard), anyone could do that, you just agian need to be willing to work hard (strength is kinda important so you can't be tiny and obviously if your a girl it would probably be much harder). Even Waaaay back in the stone ages (the 80's) I got paid 15$ an hour under the table at 15 working those jobs....as you can imagine (min wage was $6 at that point and many of the other workers got much more), that was alot of money back then.

I joined the AF, but got out after the gulf war, didn't get much from the AF at all (wasn't in there even a full year, so it was like I was not in (not an honorable or dishonorable discharge). I joined at 17 (earliest you could) and got out when I was still 18. I then went to a vocational school for 9 months while working graveyard at Carls Jnr (god I ate sooo much food). Again, anyone can do that, you just have to be willing to literally work (or be at school), 16 hours a day (not including time to get there back etc). After that I had my electronic techs degree. Many jobs like that are available for people just getting out of school and you can easily rent a room while doing exactly that (which btw is what I did..but with friends (3 of us rented a 2 bedroom for $600 a month, $200 each (one took the living room as a bedroom). Now...you would be paying at LEAST $400 each, but min wage is far higher most places (not that I got paid min wage back then, but I saved half of what I made, you could still save a significant amount today).

You don't even need to go to a vocational school etc now adays, recently a friend moved to NY and got 3 jobs....within a month (he's going to stop working at one), Including working for Lowes, Gamestop and a private school (as a music tutor). Even jobs like gamestop etc are decent enough when your first starting off. Another friend of mine runs one (at an army base) and is making a good $60k a year...so it can actually be a career path.

In the end, it comes down to what you really want out of life, and how much effort you are willing to put in towards getting it. The things that get in our way, we put there ourselves. Anyone can not only move out right away (I was kicked out on my 16th birthday), but can thrive after doing so.
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Went to college at 18 and lived on campus for two years (living with parents during the summers), then got an apartment that I lived in until I graduated.

Got a job after graduating and moved a couple thousand miles from home, and things have been pretty good since; no scraping by.

So, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'move out' whether this qualifies.
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Lokarin posted...

It's easy if you aren't urban... and by that I mean living in a metro, you dang racists.

The rural pay your way life is relatively easy

Not really true since rural youths would have fewer economic opportunities. While the COL is lower, there are entire towns living on food stamps because a factory or mine closed down.

wolfy42 posted...

By 13 I got jobs working construction.

That sounds pretty suspect.
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Zeus posted...

Lokarin posted...

It's easy if you aren't urban... and by that I mean living in a metro, you dang racists.

The rural pay your way life is relatively easy

Not really true since rural youths would have fewer economic opportunities. While the COL is lower, there are entire towns living on food stamps because a factory or mine closed down.

wolfy42 posted...

By 13 I got jobs working construction.

That sounds pretty suspect.

It's who you know, I had been working under the table for 2 years by then. Got jobs washing dishes at a Little Ceasar, helped another person who was cleaning department stores at night, washed windows, put flyers on door (had a whole van of teens that did that in fact) etc. It been forever but I think I got my first construction job after helping move this house actually, and someone that was there worked construction already. One job led to another and that is what I did mostly after that since it paid so much (didn't start at $15 an hour either, though I do think it was around $11 even at the start...I only made $11 an hour after getting my electronic techs degree in fact, until I got promoted to Lead Tech after 6 months (and even then it was just $14).

If you work hard, learn fast, and get along with everyone, which I always did, word gets around and people you work with, want to work with you again. Once I was actually an adult and could get jobs normally it was insanely easy to find work, having to get jobs under the table, that would hire someone despite their age was much harder, but I was lucky, and I had help from christian orginizations like Young Life, and others like The Boys Club etc.

Anyone who really tries though, I really believe they can do something similar, just don't let yourself get in the way. Don't be full of yourself, or get in altercations with the people you work with, look at things from their perspective as much as you can, and be as friendly as you can to the people around you. Always do your best, and try and master anything you do, and more then that, no matter the job, try and ENJOY it. I loved working at Carl's Jnr both cooking and on the register, I enjoyed almost every job I ever did actually or found a way to do so (other then Working for Sears in Vancouver WA as there were no customers and I just stood around all day. I hated that).

I do know I was lucky, I also was fairly good looking, white, intelligent (and could learn new things very fast), and certainly had some advantages in my life.

I didn't do anything amazing, in fact, I didn't do nearly as much as I could have. But my point is that if you want something, it's all about how much effort you put into it. The effort I put in was enough to get me from total poverty, to a decent life style, a masters degree, many good and rewarding (and challenging jobs), a good wife, and a comfortable life. I didn't have parents at all, so you CERTAINLY can make it without parents by 18. My dad left when I was 2 (could never track him down) and my mother was in and out of mental institutions (my brother who I took care of was taken away when I was 11 because of that (he was 9). It's a bit harder now, cost of living etc is up, but you can make it on your own if you want. You just have to work for it.
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Zeus posted...

wolfy42 posted...

By 13 I got jobs working construction.

That sounds pretty suspect.

Not to me. I know people who did this. In fact, my cousin's 14 year old works for him right now (construction)

My first job was washing dishes when I was 14, and I regularly worked until 1 am. I know this couldn't be done today.

You're an adult when you truly understand responsibility... thing is, that doesn't just stop at getting out of your mom's place or getting income... you either already have, or definitely will run into loads of apartment dwellers that are decisively not adult-like.

I had to start college late... there was pretty much no "Stay at home with parents" because my mother passed and "home nest" ceased to exist... leaving me in a sink or swim scenario where I rather quickly swam my way into being the highest performing technician in the greater st louis district for a fortune 500. In all that, I found myself a married homeowner with two kids, being both the sole income earner and the only one in college.

A paper I turned in in my previous college, simply titled "Cold Coffee" was a hit in a particular writing class... in "Cold Coffee," I described how I'd regularly want to start my day off with a warm coffee. In younger days, it was all about how nobody better interrupt my coffee because it was my "me" time... but add in a wife who has generalized anxiety, and two children who rely heavily on me... I found myself in a lot of scenarios where I'd have to let my coffee get cold for the sake of operations that had a wider scope than just directly benefitting me. Now everyone gives what they want for the sake of another... but some complain bitterly about it to reveal that they never truly understood that who they are as an individual pales in importance to their effect on the world... you're an adult when the "cold coffee" no longer bothers you.
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Zeus posted...

Not really true since rural youths would have fewer economic opportunities. While the COL is lower, there are entire towns living on food stamps because a factory or mine closed down.

Not everyone lives in the American Dream.

Also if the BAR is food stamps, it sounds like it'd be reallllllly easy to meet that minimum criteria.
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Define "adult".
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As long as you don't have any debts, it can be done. Although you'll probably scrape by the first year or two.
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Lokarin posted...

Zeus posted...

Not really true since rural youths would have fewer economic opportunities. While the COL is lower, there are entire towns living on food stamps because a factory or mine closed down.

Not everyone lives in the American Dream.

Also if the BAR is food stamps, it sounds like it'd be reallllllly easy to meet that minimum criteria.

If the bar is foodstamps, then why would you favor rural over urban? Somebody on benefits in an urban setting is generally going to be better off than somebody on benefits in a rural setting.
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