Lately, I�ve been giving some serious thought to moving out of my apartment and returning to live in my parent�s house for the first time in two and a half years. It�s not an easy decision by any means. I think whatever I do, I probably won�t be too happy with my decision.

See, living at my parent�s house is kind of like certain cities: it�s a nice place to visit, but not the kind of place you want to live at. That�s so weird though, because for about 18 years of my life, and a couple of summers I lived at my parent�s house on the street named after coffee. Back then I really didn�t have the option to stay anywhere else (plus, I didn�t have a car, license or job 35 miles away).

So, what would be the advantages of going home? Well, I�d save upwards of $400 a month on rent and utilities. As you may have already guessed, this is the big one. Right now I know I can afford my lifestyle, but I also want to save up money for graduate school. My income right now won�t really allow for that after rent, car payment, phone, and student loan payments are sent in. Oh yeah, it won�t allow for too much leisure (ie sporadic road trips, CD and clothes shopping sprees, and my 2003 big city tour).

I�d also have quick access to my mom�s home cooked food and I probably wouldn�t feel left out of a lot of things that go on with the immediate and extended family because I live 30 miles away.

I think that�s where the advantages end, because I can think of a slew of disadvantages, primarily starting with the fact that it is my parent�s home! So, let me tell you a little about my home. We have three bedrooms and one and a half baths for 6-8 adults. This doesn�t include the garage conversion or the addition of my grandparent�s bedroom at the back of the house. Since my grandparents aren�t always there, there can be less or more people depending on when you go.

Right now when I go home, I don�t really have a space of my own. I used to share a room with my sister, but she pretty much kicked me out of the tiny room two years ago. My brothers share a room that they never sleep in because it�s more like a giant walk in closet filled with cloths and their toys (snowboards, stereos, etc.), so they sleep in the living room on the couch and floor. When my grandparents are in Tijuana or in Zacatecas, I take over their bedroom for the weekend (Mam� Toni lets me), but when they�re in town I get the floor in Yo�s messy room.

So, the house is pretty cramped, and there isn�t much room for privacy. My apartment is pretty big, I have my own huge bedroom and my roommates stay out of my hair. A year ago, if I was in this situation, I would have automatically chosen to stay in my apartment only because of Dominic. Yeah, having a place to stay with your boyfriend is kind of important. But, now there is no Dominic in the picture so I don�t need to worry about that.

Then there�s the commute. I work about 35 miles away from my parent�s house which would be adding 30 miles to my current commute. On a good day with no traffic, [hah, I just realized how funny that is in a city like Los Angeles] the commute is about 45 minutes. Good days are quite unlikely though. When I have commuted to work from my parent�s house in the morning, I�ve sat in traffic for about an hour and a half. That might not be too bad with my new car with the snazzy CD player. I guess I could catch up on world events too with talk radio in the morning (good picks: KPFK and KCRW). I�d have to leave earlier too, obviously, but I guess I could just alter my sleeping patterns so I can still make it to campus before noon for appointments and meetings. The commute home isn�t much different, but I at least have the option of leaving a little later to avoid the rush hour traffic. One plus about all this, I do love driving, and even more when I�m alone.

Third, there�s the whole issue of me wanting to be independent. I�ve come a long way and moving back home would feel like I�m sort of throwing it out. I like being able to go where ever I want without having to tell anyone or arriving at six am after a night out with friends. I don�t think I could do that with my parents, though right now they�re not too stringent on me when I do stay there. I�m sure if I told them how I felt about this they�d understand.

Last, most of my friends are still out here on the Westside and I have very few friends in the Heights. In fact, when I go home the only friends I hang out with are Chris and Lamont �cause they live nearby and Adrian�s friends �cause they�re always at the house. I rarely keep in contact with the friends I had in the Heights, and the ones I still talk to are still in school and not living in the area. Oh yeah, my apartment is in the center of a city where there�s always something going on� in the Heights the lights are out at 10� boo.

I don�t know when I�ll make a decision about this. It�s not something that will happen right away, and if I do decide to leave I need to give the roommates enough time to make arrangements and find another roommate or two.

Right now, it looks like I�ll just need to watch my unnecessary expenses and budget better, because living at home would be too tough.

Me siento: undecided
Escuchando: nada

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s