In this week's blog, we reached out to some of our members and asked them to explain the biggest challenges they had to face when they transitioned to living off-campus or moving away from their parents’ home. We’ve discussed the benefits of living off-campus in one of our previous blogs, but we think it’s important to know what to expect when making the transition.

I Should Have Started Looking Earlier

Some of our respondents said they underestimated how much time it would take to find a place to live. We recommend starting your search as soon as possible since the best locations and properties are always in high demand, and if you wait too long, they’ll be gone before you know it.

Moving Was Difficult 

Some of our respondents said the biggest challenge for them was moving. All the effort that went into packing, booking a moving van, and then actually moving the items was strenuous and time consuming. In one of our previous blogs, we talked about things you can do to make moving easier. Take a look at this if you want to move like a pro.

Learning to Cook

One of the common themes our members talked about was food and cooking. The key concerns were knowing how to cook and maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet. One very cool life hack here is to buy a slow cooker or multi-cooker and then search online for different recipes. This goes a long way because all you have to do is chop up ingredients, add them to the slow cooker with some broth or water, and then leave it for a few hours. This will save you time, money and you don’t need to be an expert in the kitchen. It’s the perfect solution to your cooking needs.

Money and Budgeting

A lot of our respondents said learning to budget and manage their money was the biggest challenge, especially the members who had previously lived with their parents. We have entire blogs dedicated to damage deposits for first time renters and some financial tips for students and first time renters. Please take a look at these blogs if you need some ideas on how to manage your money and budget

Not Knowing what to Know

This last one deals with a series of issues, but what it boils down is people made mistakes or did something they did not realise wasn’t allowed and it became a problem. In some cases, reading and understanding the lease can prevent this from happening, but we compiled a list of things you should consider before you rent that can help remedy this situation.

If you have any other ideas, please comment below, contact us or comment on our social media.