Moving out from home: What you need to know

Written by: Nena Julia Aichholzer, 02.09.2021

A new period of life begins! After finishing high school, completing civil service and going on a trip abroad, many people are moving out from their parents’ home and start living on their own for the very first time.

Some will move to a dormitory, others start living with their best friends in a shared flat and some even want to look for an apartment just for themselves after leaving their parents’ home. Here is an overview of all differences and advantages!

In a dormitory you don’t have to worry about much, apart from your personal luggage and a few kitchen utensils, because dormitories such as STUWO Student Housing offer young adults a wide range of living arrangements and a comprehensive range of leisure activities. The rent already includes electricity and heating costs, hot water, WiFi, TV fee, gym and even regular room cleaning, you don’t have to worry about anything!

But no matter what your new living situation looks like, there are some things that you always have to consider:

What do I need when I move out of home?
How much money do I need when moving out?
What else has to be done when moving?

In order to give you an answer to all these questions, we have put together a checklist for moving out with the most important to-dos for moving out from home.

Table of Contents:

Registration office
Electricity and gas contract
Insurances
Furniture and Equipment
Groceries
Cleaning schedule
Laundry
Homesickness

Checklist for moving out

1. Registration office

Regardless of whether your new address is your main place of residence or your secondary place of residence, you have to register in any case. You must report your new place of residence within three days of moving to the magistrate of your new hometown.

Take your application form (registration form from the landlord), ID and your birth certificate with you. Don’t worry, the registration is completely free of charge!

2. Electricity and gas contract

Do you want to cook, take a hot shower or be able to switch the light on and off? Then you should definitely sign an electricity contract and, if necessary, a gas contract when you move into your new apartment. Depending on the apartment, you can choose one for yourself. If you move into an already existing flat share, in most cases you simply pay part of the existing contract. We advise you to get a copy of the original contract, in order for you to not pay more than necessary!

3. Insurances

Registering household insurance is not necessary, but it is definitely recommended! Otherwise, damage can result in very high costs for you. In addition, household insurance for small apartments only costs around 100€ per year and is therefore affordable for students.

4. Furniture and Equipment

Should you move into a dormitory, this point does not apply to you, with the exception of kitchen utensils. For all others who have to furnish a room or maybe even a whole apartment, we recommend asking family and friends for help and looking around in second-hand shops or on websites like willhaben.

Your grandparents, for example, will surely have one or the other pot that they would like to gift you for your new adventure and your aunt with the large attic may even have one or two pieces of furniture left that she no longer needs!

By not buying everything new and from the Swedish giant, you firstly save money and secondly natural resources because everything that is already there doesn’t need to be produced and is therefore far more sustainable than any newly purchased product!

5. Groceries

In addition to housing, groceries are one of the biggest expenses in every budget. It is not for nothing that students are said to live only off pasta and bread for days! However, if you want to diversify your meals and still stay on budget, we recommend reading our tips on how to save money while cooking!

6. Cleaning schedule

Are you moving in with your best friends and think nothing can shake your friendship? As soon as it comes to cleaning, even best friends have already gotten into each other’s hair. Therefore, create a cleaning schedule at the beginning of your living together, so that everyone has an assigned task and there can be no unfair distribution or other disputes.

7. Laundry

Having your own washing machine is very expensive, therefore, we recommend either buying a used machine on online platforms or strolling to the nearest laundromat. Are you moving to a STUWO dormitory? Lucky you, the laundry room is already included here!

8. Homesickness

Don’t worry, everyone gets homesick. Sooner or later you will go through the following 4 phases! But don’t worry, everything is going to be fine!

1. Excitement about everything new

The first phase is characterized by everything new and mainly positive feelings. For the first time, you can do whatever you want, choose the furniture you like and take up all the space.

2. Reality shock

Suddenly you realize that from now on you are on your own. Clogged sinks, cleaning, groceries, etc. Living alone is not only fun, but also responsibility and work!

3. Homesickness

You look back and miss your old familiar environment, your friends or your favorite food that only your mom can cook. Here you are wistful and maybe feel the withdraw a little. But that’s totally okay!

4. Acceptance

You have already survived the worst. You arrived at your new home and have settled in properly. New friends, new favourite restaurants, cafés, etc. Life no longer feels new and unfamiliar; you gradually develop a routine and finally feel at home.

Moving out from home is a wonderful adventure. Yes, you will definitely be faced with new challenges and there will be one or two calls to mom and dad when you need some help or advice, but we hope we could give you a little guidance with our tips on moving too!

And who knows, maybe we will see you in one of our student homes very soon!