19 and moving out?

Clarification: meaning that you also plan to quit college after one year? Does “moving out” mean out of your parents’ house, and is that where you are now? Does “restart” mean going back to school?

You are speaking from a sense of your present position, but you haven’t told us what it is.

Are you expecting the other person to pay for all your expenses? What services will you be giving in return?
This is a dangerous proposition. Be careful.

Hit the road, Jack. Yeah. Bring Kerouac’s book, and do not plan. Just go. See what happens.

I will be leaving college yes, and I am also moving out of my parents house. I didn’t plan on using him for all of the expensive I also have a few thousand saved up and am currently employed sorry for not clarifying.

I moved out when I was 18. If you have a job and can cover and cover rent/expenses and what have you, then more power to you.

I would say just don’t get yourself into debt (although that is a bit harder these days if your under 21). Also if you make any type of commitments (lease agreements, cell phone contracts etc) make sure you live up to those commitments and fulfill them.

You did not clarify but I imagined a 26 year old, just divorced male and 19 year old single female. Maybe not a fair guess but that’s what popped into my head.

This can go very well or very badly. Be prepared for both.

my partner I’m traveling with is my age and we have been best friends for a couple of years and I trust him with my life, so its not just a random guy I found to go with me who has money.
Thank you for your input

I am relieved.
If you have problems along the way you can always post here and someone would help.

Are you planning to travel around America or will you be going further afield? I like the idea of going with the flow and discovring places as you go. However, it’s possible that could go pear-shaped, so maybe a rough plan/idea of places you’d like to visit?
How long are you planning to travel for?

I wouldn’t say most people – but a lot of people go through that around 18–19. I went through it and the way I handled it was by going to Mississippi for a month to do volunteer hurricane Katrina work (2 years after). I loved my experience; I feel it lifted my head, opened my eyes and put my life back on track (or at least in proper perception).

I would recommend you do something a little less drastic than moving out and dropping college – I only say this because once you “move out” and decide to work, you’re basically making that adaption rather than sticking through college and you may feel inclined to just keep working after realizing you’d like to return to college. Try back-packing through Europe or vacationing either around America or somewhere foreign. Volunteer in a poor area or look into foreign-exchange programs.

You have more options other than just simply moving out and wandering around without any sense of direction. If that is what you decide to do ultimately, I wish you luck but always keep a long-term goal in mind and in sight.

Finish school. Then go an adventure.

It’s a fun road to be on your own and see the world, BUT it is also very dangerous if you are not careful. Make sure you always have money so , if something happens, you have that on the side.

Also 4–5 months can go by really fast, and money can go by fast, so even if you’re enjoying exploring the world, make sure you are productive also. Don’t let time fly by you, you can enjoy your adventure, but don’t get side tracked. Whatever goals you have/had, keep them. Also DON’T get caught up in the wrong crowd. kids who are 18–23 and on their own usually go through some crazy shit ( like i have, i was kicked out one week before I turned 18 ). So i would say: Enjoy your adventure, Be Safe, Save Money, and Watch out for shady people on the road.

Don’t let the screen door hit you on the way out.

I appreciate everyone’s input. I feel like maybe taking a year out of school off and backpacking through America would be the best idea. After school I could then choose to move to one of the places I visited if I liked it enough instead of choosing somewhere before I get there. If any one here has ever heard of steal this wiki I’m going to use it to help me find shelter and food in some of the cities I travel in.

@Flip You wouldn’t be the first person to want a break between school but its not always a wise idea. First of all, you can only be on your parents insurance as long as you are a student. Second a lot of people say they will take a year off and then find it hard to settle back into school. A lot can happen in a year. You can have a child and then you have to find a place to settle and get a job maybe even two because you don’t have a college education and Burger King doesn’t pay enough.
Think this through. It will only be a few more years of school and then you can take your break and go pack packing through the country.
True that things can also go wrong while in school but at least you will be on firmer ground if they do.
Money doesn’t stretch as far as it once did, so unless you are sitting on quite a bundle of money than I would think it over.
Plus if you are that money can go towards paying college. It only gets more expensive every year.
What may have cost you one price this year may have gone up by 10% more by the time you decide to go back to school. Then you graduate and you have an even greater amount to pay back.

Depend on your parents as long as you can. As a recent college graduate, I am only now living on my own and supporting myself. I am very thankful that my parents paid for college, and I personally couldn’t imagine leaving school when they had been so generous to pay for it. I didn’t think I was emotionally ready to be on my own, or even with a companion, before finishing college. Decide if you ever want your parents to help you out before making this decision, as they may not want to.

Also, the best part of traveling, in my opinion, is talking to folks in bars. Wait till you’re 21 for that reason.

The wanderjahr is pretty common in many cultures. The Amish have Rumspringa. In the larger US culture it is sometimes called the Gap year. People create blogs around their wanderjahrs.

As to figuring out where you want to live—be careful. It is very different to live in a place compared to touring it. If you plan to go to college, then it might be good to make sure you stop at a number of college towns and interview some students or maybe even crash on their dorm couches or something. People your age are often sympathetic to others of their age.

Personally, I think a wanderjahr is a great thing. I think some of the ideas above about volunteer work are good ones. That’s a better way to get to know a community and to assess whether you want to live there. When I was just out of college, my work sent me to places like Chicago and Edwardsville, Illinois; Washington DC; New Haven, CT; Columbus, Ohio; and Philadelphia, PA.

It was enough to learn that I didn’t really want to live in any of them. I did eventually live in Philadelphia, but that was years later when things had changed a lot.

Then again, I lived in NYC for five years, and I never, ever, in my wildest dreams thought I’d live there. I loved it. Just as I love Philadelphia. And now I can’t imagine ever going back to NYC. The City. Maybe my lesson is that I’ll learn to like wherever I go. Still, when I came here (Philly), at least I was prepared. I already know how to get around the city.

no!no!