Waiting to own a house versus renting an apartment?

Hey everyone!

So here’s the situation:

I’m 22, just recently graduated college and after a couple months of super job hunting I got hired. Right now I’m not making much hourly, but they plan to move me raise my pay and give me a salaried position within the next month or two. I live at home right now, and do not pay rent. My parents would like for me to continue living at home until around this time next year in order to save up enough so I can buy a house. They believe that renting is just throwing money away and do not want me to do so. However, I am feeling some type of way about this arrangement and wanted to know your thoughts.

I love my family, I really do, but right now I can’t stand living at home. It’s not anything particularly horrendous like abuse or something, but quite frankly, I really hate being treated like a child even though I have a degree and full time job. I appreciate being able to do my own thing and having autonomy; I hate having a curfew, not being able to stay at my boyfriend’s if it’s really late, not having the slightest ounce of privacy (literally I will find my room slightly different every day and my grandma goes through all my stuff). Everyone always asks what I’m doing, where I’m going, who I’m talking to, can I take my brother to football practice, oh let me take your phone for a minute, it looks “slutty” to stay at someone else’s house, you go out a lot etc. Though with the staying out stuff, I only do it because I have no space to myself at home (and only on weekends do I come home after midnight).

I understand the rules somewhat, and understood them even more when I was in high school and college. But at this point in my life I’m sick of being here. Not because I don’t love them, but because I want to be able to make my own decisions. I guess I feel trapped because they don’t want me to get an apartment. Even my own father said that there was no way he could’ve lived with his parents past age 20.

There’s this whole “my house, my rules” thing. But I’m trying to get OUT the house so I can have my own rules, yet I can’t because they’re telling me I also am not allowed to go get my own place at the moment. I work in the city and found an apartment 10 minutes from my job where if I roomed with my best friend, I would be paying only $300 a month. I would like to do that went I become salaried, but is it really a waste of money to do so? Should I really stick it out through being treated like a kid for a house? The other reason I don’t want a house right now is because I feel like that ties me down. I work in animation and it’s the norm to jump from studio to studio. For all I know, three years from now I may be working in California. I personally don’t think it’s smart to tie myself to a house when I’m not sure about job location. However, my parents say I could just rent or sell the house. But that’s not guaranteed right? What if I can’t find renters or what if it doesn’t sell? Plus, with a mortgage I’d also have to pay utilities and other stuff right? Like if I have a leak I gotta spend a whole bunch to fix it whereas in an apartment that’s on the landlord.

I don’t know what to do…....could I please have some input? Thanks for trekking through my long long confused message.