Gonna spread my wings and sow my seeds

[Emerates]

So...  I recently signed all the paper work, and will soon be moving into an apartment with my girlfriend and three other people.  'Twill be my first time in 19 years that I've lived away from home, and I'm half excited, half terrified.  Anyone have any advice on such a thing?

[Cerebus]

Well the best advices I can give is to always make a budget, and to keep some funds just in case.

[X_marks_the_ed]

my girlfriend and three other people.

You stud.

[Shady Ultima]

How long have you been with your girlfriend?

I can tell you this now, the first 2 - 6 months after moving in with a girlfriend are going to be HARD. You'll be stuck together 24/7 which will be tough at first, because I'm sure you're not used to that.

[HackersTotalMassLaser]

It's not as terrified as it sounds. The hardest part is adapting to living with other people who you begin to truly know more and more about.

Living away from parents isn't that hard, specially if you keep tabs.

[Rahl]

First thing first, get a cat:

1: its a good friend
2: if you run out of food theres something to eat

[fruckert]

First thing first, get a cat:

1: its a good friend
2: if you run out of food theres something to eat
3: if it runs out of food you lose your face

Fixd

[Cerebus]

But you always need to clean the litter box, else it will pee on your couch and bed.
And if you have a female cat, better operate her, for the heat period will make you want to do it yourself, especially when trying to sleep.

But anyway.

[Osmose]

https://www.billmonk.com/

[Rahl]

Wierd, but... extremely applicable.

[Drace]

I've spread my wings when I was 17 and live with my girlfriend for roughly a year now. Make sure you don't underestimate the costs of everything, keep some extra cash stashed on a different account. I underestimated it and it took me three weeks of non-stop work to catch up, which took it's toll on my previous course.

Also, clean. I don't care how lazy you are, don't forget to clean. I'm lazy, girlfriend is lazy, it can become pretty messy if you're lazy. So don't forgot to at least take an hour a week to just reorganise everything, throw away the junk, vacuum and the works.

Last tip I can think of, is do the dishes EVERY day. Like said above, if you forget it once, it'll pile up in no time and then everyone's too lazy to do it. I've been there. I'm still struggling with it but I have painful memories of wasting precious time on too much dishes.

[Apex]

Hate to contradict, but don't get ANY kind of pet till you know if you can handle one. I've had friends who let the dog/cat **** pile up. You claim you wont let that now, but it can happen, you have no idea about your latent slob-abilities until you live on your own, nor do you know of your friends.

[Emerates]

Well, my lady and I pretty much hang out every day anyway, so I'm pretty used to her being there most the day.  Plus, the five of us will be bringing two dogs into the house, with the possibility of a hedgehog later on.  Eph cats.  I've had enough of those furbags to last me at least three months.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the cost, and it should be doable, as long as I keep my wonton expenditures in check.  I've already got a lot of change saved in my barrel-shaped bank, so...  I have the power to save.  Also, I have a job, but no car...  Eh.  Transportation might be a hassle.

[Rahl]

Invest in a pair of feet, its very cheap transportation, and alos very enviromental.

[Drace]

Invest in a pair of feet, its very cheap transportation, and alos very enviromental.

A bicycle, however, will get you there 10 times faster while costing a lil' bit.