Where to Live Once You Graduate

While this question has many answers I will endeavour to make a succinct shortlist to make life seem just that little bit easier. Once you take into account your budget, friends, family and potential work opportunities it can be a little easier to narrow down your options.

1. Move back home

A tried and tested formula for many graduates is just to suck it up and move back home with your parents. While this may sound like absolute hell to many who consider their parents the most horrific of all potential housemates, there are definitely some advantages. Firstly, there's no place like home. Secondly, it is likely that you can live at home rent free, or at least at a subsidised rate depending on your family's generosity. Thirdly, it is very likely that you've lived with your parents before, so at least you are moving back into a familiar routine and your lifestyle won't be too disrupted after having just been flung unceremoniously out of your university life. While this option can only really work in the short-term, if you can get your parents to treat you like the grown up you are then the situation can work just fine.

2. Live in your university town

Another alternative would be to find a house/apartment in the town you've been to university. If you've lived there for a few years it is likely you know the ins and outs of the area, as well as the minutiae of the housing market there. Furthermore, it is very likely that you'll have contacts in the town already since that's where you've spent the large part of your most recent life, and staying put in an environment you're already comfortable with and where you already know people can be a good way of easing yourself into real life.

3. Professional Priorities

If you are like one of those people I envy oh so much, and you happen to know exactly what field of work you want to enter enter, then my advice would be to look for housing in the area where you are most likely to get that job. For many people that I know at least, that means looking for a place to live in London. Obviously the location will vary depending on your personal professional interests, but if you do some research prior to graduation and know what area would be most conducive to your career plans then that could well be the best option for you.

4. Last but not least? Live Abroad

If you relish a new experience, a novel environment or just fancy getting out of rainy old England then a viable option is to move abroad. With generally better property values and a chance to experience the big, bad world, this option could be just what you more adventurous types are looking for. With one in ten Brits now living abroad, why not jump on the proverbial bandwagon and consider figuring out your future on foreign shores!