Why you should not live with relatives when studying abroad

Studying abroad maybe a not so golden opportunity given several factors. While quality of education and facilitation of utilities remain key while making decisions about leaving one’s country, one can certainly not ignore the living circumstances one would have to adjust as they shift abode.

Living with one’s relatives as a host family has been traditionally opted as a safer, more economic option of staying away from home but in present era it is a highly unadvised, disregarded choice.

There is no real sense of independence.

 You’ll have to conform to rules of the household you will dwell in. even if there aren’t any real rules or curfews (a rather rare situation), you will still have to respect their space and routine. You are handicapped from making decisions about how things around you are, like how things look, what and where is the furniture arranged and a list of other trivial things which may seem not so trivial on a practical front.

You’ll be derived of the social benefits of isolated survival.

After all you aren’t exactly isolated, you have a backup plan in case things do not go the way they should. The experience of facing difficulties alone without any familial support is what grooms a person to be able to live independently even if stranded on a dessert. Relatives will obviously intervene if you land up in trouble and the dependence factor remains intact.

You may lose contact and consequently lose on a lot of things.

Your relatives may reside on the completely opposite side of where your college, its associated activities and your friends are. This will not only deprive you of the ability to stay in frequent contact with your college setup and fun with friends but will also have you financially and physically strained out with all the travelling and attempts to be a part. The further you are from your instruction the more vulnerable you are on missing out on things, now whether it be extra support glasses, or just gossip gatherings in the common room till late hours.

Your relatives may have different organization and hygiene standards.

They maybe just too dirty and disoriented or they may be clean freaks. If years of submitting to nagging parents weren’t enough you might end up being placed in a more difficult situation, with higher expectations and having more to do to keep things as systematic they are. Families can be eccentric and intense with their standards of keeping things orderly. Some may also expect you to have your own t-shirts to be crease folded and arranged color-wise in a designated almirah. If you expect yourself to end up with relatives like of these, you might be better off where you are right now.  As for what you may assume to be dirtier than you, they might limit the number of showers you can take in a week just to save water, or they may just find it ok to wear the same clothes for a week, all to save laundry money.

Schedule issues

t has been time since I last saw the day. I have evening classes and I am more of a nocturnal being, I study, eat and do everything at night and trying to fit me in a family where the kids might go screaming, running through every room, disturbing my sleep, it might just not be a very good idea. Daily regimes can never exactly be the same, and the fact that they aren’t the reason the entire city does not live under a giant roof together. When schedule clashes arise, privacy is invaded and things take ugly turns when privacy of either party compromised.

Your relatives may just be unwelcoming. 

I hate people in general; I cannot stand more than 3 people in my house at a time. But if my sister calls me and asks me if I’d be able to accommodate her child within my household, I might just not be able to refuse. Your relatives may just not be willing to live with you over financial or emotional reasons and your stay with them may just put all in a fix.