Moving out of your family home and heading to a new city can be a mixed bag of emotions. You’re leaving behind the life you knew and trying your luck in a whole new world. What’s more, there are no parents and siblings around to help or keep a check on you. You’re fully independent and in charge of your own life. And that means you’re going to end up learning a lot. Trust us, living on your own is going to teach your several life skills and push you out of your comfort zone. And in that process, you’ll finally find out what it means to be a real adult. So, let’s look at some of these lessons that you’re going to experience when you start living away from home.

How to feed yourself

Okay, you’re probably thinking that you’ve been feeding yourself from toddlerhood. But we’re not just talking about navigating the food from the plate to your mouth, but how to get the food on your plate in the first place. When you start living on your own, you have to arrange your own meals, whether that’s by utilizing tiffin services in Delhi or by taking your mother’s recipe book with you to your new city. Not just that, for the first time in your life, you’ll have to shop for groceries and other household items for yourself. And you’ll be glad that you made the time and effort to buy basic ingredients when the midnight hunger pangs hit.

How to travel alone

When mom and dad aren’t around to pick you up and drop you off at places, you’ll have to learn to master the art of using public transportation. Luckily, most of the metro cities in India have strong networks of public transport so commuting should not be an issue. Just get yourself a bus or a metro pass, make friends with Google maps and start exploring. Experience is the best teacher, and you’ll get a hang of how to travel in the city the more you try it out.

How to stay healthy

This is probably the hardest thing to figure out on your own. Without anyone around to remind you to eat vegetables or get some exercise, it can be easy to fall into a spiral of laziness and unhealthy habits. But being sick on your own is no fun either. So, you need to learn how to take care of yourself. Eat right, stay hydrated, exercise regularly and make sure you’re getting enough sleep so that you don’t have to worry about falling ill. If you have some vitamins, supplements or other medication that you regularly take, make sure you track their intake, so you don’t end up skipping any doses.

How to manage your money

The biggest life lesson that you’ll ever learn is money management. And living on your own is a great test of your abilities. You’ll be in charge of all your spending, and that means you can learn to be judicious about your expenses or end up broke within a few weeks. Budgeting is a key skill that you’ll need to learn, and this is a great time to pick it up. Keep a record of your income and expenditure in a journal or download an expense management app that will help you keep track of your spending. Trust us, the road to financial stability is paved with budgeting hacks.

How to handle homesickness

If you’re living away from home in a PG in Delhi University, there are bound to be times when you feel lonely or homesick. And being an adult means being able to handle those not-so-great days as well. Come up with some self-care methods that can distract you from negative feelings or set up routine schedules to connect with your family and friends from home. So, that even if you have bad days, you’re able to perk yourself back up and feel better really soon.

And there you have it. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to life skills that you’re going to learn while living alone. But they’re sure to help you loads in the long run. So, good luck with this turning point in your life!