‘Next year I know I will be able to move forward with my life’
Louise Martini (28) is a sales executive and lives in Belfast. She says:
I’ve been back with my parents for about four months. I had lived in shared accommodation for almost two years before that and I was wasting too much money to be able to save anything.
My parents were the ones pushing me to move home — they said I was too old to be living in shared accommodation and it was about time to think about buying somewhere myself.
They do take a bit of housekeeping money off me, but otherwise I’m now able to save.
I’ve just had a conversation with a mortgage adviser about buying somewhere myself, to find out what my options are.
I’m not at the point where I can do something yet — particularly with Christmas coming up.
What I’m hoping is that I’ll have what I need six months into 2018 to start looking.
It’s very daunting because I’m single. I have friends who are also about to start buying, but they’re doing it with a partner.
They have two salaries coming in and two opinions on everything. I think it’s a little harder to do the whole thing by yourself.
Moving back with mum and dad was surprisingly good. For
the first three weeks or so there could be the odd argument, but we had a big sit-down to talk about how things have changed for all of us.
Since then we’ve been getting on really well.
They were never really strict parents anyway and having my washing done and dinner made is brilliant.
I come and go as I please and I don’t feel as if I have someone to answer to.
Two years wasn’t a long time for me to be out of the house, but I think I grew up over those two years. I was used to having my own space, so now we’re getting used to each other again.
People don’t think I’m strange for moving back with my parents at all — in fact they thought I was mad to live in shared accommodation with four others. It seemed like an awful waste of money.
I do miss having my own space and there was the social aspect — I was great friends with everyone in the house.
But at the same time it never felt like a home for me, it was always a bit like student accommodation.
I did become more independent over those two years, but the novelty wears off after a while.
I didn’t feel like I could move forward with my life while I was there, but next year I know I will be able to.”