8 Reasons Why Moving Out Of State For College Is A Fantastic Idea

So, you’re about to graduate high school and you have a decision about where you want to attend college. You could stay close to home, near your friends and family, or you could choose to go to college out of state. What are you going to do? As someone who stayed in state for her undergraduate degree but then left to finish school out of state, I would definitely recommend attending college out of state. I honestly wish that I had done it straight off the bat and not waited those extra four years. If you have the means and the opportunity to attend a college out of state why not go for it? Here are some reasons why attending college out of state is a fantastic idea. After all, home will always be home and it’ll always be there. Time to spread your wings and embark on your new adventure!

1. You’ll Be More Independent

After all, that’s what going to college is all about anyway, right? Providing you with an opportunity to start a new life independently. Because you might be away from family, you’ll have to learn how to take care of yourself in a pretty big way. Going to college out of state might be the first time you’re away from your family for the first time, so it’s going to force you to grow up right away. This is good because you’ll get a jump on what it’ll be like when college is over and you’re living your adult life maybe even in another completely different place. Attending college out of state is going to help you create an independence that you’ll enjoy as well as cherish in the future.

2. New Experiences

This was one of the biggest pros to moving out of state to finish schooling for me. I moved to San Diego, which is a city that is fairly larger than the town I grew up in. Since I decided to attend college out of state, I have experienced a lot more than I would have had I stayed home. When you choose to leave home and go to college out of state, you’ll be introduced to a whole new batch of experiences. This is great because it will open you up to new things that you might not even have known you enjoyed or wanted to try before. The things you’ll experience while you attend school are some of the things you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

3. Different Career Opportunities

This was another big reason why I finished college out of state. I knew that the things I wanted to do as a career in the future were going to be harder to find had I stayed home. When I moved to a larger city, more career opportunities presented themselves to me. If you grew up in a small town like I did and you know that your career plan might not fit there, this might be a good reason to consider attending a college out of state and in a place where those career opportunities will be available for you. Who knows? You might even discover you want to do something else than you originally thought because of the career options you’ll have in front of you when you move somewhere else.

4. New Friends

We love our hometown friends and they’ll always have a special place in our hearts, but making new friends is also a great thing. When I went to school in state I had all the same friends that I had from elementary and high school. It was great, but I was also a little bummed that I didn’t really make any new friends because I was comfortable with the ones I had. When I moved to finish college out of state I was forced to make new friends because I didn’t have any in San Diego. Attending college out of state was one of the best things I could’ve have done in order to meet completely new people. I now have some of the best friends in my new home and I owe that to attending college out of state.

5. New Food, New Weather, and New Terms

If you decide to go to college in a state that is completely different from where you grew up chances are things are going to be quite different. You’re going to meet a ton of new people with a ton of different backgrounds and you’re going to be introduced to the ways of the city, town, or state that you now reside in. That means new food, new ways of speaking, and possibly a whole new weather experience. I moved from a state that had all four seasons to a state that barely has two – I went from cold New Mexico winters to San Diego where it rarely hits below 50 degrees during the supposed winter months. I’ve tried foods I never had back home and I catch myself talking like a Californian on occasion now too. Moving to do college out of state means you’ll become a part of a whole new way of life, and it’ll be great.

6. You Can Mix Up Your Hometown Friends and Your College Friends

One of my favorite things to do is bring my friends from back home to San Diego and show them around the city. It’s great to immerse them in the life that I’ve created while I chose to finish college out of state. You’ll get to do that too and it’ll be the most fun you’ll have with your hometown besties. You’ll get to take them to your new favorite places, introduce them to your new friends, and experience your new life with them for a few days. And then you’ll get to take your new friends to visit your hometown! You can show them where you grew up, introduce them to your family, and show them those places you spent some reckless nights in high school. Once you move to go to college out of state, you’ll create the opportunity to blend your friend groups and show them the two places you now consider home.

7. Sometimes You Just Need A Change

Living in a small town for 18 years can be a lot sometimes. You’ve grown up knowing all the same people, done the same things for most of your life, and might want to experience new things in a new place. It’s the perfect time to move and college provides the opportunity for that. When I finally chose to go to college out of state it was because I needed to get out of my small town. Some of my friends love home and they want to live there forever, but me, I needed to see and live somewhere else. Attending college out of the state was the push I needed for me to start exploring new places and opportunities. And I have absolutely no regrets. Like I said before, sometimes I wish I had done it sooner because now that I have I can’t imagine living back in my home state at this point in my life.

8. Going Home Becomes More Special

This one’s important. Once you move away to go to college out of state, that’s it, you’re gone. You’ve decided to leave what’s familiar – friends, family, your routine, and your childhood home. But when you make that decision, it makes going home for a visit that much more special. While you’re back visiting, you’ll cherish the time you have with the people you left and the things that you left that you didn’t think you’d miss. The time you’ll spend with your friends and family when you have a break from school with be some of the times that you’ll cherish the most. They say time makes the heart grow fonder, and when you’re away from home your heart will grow for your family, your friends, and your hometown. You’ll want to go home to visit because you’ll miss everybody, but you’ll also be happy doing things in your new home. Going to college out of state will make you fall in love with a new place but it will also remind you of where you come from. You’ll make two homes for yourself, and it will be fantastic.