What age did you leave home?

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I was 18, went off to study and live with other students. I was utterly thrilled to get away, big world awaited me and I never went back except to visit.

This may seem selfish but there were reasons. I think it is natural for the young to fly the nest and live their own lives, just like in nature. I always have been a very independent person and am ok to make my own mistakes.

My husband on the other hand stayed home well into his 20's. He then kept going back when things went wrong. He had a good relationship with his parents whereas I didn't.

So when did you go and did you find it hard or easy?
 

17, did not know I was doing it at the time. I went off to work for the summer in Wyoming and just never returned, not to live anyway. Visited my parents regularly for the rest of their lives.

Actually my home left me, first I went to Wyoming to work and then to college, meanwhile my parents moved to Oregon. So within a year or so no home to easily return to.
 
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I left shortly after graduation. Worked and partied for a year, and then went in the A.F.
I would say it was fairly easy to leave home. I had already learned a good work ethic, and I felt I could find work pretty easy elsewhere, so I went to a more populated area with lots to do, and discover life a bit. I'm glad I did.
 
Age 18. Joined the Navy but could have stayed in the town I was born in. I was offered a job with Kroger as a retail butcher. Decent pay & benefits but knew I would be bored out of my mind in a few years. One of the best decisions I made.
 
I left home after the latest beating at just about 16 ... without any plan on where to go, and with barely any money, ....


By 18 , I was working on a Scottish Island.. and had just gone back to visit my family at the end of the season.. and hadn't been there very long when my mother took her own life.

My siblings were all younger, the youngest only 10.. so I had to stay to look after them, and the beatings started up again every day.. I finally managed to get away again just days after my 21st Birthday after yet another beating..... I never returned, not even for a visit..
 
I had recently turned 20, and traveled the 3,000 miles by train from Vancouver to Toronto, where my two elder
sisters lived. I quickly got a job with the Provincial Govt., working out of the building at Queen's Park. It was a
lovely experience, and I made some good friends, as well as meeting my fiance (I didn't marry him though).
 
I left home shortly after turning 18. I was planning to go to college, but the draft board was getting close to calling my name for that Vietnam War. So instead of taking a chance of getting slaughtered in a jungle, I joined the AF. They gave me an excellent education in electronics, which set me up for a good career.
 
hollydolly said:
I left home after the latest beating at just about 16 ... without any plan on where to go, and with barely any money, ....


By 18 , I was working on a Scottish Island.. and had just gone back to visit my family at the end of the season.. and hadn't been there very long when my mother took her own life.

My siblings were all younger, the youngest only 10.. so I had to stay to look after them, and the beatings started up again every day.. I finally managed to get away again just days after my 21st Birthday after yet another beating..... I never returned, not even for a visit..
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OMG, H.D., I knew about your mom, but none of the backstory. That is heartbreaking that you went through all that, plus trying to care for your siblings as well. That is so much to have to deal with at such a young age. I'm afraid to ask about the rest of the family, but I only hope that somehow, they managed to extricate themselves from that nightmare before very long. It is such a credit to your strength of character and will power to have overcome that situation. I have no idea how you have been able to manage your emotions regarding what happened, but I truly admire your courage and determination to never give up.
 
bobcat48 said:
OMG, H.D., I knew about your mom, but none of the backstory. That is heartbreaking that you went through all that, plus trying to care for your siblings as well. That is so much to have to deal with at such a young age. I'm afraid to ask about the rest of the family, but I only hope that somehow, they managed to extricate themselves from that nightmare before very long. It is such a credit to your strength of character and will power to have overcome that situation. I have no idea how you have been able to manage your emotions regarding what happened, but I truly admire your courage and determination to never give up.
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Thanks Bob..... šŸ„°I won't go into any long sordid details..here... many people know some of it anyway... but I can tell you.. that all but one of my siblings eventually came to stay with me (y)
 
hollydolly said:
Thanks Bob..... šŸ„°I won't go into any long sordid details..here... many people know some of it anyway... but I can tell you.. that all but one of my siblings eventually came to stay with me (y)
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I just can't imagine how anyone could do that to their own children, but I know it happens. I'm sure your siblings have great admiration and appreciation for your courage and care for them. No doubt you developed the constitution of a battle-hardened soldier. You are amazing.
 
My father and I had an argument and I left home. I was 21. I really didn't have an exit plan, so a co-worker let me stay at her apartment. I stayed for only a couple of weeks because her building had rats. After that a cousin, who became like a big sister to me took me in. Shortly after that another cousin told me that a friend and classmate needed help paying her mortgage and had a room vacant in her house, so I moved there until I found my own apartment.
 
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