Where would I find my new home in the US?

When I started this year at school, I knew my ideal living situation couldn’t last much longer. I had come over to the U.S. with my parents, and had lived with them for most of my education, but now they were moving back to Indonesia and I had only a few months to figure out where to live for my final semester of university.

Finding a new “home sweet home” was not easy. Each time I thought I had a plan, my attempt failed and I was back to the drawing board. I explored a lot of different options, and learned a lot about the pros and cons of each.

I’m happy to report that I did find a place to live. But which option did I choose? Find out at the end!

Option 1: Living with a Host Family

Moving in with my parents’ friends from the Indonesian community here was my first thought, and the obvious choice. It would be a lot cheaper than getting a place on my own, it would be safer, and it would probably be the easiest option as well.

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After worrying about leaving home and my friends/family, here are some of my new friends in the US

Being raised with Eastern roots, I have gotten used to a lot of things growing up. I can’t eat a full meal without rice, I can’t sleep without a bolster pillow, and I can’t imagine living without my parents. Even at the age of 21, when “leaving the nest” is normal in some cultures, in the East we still live with our families. Living under one roof is practically mandatory, even after you’ve become legal or started your career, that is until you get married.

I first came to the U.S. at the age of 5 with my mother, who was pursuing a graduate degree, and then moved back to Indonesia after she graduated. Though we lived in Indonesia for about 10 years, I experienced culture shock in my own country and longed to come back to the U.S. to pursue my education. Don’t get me wrong, I love Indonesia, but I sometimes felt out of place in my native land. I started composing a plan to move back to the U.S., beginning with majoring in English literature at the University of Indonesia. Out of the blue, my mother got a job posting in Washington, D.C. and I happily moved with my whole family to start my college education from scratch in the U.S.

But there was a catch. My mother’s work post was only for 2 years and that meant I had to stay behind to finish my Bachelor’s degree … without my family. I had never lived alone!

But in my two years living in D.C., I have learned that there are ways to survive living out of your comfort zone, and have become prepared to cope with the reality of living away from my family. I have found that being away from my home doesn’t have to mean being alone.

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