Moving off campus in college is the one step that actually makes you feel like an adult. Yes, you have already left home and are on your own, but living off campus is the extra step to make you feel completely independent.

I have lived off campus for two years now and in a different place each year. The one thing I took for granted was the amount of time and effort that went into finding a place to live off campus.

It is not as easy as it looks finding a place off campus, but it is worth all of the work. The freedom of living off campus and having the separation from school finally starts to make you feel like a real adult.

The best thing to do when trying to move off campus the following year is to solidify who you are living with and start looking early. Once you have the people you are living with secure, it makes the process of finding somewhere so much easier because you know what you are looking for.

Nowhere is going to be perfect; finding good enough is enough and it usually turns out just fine in the long run.

Starting early in your search is also key when it comes to wanting to live off campus. So many houses, apartments and condos fill up so fast and you do not want to be stuck trying to make do with what is left. By starting early, it helps give you a better advantage to find a place, so definitely start a lot earlier than you think or planned on.

Living off campus also made me realize how much stuff I actually needed to live on my own. No longer living on campus meant that I had to get my own basic needs met and get a lot more supplies than I initially thought. Things I wish I knew to get beforehand were cleaning supplies, more silverware than you think, toilet paper and kitchenware.

There are so many little things that you do not even realize you need until you are in your new place and are looking for something you do not have. The best way to prepare for this is to figure out what you and your future roommates already have and can bring, then from that make a plan of what else everyone needs to provide within the house.

Moving out of the dorms can be a breath of relief, but it does not come easy. Finalize who you are going to live with, start looking for a place early and make a plan of everything you need to bring to start finally living your life as an independent adult.