I know there's a thread about living at home or halls, but I'm looking for specific experiences, paticularly from people who have had or know people who have had social anxiety or are generally a bit awkward when it comes to socialising.
I live 20 mins away on the train from the university I'll be going to in September and at this moment in time my plan is to stay at home.
Financially it makes no sense to move out. On the other hand, hearing all the stories and reading all the stories on here about people who have stayed at home or lived alone and regretted it, it makes me worried that I'm going to be isolated and miss out on the whole experience.
The main problem is I have suffered from social anxiety/phobia throughout the whole of high school, meaning I've not had the nicest time there at all and found it very difficult to make friends or be happy. In the last couple of years I've gradually taken more and more steps to get over it, but I'm still very socially awkward, and I'm worried that if I did move into the halls I'd absolutely hate it, and there would never be any escape from it. And if I did end up moving back home, then there would still be that hefty wasted annual rent I'd have to continue paying.
On the other hand, it might have the opposite effect and force me out of my shell, end up making friends easily with people (which I might not be able to do if I lived at home), and overal I'd adapt and become more sociable. Also it means I'll be living in the city, so I'll be able to do more things (technically) and I also want to join a couple of clubs, so it wouldn't matter what days I was timetabled to be in class or not. It means I wouldnt have to travel just to go to the club for an hour or two. I also really want to become more independant. If I had the money and was in a position to do so, I'd buy my own flat outright and live there and not worry about the halls. But I don't. And that's unlikely to happen for a few years.
I've suffered 6 years feeling like an outsider, and it's always been my plan for university to be the time that I change, and become the person I want to be and who I am behind all the anxiety, so I don't want to ruin my chances by isolating myself to begin with if it's going to have a negative effect. :\
Anyone have any insight?