When you are young, your life is full of stress and unpredictability. You are still trying to find what your place in the world will be, and you are also trying to save enough money to live a stable life. However, once you accomplish these things, what comes next? As much as you might want to, you cannot live the life of your early twenties forever. At some point, you have to settle down. But how do you know when to do that? Here are six ways to ensure that you are ready to settle down somewhere.
1. You Have a Good Credit Score
Once you have had time to pay your bills and loans on time and have developed a good credit score, you can begin looking for long-term homes. Obviously, homes are expensive, and you should not take the home buying process lightly. Unless you are in a truly exceptional situation, you will need to apply for a conventional loan. This is where the credit score you have built up comes into play. You will be far more likely to receive the loan you want if you can prove to the bank that you have a history of paying things back on time.
2. You Want Kids
Not everyone wants to have children, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you find yourself longing to have kids with either a partner that you currently have or a partner you will meet in the future, that could be an indicator that it is time to settle down. Kids are a huge responsibility, and you need to be able to give them your full attention. You cannot put partial effort into raising your children. Be responsible about when you choose to have kids so you can give them the best life possible.
3. You Have Started Your Bucket List
Many people have a list of things that they want to do or accomplish in their lifetimes. It is always great to set goals for yourself and get them out of the way early because some of them become more difficult as you get older. If you have made a sizable dent in the number of goals you want to achieve, you can feel better about settling down. You can work on the last of your bucket list stragglers after you have created a stable life for yourself.
4. You Get Tired
As you get older, your life tends to slow down, and you decrease your energy and speed along with it. You will find yourself falling asleep on the couch well before you would have a few years ago. This is a sign that your days of youth and partying all night are drawing to a close. There is nothing wrong with falling asleep earlier. It is healthy to get a sufficient amount of sleep. However, you have to learn to adapt to your body’s needs. Do not push yourself to stay awake later if your body says no.
5. You Get Married
Getting married does not have to be a death sentence for your youth, but it is a significant milestone that often marks a turning point in your life. Once you get married, you are legally tied to another person. You cannot drop everything and leave that other person without any repercussions. The two of you are now going through life together, which means that you rely on each other at all times. It is often much easier to settle down after you get married than to continue living your single life.
6. You Are Ready
The most important thing to consider before settling down, getting married, and buying a home is whether or not you are ready to give up your current life. Some people fall in love with the energetic single life and decide to never leave it. This is a perfectly valid option if you can figure out how to sustain that lifestyle and you do not have an interest in the traditional life most people lead. However, you should always remember that people change their minds sometimes, and you should always leave the door open for potentially settling down in case something changes.
Settling down means different things to different people. Most commonly, it either refers to getting married or buying a home. However, settling down can mean any number of things. If you are someone who is averse to settling down but your partner disagrees, try not to see settling down as the death of one chapter of your life, but as the genesis of another. You are getting ready to embark on a whole new set of adventures that you could never have dreamed of before. People have been settling down in the traditional sense for decades now, and while there are exceptions, it works out well for the majority.
