One thing that can help with empty nest syndrome when your children move away for college is the knowledge that the environment your kids live in is the best for what they need. That means going with them to check out their choices of dorm, and taking a good look at what’s on offer.

The all-important location

Location is more important than you might think. For a start, is it a safe neighborhood? Teens are very vulnerable when they’re first away from home; and the safer the area, the better. If you don’t know the city or the areas in which the dorm choices are offered, it’s a good idea to spend a day there to check it out, and do a bit of research online to see what the rest of the world is saying about it.

Room size matters

Not all dorms are configured the same. Some are effectively studio flats with one main room for eating, living, and sleeping, while others have communal living areas and kitchens and sometimes shared bedrooms. How much space your child needs will be dependent on what they’re going to use their room for, as well as how many people are going to be housed in that room. Small is cozy, but can be a little too cozy; bearing in mind that no one really knows each other at the start of the semester.

Convenient bathrooms are necessary

Not all dorms have en suite bathrooms. In fact, in some cases, the bathroom may be shared with other students in the dorm. Not an easy prospect, and for that reason alone, any dorm with a bathroom shared across more than two students should probably be either abandoned, or at the very least, pushed down the list. Other people’s personal habits can be a little too much to take in addition to the myriad new pressures that meet a student when they first move away from home.                                                                                            

Room furnishing

It might sound a bit picky, but you can tell a lot about a place if you look at the way in which it’s furnished. What kind of carpet is it? What’s on the windows? If your child is sensitive and allergic to dust and other things that can be found in the room, it’s as well to keep an eye out for a place that has shutters on the windows instead of blinds or curtains. They’re easier to keep clean for a start, and a set of sleek and stylish shutters can really modernize a place, keeping it a positive, pleasant place to live in, even when your kids are feeling homesick. Shutters also let in a lot of light during the day, either thrown completely open, or with adjusted movable slats.

Whatever the choices, you need to rock that space with your kids so that you both feel that it’s the best option for when they go away. You might feel a bit bereft for a while, but your kids will probably also miss you too, so the cozier, more convenient and similar to home that you can make it for them, the better it will be for everyone.