When it comes to getting a degree, or indeed getting an education of any kind, then location should never be something that comes between you and your ability to get your education in the way you want to.
However, the world is a big place and you may be living somewhere not completely by choice, and although you’re happy enough there, if you’re living in the middle of nowhere – for example, in a really remote part of the country, or even on a small island in the South Pacific, then you’re going to perhaps find it a bit more of a challenge to access the things that you’d easily be able to when living in a bigger town or city, such as schools and colleges to complete your higher education if you choose to.
The good news is, unlike 20 years ago, life today has become so much easier and things are more accessible to us than ever thanks to things like the internet and social media. In fact, many of the basic services we once could only access in-person such as grocery shopping, booking flights, and even visiting the doctor are now things that can actually be conducted fully online if we choose to.
This is definitely great news for anyone who lives in a more remote location or simply isn’t able to get out of the house to access these facilities and services as much as they’d like to.
However, not everyone enjoys the fact that they can do so many things online, or even if they appreciate it, they still don’t want to conduct every aspect of their lives online, and that’s perfectly understandable – we can definitely become too dependent on doing things online, so it’s always good to find a bit of a balance that we can strike with this.
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to be able to study in a way that suits you so that you can obtain your degree, so in this post, we’re going to share with you two options you can consider for making sure you’re able to obtain your degree even if you live in the middle of nowhere, as well as a list of some pros and cons for each option so that you can make the best decision for you.
Move away
The first option when you truly live in the middle of nowhere and a daily commute to college or university isn’t possible is to look into moving away from where you live and closer to a town or city where there’s a university you’d be able to attend. Of course, this is a big life change that will require a good bit of thought from you, so although it’s important not to rush into making this decision, it’s also something that’s worth looking into and seeing how you would be able to manage this from a logistical and practical point of view.
To help you decide if moving away to complete your education could be the right option for you, we’ve included some pros and cons for you below.
Moving costs money
Moving is one of those things that just costs money, no matter how much of a budget you stick to – of course, when it’s just you, then the costs are obviously going to be a lot less than if you had a family, but nonetheless, moving – especially if it involves air travel will cost you a bit of money on top of the fees for your degree.
You may get lonely
Even when you live in the middle of nowhere, you’re likely surrounded by family and friends in the place you live, so it’s going to be a strange experience to get used to moving somewhere on your own to a place where you don’t know anyone and have to start over. Of course, attending college definitely makes it easier to meet new friends, and it’s definitely a time in your life where you’ll have all kinds of new experience, but it can be tough to adapt to it if this is the first time you’ve lived alone, especially moving somewhere completely on your own.
You may not like a town or city environment
If you’ve been used to an extremely quiet and remote place your whole life, or even if you’ve actually chosen to live there because you don’t like a town or city environment, then it can definitely seem like you’re giving up too much if you have to move somewhere like this to be closer to a college or university. Of course, most college and university courses will only last a few years, so it’s not going to be forever, and it’s really up to you if you think it’s worth making the compromise.
It can be an amazing experience
Moving away is an experience like not many other things, and even more so if you’re moving away to get an education because you’ll form so many new friendships that can last a lifetime and create experiences for yourself that you may not have had the chance to do otherwise.
It will show you what you’re capable of
There’s no doubt that moving away – especially for the first time and on your own is scary, but it will also challenge you and allow you to see what you’re truly capable of.
Study online
The second option you have if you’re not keen on moving away is studying online. Since this has become so popular over the past 10 or so years, then it’s really easy to obtain a degree online through things like Walsh University’s Online FNP program.
Here are some pros and cons to consider when studying online.
You may miss out on the experience
When studying fully online from home, you’re not going to have the same college experience that you would have when attending in person.
It can get lonely
As with doing anything from home on your own that’s usually in a community setting such as work or education, it can definitely get lonely, so this is something you should consider if you’re able to deal with.
It’s far more flexible
Of course, the upside of doing a degree online is that you’re able to pretty much set your own schedule and study when it suits you as long as you turn your work in on time.
