For a start, if you're 17, there is no way you're going to live alone. Not a chance. Unless you're extremely rich - £450 doesn't cut it. I live alone, and I barely get by despite the fact that I make over double that number AFTER tax.

One thing you must respect before you consider moving out is how much it costs to live. You can't know this until you actually pay for all of your own expenses, and you should never, ever consider doing such a thing on your own the first time around. I was lucky in that I could move in with my Mum - I learned because I paid 50% of EVERYTHING. Mum taught me what the cost of living really is. It's only because I managed to get a full time job and a hefty raise within the first two years that I was able to continue living in this flat when Mum moved out. Think somewhere around a £14,000 salary at a minimum if you want to live alone. Keep in mind, that's a secure job you need. You can't afford to lose a job when you live alone, that's for sure.

Now that's out of the way...

I'm not sure on what I'd suggest. How exactly is your family negatively impacting your life? Sometimes it's better to just put up with it - it all depends on whether or not you're talking something being a pain or a hassle, or if you're actually talking about serious stuff. You shouldn't move out if you simply don't like house rules or something. It's not worth it.

However, if you've made up your mind, or if there are serious issues going on...

The first thing you need to do is figure out how much it will cost to move somewhere. £450 a month will do you fine for a flatting arrangement - or at least, it will if you manage your money right and aren't too picky with where you're moving into. You should always keep enough money available to yourself to live without any pay for at least one month, preferrably three if you haven't got a full time job just yet. Keep in mind you'll need to pay a bond if you're flatting, too. Figure out EVERY cost. There will probably be more than you think, and things will probably cost you more than you think. Overestimate, it's healthy in this kind of position.

Gas, electricity, TV licence, phone (landline and/or mobile), internet, transport, the odd bit of clothing, food, bathroom & cleaning products, sometimes there will be payments for things such as stair cleaning in flat arrangements, council tax will hit you hard. A suit, if you want a decent enough job, will be vital - include at least five shirts and five ties. Optician and dentist bills will come up once in a blue moon, too. The odd repair/upgrade for your PC, possibly.

People tend to think 'food and rent' and suffer badly. Don't be like that. Food and rent are just the beginning. If I only had to pay food and rent, I'd probably be rich!

Leaving your family means more than leaving a lifestyle. It means leaving a lot of things that you take for granted. This is something I know very well. The stress of money management is so far greater than any stress any family member has ever caused me, let alone any person in this world, actually.

But if you make it, good on ya. Just don't think of it as getting away from your family, because it's not like that. It's awesome when it works, the freedom is fantastic, and I'm glad I moved out when I was 18 and started working full time rather than going to Uni. Never regretted it. However, I didn't think of it as getting away from anything, I thought of it as going to another level of life, so to speak. Stepping up. Because you will have to step up in a big way. Think of it as heading into a very high-cost (because relatively it will be completely insane in costs, you simply can't grasp just how much money you can make when you aren't paying for rent/food/etc until you beging paying for those things), high-responsibility world. Don't leave looking back by thinking "I want to leave, I can't stand this." Leave looking forward by thinking "I'm prepared and ready for this, I know what I'm getting into." Because if you don't think that way, you'll end up back with the parents a few months or a year or so later.