My adorable friend Sydney recently wrote an article titled "Nine Things You Learn After Moving Out Of Your Parent's House". It's SO good!! Read it here! So this is kind of a response to that. I've done the roommate thing, the dorm thing, and now I'm living alone in a studio apartment. This is my experience with that.
1. Everything is twice (or more) as expensive.
When you live with a roommate, you split the bills. Electricity, gas, water, internet, cable, rent. I even know people who go halfsies on a Netflix and Hulu and HBOGo subscription. It's so nice. But when you live alone, it's extra expensive. Your minimum wage job that you work for 20 hours a week might cover your bills and give you plenty left over for parties and eating out, but now it's barely enough to get by. I just got my first electric bill and I'm freaking out!
2. Pants are ALWAYS optional.
Sitting on your couch watching Netflix? Well if you live with a roommate, you should probably wear pants. Meanwhile, I get to lounge around in whatever I like. This doesn't mean I am always pantsless, just that sometimes I'll realize, "Why am I wearing pants?" and I immediately take them off.
3. It's easy to get lonely.
Without roommates, it's easy to just sit in silence alone. Even if you don't actually leave your room or hang out with your roommates, you can hear them moving around and it's nice to know someone's there. And when you do want to hang out impulsively, they're right there to do that!
4. It's so quiet!
This can be a positive or a negative, but either way the most noise that you don't make yourself will be your neighbors hanging a picture, which doesn't happen often.
5. Compromise? Nah.
"I'll cook if you do the dishes" or "I'll vacuum if you dust" or "Next time we'll watch Grey's Anatomy, but for now, we'll watch Sense8" are all things of the past. Again, is it a good or bad thing? Up to you. On one hand, you never have to watch Steven Universe when you want to watch Arrow. (I really miss being forced to watch Steven Universe. I miss you, Ashley, Paul, and Marlo!) On the other hand, you have to do all the chores yourself.
6. There's no one else to blame.
Dishes in the sink when there's a perfectly good empty dishwasher? All you. Left dirty laundry lying around? Can't blame the roomies dog. Electric bill is high? You're the one that turned the A/C up!
7. Inviting people over is hard!
With roommates, everyone texts 3 people and if half of them show up, you've got a party! When you text 3 people and only 1 shows up, it's a casual hang out. Hang outs are great, but sometimes you want a group! And it's so much harder to get that!
8. You will want to get roommates at the end of your lease.
Everything is so much cheaper with a roommate! Chores are easier! Move into a two bedroom and get a roommate! Built in friends! It's so nice!
9. You will never want a roommate again.
It's so easy to get used to not wearing pants and watching whatever you want on Netflix and turn the thermostat to whatever you want. Why would you ever get another roommate?
So that's what I've learned living alone. The moral of this story: you know what's best for you. Try to live alone if you can, but if you don't it's no big deal. Adulting is a new and exciting and terrifying thing. It's hard, but you'll figure it out! I believe in you!
