I have lived 27 places in 26 years. It started with both my parents being in the Marine Corps and then divorcing when I was 5 years old. After I turned 18 and was forced to move out, I’ve kept up the habit of changing location. Moving so many times has enabled me to experience many different living situations from being on my own at 18, living with one or more roommates, having my father as a roommate, even homelessness, all the way to the present where I am living with my feline friend, Mushi.

Now, I know that I’m not going to set some sort of record with this number, but these experiences allow me to relate to quite a number of people. We can all think of struggles that we’ve had in any living situation from minor annoyances like dishes in the sink to major problems like theft. These can sometimes lead us to wonder how the grass might be greener on the other side. The downsides to those better-seeming situations can be tough to imagine or recognize when the thought of fixed whatever might be wrong is fixated in your mind. Pros and cons exist in any living arrangement and that’s exactly what I want to delve into using my own personal experiences.

1. Living alone at 18

A one-bedroom apartment, 591 square feet of pure freedom, complete with free furniture from family friends and a toilet that made weird sounds. Living here was a huge learning experience, but it was not easy in the least bit. I worked two jobs, totaling an average of 60 hours a week, and maxed out my first credit card just to make rent and all of the other bills. Thankfully, my lease was only six months. I learned a lot about myself as well as my habits in this situation, but my busy schedule kept me from having a social life which, in turn, brought me down into a state of depression. In the beginning though, the novelty of having my own space was exhilarating. I thoroughly enjoyed cleaning or cooking at any hour (yes, even 2 a.m.) as well as rearranging the furniture every other week.

2. Living with my BFF

I was so desperate for social interaction that I practically jumped into living with my best friend. This living situation should be heavily considered before papers are signed. We moved into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a quaint little balcony where we put a futon. Everything was going swimmingly for the first month, I still had my freedom for the most part, I had more social interaction, and we supported one another. Unfortunately, living with someone gives a first-hand glance into traits that are masked outside of the home. Month two was not so dandy because I learned that my best friend was unreliable with money. Our rent check bounced and our relationship was rocky for the rest of our cohabitation.

3. Parent as roommate

Having my dad as a roommate was a blast. Though the circumstance of my dad and stepmom’s separation wasn’t great, I enjoyed getting to be an adult with my dad. I was helping him pay the mortgage and we were able to have great talks about the ups and downs of life. I kept my odd hours as I was used to doing, but was courteous enough to keep the volume down when he was sleeping. My relationship with my dad flourished and he became my best friend. Maintaining independence was hard at times though because he was just so eager to help that I ended up letting him get groceries, cook dinner and take care of the bills that it set me up for difficult times in my next living situation.

4. Male Roommates

I’ll admit I made another rash decision when I decided to share a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with three males. This living situation can be described as a bit chaotic, but it was fun in its own way. After a transition period, I felt semi-comfortable sharing a room with a dude. Rent was cheap and life was good, except the dishes were piling up. After living with my dad, I realized I was just as bad about cleaning up after myself as the guys. The apartment was always a mess and I rarely had privacy. This was another novel experience.

5. Homelessness

It seems odd, but being homeless wasn’t all that bad for the two and a half months I lived this way. I did a lot of couch surfing and going to parties to have a place to sleep, but I learned that I really did have people who cared about me and let me shower at their house or do laundry. I say homeless, but really I just lived out of my car. On paper, my life was pretty simple, but after a time, it gets pretty complicated socially.

To briefly describe the repeat arrangements I have had since, I moved in my with boyfriend which ended with two broken hearts and an awkward place to bring a date for a few months, followed by living with two males, moving in with an acquaintance which was perfect except that our cats didn’t get along, which brought me to my current abode shared with my badass cat.

Throughout all of these experiences, there are ups and downs. I grew a lot mentally, emotionally, and even physically from lifting boxes and furniture so many times. I will reasonably say that I am wiser due to all of these adventures. Now, I have come to believe that in any living situation there exists a necessity to compromise. Whether it’s with yourself on the place you live alone or about whose turn it is to do the dishes, compromising makes life easier.