There have been a couple of weeks here and there when the Lovely and Talented Mrs. Shodan and both kidlets were gone. It was great, for about four hours. Then I ran out of ideas of the all the stuff I was going to do by myself.
It was so quiet. And I have a dickens of a time sleeping alone.
I remember the morning of the second day, when I left my coffee cup on the table when I left for work, and it was still there when I got home. And I realized that nothing had happened in the house all day, and nobody to talk to.
I live alone and love it. My girlfriend stays with me 2 nights a week, which is perfect for me. It’s enough time to cherish her company while she’s here, but she’s gone before I can start getting sick of her.
I met my (ex) wife when in college. After school, we moved in together, then got married. I had never lived alone until we split up, and it scared me shitless (at 36).
Then I moved in on my own, and fell totally in love with it. I don’t know how I lasted this long. Fortunately I do live near a Cheers-esque bar, where I know that at a bare minimum any night of the week the bartender will be known to be. Usually there are 5 or 6 drinking friends in there even on a Tuesday.
Paying bills has been a struggle. I tend to forget the electric or water or gas for a couple of months, but they get their money in the end. I love how I can bring people back after the bar closes for a few drinks in the back yard round the fire pit, and I don’t have to worry my room mate has drunk the case of beer.
Years ago I worked with a guy from Iran. He was maybe 18 or 19 when I knew him. When he was 15, his parents sent him to Turkey, then California, then Boston. You’d think that would make him worldly, but he was really such an innocent.
He lived with his brother and sister in law. Finally, his brother made him a deal: Move out, I’ll find you an apartment just a few blocks from here. I’ll pay the rent and the bills. We’ll bring you groceries every week. Ali was highly resistant to the idea. He was full of worry. “What if something goes wrong? What if I can’t figure out how to do something? What if I lose my keys?” Dude, that’s about the most secure scenario I can think of. But he wouldn’t take it.
That was around 18 years ago. I wonder whatever became of him.
When I got married, my wife and I had separate living rooms in which to do our thing. Hers upstairs, mine downstairs. Not sure I’ll ever get married again, but if I do, I’m damned certain that I will need to have a living room of my own, to do my own things in, without someone else barging in and re-arranging the place at her whim. Man Cave? If that’s what you need to call it.
I always liked living alone, except when I first came to Houston and didn’t know anyone. Then I wasn’t just living alone, I was alone. That sucked.
Having been married for 26 years, I obviously don’t live alone, but I have a garage apartment behind the house that’s all mine. I spend a lot of time there, doing whatever the hell I want. It’s great.
Yeah that always sucks. I always hated that feeling of coming home from work on Friday and having no one to speak to until Monday morning. You can go to the gym or the clubds and bars or whatever to pass the time so you aren’t sitting around your appartment for days on end. But eventually you start to become a little off if you don’t hang out with other people.
It’s okay. Lots of privacy. Nobody hogging anything. I can drink out of the carton. I can walk around naked if I want.
Never have to worry about bothering anyone or waking anyone up.
On the other hand, it can be lonely sometimes. I’ve lived alone here, in my apartment, for six years now, save for having a cat.
Gets boring and lonely sometimes but it’s nice, quiet, relaxing, and peaceful most all the time.
I’ve adjusted to it. I think that if I ever had someone here living with me it would take a lot of getting used to. More and more, as the years go by, I’m glad I live alone.
I enjoy it. Unlike most other people, it irritates me when I come back and find somewhere there. I like coming home to an empty place to unwind and relax.
For years while my daughter was growing up, it was just her and I. Then she got her own place close by so we were still able to rely on each other for emergencies. Then I moved out of state and she stayed behind and found someone and got married.
I was lonely at first but I do have a relative in the next city that I see once a week and I really enjoy my coworkers. I have a couple of friends that I go places with and I live in a high-rise with many people. It took awhile to get used to but now I have found my niche.
I live in a very well-maintained, secure building, right on the water with a gorgeous view. The neighborhood is pretty and quiet but still right in the city with all the conveniences. There are various groups of tenants that get together, people who have similar backgrounds and interests.
My group are intelligent people who love to read, we all watch movies, use computers, work at interesting jobs, have the same likes and dislikes as far as manners go. We meet outside to smoke and talk while enjoying the patio and watching the boats go by. We respect each others privacy so nobody knocks on your door. If you want to be alone, you just stay in your apartment and someone might slip a note under the door if they want something important that can’t wait.
The best thing is the security of knowing that there are people nearby in case you get sick. Most of the time we don’t call each other because we all like our privacy and don’t want to be hassled when we’re in our apts., but if you are sick and need something, you call one of your fellow/tenant/friends and they will pick up some Tylenol and chicken soup, no problem.
I got a job working out of my house, and my “co-workers” are ten miles away and might as well be on the moon. I miss having someone to small talk with. But living alone is fine. I had a family for decades and wouldn’t go back to a full house again.
I haven’t scanned all the responses but I wonder if anyone has mentioned cost. Some costs are are pretty much fixed up to a point. When my spouse leaves on professional junkets for considerable periods of time, electricity, gas, Dish, phone and water hardly changes. Taxes and insurance stay the same. So when the two of us are living together the cost for each is nearly halved.
Hi there. I am beginning my search for my first apartment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have been living with my dad for a long time and need to move out to save my sanity. I am looking for something small like a studio or 1-bedroom. Not sure what to ask potential landlords and don’t want them to know I’m as clueless as I am about this. Any help would be great. Thanks!
I lived alone for a few months and didn’t mind it too much. The previous roommate I had was an easygoing girl, a friend from grad school, and we got along okay, but once she was gone it was nice not to have half-eaten apples strewn around the apartment. And everyone in my social circle lived close by, so there were always people to hang out with on the weekends.
Currently I’m living with my boyfriend and it’s good. It’s a small apartment but we don’t feel compelled to spend every waking moment with each other - a lot of times we’ll be in the living room each doing our own thing, and that’s fine.
