Living on your own can grant you the freedom and solidarity you always wanted. You’re also proving to yourself and the world that you’re an independent woman. That being said, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be sometimes. So before you jump into solo housing, prepare yourself with these 9 harsh truths about living on your own:
- You pay for everything. It sounds pretty obvious, but this can actually be one of the hardest concepts to grasp. Everything in your fridge is paid for by you. All your rent, bills, toiletries — it all comes out of your bank account. You’ll finally understand why your dad was always yelling at you to turn off the damn lights.
- Safety is your responsibility. Did you remember to lock the door? Do you know your escape plan if there’s a fire? Can you protect yourself? These are all important things to remember/consider when living on your own, so buy some pepper spray and sign up for a self-defense class.
- No one pushes your productivity. If you do absolutely nothing all day long, nobody is the wiser. Sounds great, doesn’t it? It might be for a little while, but eventually you’re going to have to push yourself to clean and run errands or you’ll be staring into an empty fridge in your house full of cobwebs.
- Chores own you. All those dishes? You made them yourself. No one’s going to wash all those clothes piling over your laundry bin. The housework is all up to you, and it’s going to take a big chunk out of your time and energy to get it done.
- You need to manage your finances. You may have gotten away with just winging it in the past, but you actually have bills to pay now, with no help from mom and dad or any roommates. You either need to make a budget or else you’ll spend your life paycheck to paycheck, piling up debt on your precious credit cards.
- Dinner is on you. Grocery shopping, cooking, dishes — you have to do it all. You can try eating out every night, but it’s going to get pretty damn expensive. Keep your fridge full and your Pinterest account active, because you’re in charge of the recipes now.
- You have to look after your own health. Do you eat healthily? Do you exercise? No one will be pushing you on this anymore. You’re also responsible for making and keeping your doctor’s appointments. Living on your own means being in charge of your own healthcare, with no one there to check your temperature or make you soup.
- You’ll get lonely. You’re alone every night — well, if you choose to be. If you spend every weeknight and weekend by yourself, then loneliness is inevitable. So go out with your friends, get a pet, and date around. Living alone is a choice, and being alone is one, too.
- You need to socialize. Spending all your time alone isn’t healthy, and if you’re an introvert, this can be a hard pattern to break. It’s easy to stay in every night snuggling up to your Netflix account, but remember, it will always be there when you get back. For your own sanity, get out and socialize with your friends.
