Living with another person can be stressful and occasionally time-consuming, but still a fun adventure. However, there may come a time when you tire of the roommate life and want to move out on your own.
As with anything in life, living alone is made up of a series of pros and cons, all of which you will want to take into account when deciding whether moving alone is the right choice for you.
The importance of a pros/cons list There are many things to take into consideration when deciding to live alone or not, which is where making a pros and cons list comes in. It may sound trite and a tad hokey, but sit down and write out a pros and cons list to see if it is better for you to live alone or with a roommate to help you out.
Peruse the list below to get ideas for some common pros and cons that come with living on your own before moving out.
Pros of living alone - The only person you have to worry about is yourself - there will be no roommate to feed if you live on your own, nor will you need wait on them to hand over their monthly bills
- You will only have to clean up after yourself - messy roommates seem to be in more ready supply than clean ones, and after moving on your own the only person you will need to clean up after is yourself (this is especially pleasant)
- No one will eat your food or steal your stuff - you won't have to deal with a not-so-respectful housemate who eats your food and borrows your things without asking
- Your home will be entirely yours - you can decorate how you want, have people over when you want, throw parties when you want, watch what you want on TV, wear pants when you want, pretty much do whatever -- you are in 100 percent control
- No more waiting - no longer will you wait in line to use the bathroom, worry about someone stealing the hot water when you're trying to get ready, or wait for someone else to clean their dishes so you can use them
- There will be peace and quiet (or not) as you see fit - as you have creative freedom with your surroundings, you will also have freedom in your life to just revel in the solitude of being on your own, or not, it's up to you
Cons of living alone - It's more expensive - unfortunately, with no roommate, all necessary bills will become your responsibility, including rent/mortgage, gas, electric, water, internet, cable and phone -- not to mention all your own personal expenses on top of that
- All household chores will be your responsibility - even if you had an unhelpful housemate in the past, there will be no one to help you out with errands and chores should you need it, instead, everything will fall on your shoulders
- You may miss the companionship - regardless of your relationships with roommates, you have to admit it's occasionally nice having another person around to keep you company or talk to if you want it, which you won't have if you go solo
- Sometimes you may need another person - whether you like it or not, humanity did not evolve to be entirely independent, and you may find yourself wishing you had another set of hands to carry groceries or move furniture or kill insects for you
- Cooking for one can be difficult - cooking for one and eating for one may be difficult, especially because you are solely responsible for eating groceries before they go bad and must deal with the shame of letting perishables and leftovers go to waste
- It feels safer when you're not alone - when the floors creak or something goes bump in the night it's comforting to know that there is someone else who can help you with the problem, not so when you live alone
Finalize your decision After you have come to a conclusion about whether or not you want to go ahead with living on your own -- with help from your pros and cons list -- it's time to move (either by yourself or with a roommate).
If you choose to go the non-roommate route, your move will be easier if you hire professional movers who will take care of all the hard stuff for you. To begin finding movers in your area, fill out this fast and free quote form and start receiving estimates from moving companies in your area. |