Tips For Living Alone

It's been almost a year since I moved out of home, and for the last six months of that I've been going this journey of independence on my own. So in honour of this I thought I'd share a few tips I have on deciding to go it alone.

Whether you’re moving out of home for the first time or just looking for a new place to house yourself, one option you might consider is living alone. Living by your lonesome is what dreams are made of for those with outgoing (weird) personalities or tendencies, or those who are generally irritated by other human beings. If you’re considering venturing into the world alone, or you already have, then here are a few tips you might want to jot down.

Know your neighbours

Getting to know the people who live around you can be beneficial for a few reasons. Firstly, it gives you someone to chat to if you’re ever feeling bored or alone. Secondly, it’ll also make you feel that little bit safer. Most people hate the idea of living alone because they feel like the second the lights go off someone is going to rob them. Knowing you have someone next door who you can run to, or who will at least hear you scream and come to your rescue, can help put your mind at ease.  They’re also the perfect tool for getting rid of those terrifying spiders.

Get weird

What’s the point in living alone if you don’t embrace the fact you can do anything you want? Crack out the weird dance moves or have full-blown conversations with yourself. You can fulfil all your inner weird kid desires now, because there’s no one to catch you out.

Pretend your parents are coming to visit

When you live by yourself it’s easy to get lazy and let your house turn into something resembling a disaster zone. After all, there’s no one to see it or get annoyed by it. Even if it’s just once a week, trick your brain into thinking your parents are coming to visit, and you’ll be surprised how well you manage to keep your place looking schmick. If you can’t trick yourself, actually inviting them should do the trick.

Make plans

It can be easy to spend weeks just chilling inside on the couch watching Netflix. It’s fun, requires little to no effort on your part, and there are no annoying housemates you ever need to escape from. While some may strongly disagree, as fulfilling as it seems, this is no way to live - you need to get out and be social. So call up friends and family and make plans to get out for the day. If the thought of the outdoors hurts your soul that much, you can at least invite someone over to share that couch with you.

Save that money

Living alone can be a little more expensive than living with others in a few different ways. Your rent will normally be a bit higher, and if it’s not, it could mean the place for rent isn’t truly worthy of human habitation. Your bills may also be a little higher. True, there’s only one person using all the water and electricity instead of four, but because you no longer get to split the costs down the middle, you’ll find you have to fork out a tad more. To that end, make sure you save enough money over the weeks and months to cover these costs. Even more importantly, before you make the move, make sure this living situation is one you’ll actually be able to afford - otherwise it just takes all the fun out of it.
Originally published on Hijacked

It's been almost a year since I moved out of home, and for the last six months of that I've been going this journey of independence on my own. So in honour of this I thought I'd share a few tips I have on deciding to go it alone.

Whether you’re moving out of home for the first time or just looking for a new place to house yourself, one option you might consider is living alone. Living by your lonesome is what dreams are made of for those with outgoing (weird) personalities or tendencies, or those who are generally irritated by other human beings. If you’re considering venturing into the world alone, or you already have, then here are a few tips you might want to jot down.

Know your neighbours

Getting to know the people who live around you can be beneficial for a few reasons. Firstly, it gives you someone to chat to if you’re ever feeling bored or alone. Secondly, it’ll also make you feel that little bit safer. Most people hate the idea of living alone because they feel like the second the lights go off someone is going to rob them. Knowing you have someone next door who you can run to, or who will at least hear you scream and come to your rescue, can help put your mind at ease.  They’re also the perfect tool for getting rid of those terrifying spiders.

Get weird

What’s the point in living alone if you don’t embrace the fact you can do anything you want? Crack out the weird dance moves or have full-blown conversations with yourself. You can fulfil all your inner weird kid desires now, because there’s no one to catch you out.

Pretend your parents are coming to visit

When you live by yourself it’s easy to get lazy and let your house turn into something resembling a disaster zone. After all, there’s no one to see it or get annoyed by it. Even if it’s just once a week, trick your brain into thinking your parents are coming to visit, and you’ll be surprised how well you manage to keep your place looking schmick. If you can’t trick yourself, actually inviting them should do the trick.

Make plans

It can be easy to spend weeks just chilling inside on the couch watching Netflix. It’s fun, requires little to no effort on your part, and there are no annoying housemates you ever need to escape from. While some may strongly disagree, as fulfilling as it seems, this is no way to live - you need to get out and be social. So call up friends and family and make plans to get out for the day. If the thought of the outdoors hurts your soul that much, you can at least invite someone over to share that couch with you.

Save that money

Living alone can be a little more expensive than living with others in a few different ways. Your rent will normally be a bit higher, and if it’s not, it could mean the place for rent isn’t truly worthy of human habitation. Your bills may also be a little higher. True, there’s only one person using all the water and electricity instead of four, but because you no longer get to split the costs down the middle, you’ll find you have to fork out a tad more. To that end, make sure you save enough money over the weeks and months to cover these costs. Even more importantly, before you make the move, make sure this living situation is one you’ll actually be able to afford - otherwise it just takes all the fun out of it.
Originally published on Hijacked

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posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 1/23/16 .