Living alone

[sonia]

I've been contemplating the fact that I live alone. It was never a goal of mine, and at the same time I know it's a privilege. It's been almost 24 years now, with occasional housemates in there.

Upsides: No one else makes a mess in my space. I can make noise or have quiet whenever I want. I'm not trying to live with someone else's energy. No one brings foods into my kitchen that make me ill. Lots of alone time.

Downsides: If I don't take care of a chore, indoors or out, it doesn't happen. More alone time than I really want or need. Feeling isolated and disconnected.

Living alone and having a sweetie stay over sometimes is a pretty good arrangement, although I think it works better if time is balanced between both homes. At any rate, I'm not in a relationship these days.

I do know several other single women who own homes. At the same time, I feel like the odd one out, like humans are meant to live in groups. I do share my house with a cat, a massage practice, a weekly dance group, and a weekly singing group. Between all that and my fragrance and food sensitivities, it would be hard to bring in a housemate.

Do you live alone and love it? Hate it? Or live with other folks and long to live alone? What makes your living situation work for you?

Comments

[melannen]

I lived alone for awhile in/after college, and what I learned is that I really needed another human in my living space to remind me that things like "sleep schedules" and "meals" are things humans do, so I haven't really tried since then. But I'm thinking that if I had to, I might know myself enough better now that I could force myself into enough structured social gatherings to make it work.

The upsides are very tempting, though.

[sonia]

That's a good point, that having other people around helps with meal & sleep schedules. My sleep schedule is more or less okay, but my eating is pretty random on my own.