Living alone - worth the cost?

[kitchiku]

Just for the privacy, yes its worth it.

 

[Syringer]

I'm going to go against the trend here and say that I've lived with two random roommates in the past couple of years and wouldn't change it for anything.

Now, in an ideal situation I'd have my own place and pay what I'm paying now for the place I'm at.

However for the $850 that I'm paying in my 2br, I could've gotten a 1br place in a boring part of town, but currently I'm living in downtown SD, where I can get drunk and walk to any bar/club without worrying about driving back or expensive cabs. A 1br place in my location would be at least $1400+, so the $550 savings in rent is huge every month.

Plus you get the split internet/utilities cost, which saves you more money.

I rarely see my roommate ever, and usually just hang out in my room with my laptop/Wii all day..so it's pretty much the best of both worlds really.

 

[Regs]

I had to buy a house with a fart room.

 

[thegimp03]

In college I had a single my junior year and loved it. I could do whatever I wanted and had the place entirely to myself.

Since then, I've had between 1 and 2 roommates. I think we all get on each others nerves to some degrees every once in awhile, but we're all pretty easy going and enjoy doing the same things. I think one thing that's helped is we have a cleaning lady who comes on a regular basis and cleans the hell out of the apartment. Cleanliness is the only thing that really bothers me.
I don't think that living alone makes you a better person, it's just a different lifestyle. If I want to be alone I close the door to my room and put on headphones, and nobody bothers me. I could have afforded to live in a 1 bedroom apartment as soon as I graduated from college, but I think I've built some good friendships with people I wouldn't have probably known otherwise by living with them - one is my best man and one is a groomsman in my wedding.

 

[JEDI]

In 6 months I'll finally graduate and if things go to plan I'll get a decent job. I badly want to live alone, I'm getting kind of tired of having roommates (even really great people get on your nerves after a while). Did you live alone straight out of university? The only issue is that it costs about twice as much as living with other people. I could save a lot more money by flatting with 2-3 students/fresh grads.

So what do you think? Worth it?

(I didn't give real dollar amounts because it's not really meaningful even from state to state, much less internationally)

buy a house, rent out the basement.
only see each other if you happen to be hungry at the same time

 

[JD50]

Alkemyst actually had some pretty sound advice. It really depends on where you are in your life and what kinds of things you're into.

 

[Kanalua]

Yes.

 

[BurnItDwn]

i live alone.

pros: privacy.
i can walk around nekkid.
i can take a dump without closing the door.
i can play music as loud as i want, stay up as late as i want, come home anytime i want without worrying about waking up roommates.

cons: very expensive.
if you are dying and can't dial 911 to save yourself, you're screwed.

Agreed .... though, depending on how close the houses are together in your neighborhood, and how loud you want to listen, and your speakers efficiency in terms of SPL/watt and amp power, you may need to be mindful of the neighbors in the next house as far as music goes

 

[tk149]

I live alone.

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!" Sometimes I worry about that. If I had a roommate, I'd probably have cable/satellite TV.

 

[PricklyPete]

unequivocal YES.

 

[zCypher]

It's worth it if you can handle it. I've lived with other people at several different points in my life, and I now live alone. It's better than any other arrangement. Nothing can go wrong and nobody can tell you anything. You do what you want, when you want.

Of course it costs money. So does everything else you need and want. Look at it this way... How long would you want to live at home and not pay? You'd feel ok about freeloading, for how long?? If you live at home and you DO pay...Why not pay a bit more and have your own place?

 

[apac]

I've lived with roommates for a long time now and have just recently started living on my own.

2004-2007: 1 roommate
2007-2009: 3 roommates
2009-2010: 1 roommate
2010: 0 roommates

Everyone I've lived with was a friend beforehand, and is still a friend now. No real complaints except that you start to really value having personal space, especially when I've been in a relationship. It also starts to drag when those little quirks start to bother you - even good friends can get on your nerves. Some things can get really hard to negotiate too ("you came home and fed the dog but didn't take her out??").

So far, I'm enjoying being the king in my castle .

 

[PricklyPete]

unequivocal YES.

One thing to note...I live with my wife now and I wouldn't trade this arrangement for anything. But prior to my wife...even though I've lived with friends who I still consider the same as brothers...it was better living alone.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

never was worth it to me. there was a period of a couple years where i lived with 2 guys that traveled all the time, so it was like living alone. but really i didnt notice a difference. work all day, school at night some days. any free time just hung out in my room playing WoW or watching movies. kept the social events for the weekend

 

[Muse]

i live alone.

pros:
1. privacy.
2. i can walk around nekkid.
3. i can take a dump without closing the door.
4. i can play music as loud as i want,
5. stay up as late as i want,
6. come home anytime i want without worrying about waking up roommates.

cons:
7. very expensive.
8. if you are dying and can't dial 911 to save yourself, you're screwed.

1. Yes, counts for a lot
2. Corollary (and more significant): Not concern yourself with your appearance
3. eh
4. Not true. I have neighbors and I think of them. If I crank it up real loud, I'll be pestering them. BTDT. I have neighbors on one side that almost never turn off their TV and it's a bitch. There's nothing I can do about it. I try not to be like that.
5. Or get up and do what I want, within reason (see #4).
6. Yes. Of course, if you share your dwelling, you can come home late and walk with cat feet, etc. I shared for many years.

OTOH, there's a plus side to sharing your dwelling. You get exposed to stuff in an unexpected fashion and that has its charms. Yes, it sure can have its downside. That's why I used to screen my housemates carefully. Some were great, others a real bitch. Met some absolutely great people, one was the roommate from hell, several problematic in a variety of ways.

7. Not necessarily so "very expensive." It's more expensive than sharing, generally, definitely.

8. I've lived alone for many years, but never been in a circumstance where calling 911 even came to mind IIRC.

 

[Capt Caveman]

i live alone.

pros: privacy.
i can walk around nekkid.
i can take a dump without closing the door.
i can play music as loud as i want, stay up as late as i want, come home anytime i want without worrying about waking up roommates.

cons: very expensive.
if you are dying and can't dial 911 to save yourself, you're screwed.

Life Alert - "I've fallen and I can't get up!'

 

[Rhezuss]

Well, living alone as is advantages and disadvantages.

Alone you can do stuff with someone wherever and whenever you want without having a roomate comment when they get home like "Hey guys! I hope you're not making love"...which royally eff the mood.

You can cook for your other half and not having someone anoying you in the process.

Alone is cool when you feel like it.

With a roomate, it had some life in the place. When you hate being alone, it's a good way to go. Lower the cost a lot too.

 

[meltdown75]

i absolutely effing love living alone.

although i was comfortable living with my ex when we were married, too. very.

with my brother, not so much. i kinda hated it but i did my part to help him out. he moved to my sister's rental property last week.

having my place back to myself is absolutely amazing.

just depends who you're sharing a place with... if it's an SO, it's all good. brother? not so much.

 

[dabuddha]

my opinion is better than your opinion.... NOT.

stop fighting kids.

I just found it amusing that the trolls turned on each other

 

[onza]

I lived at home for THREE years before moving out and purchasing my own house. I managed to save up close to 17k, put a downpayment on the house and I live alone and it's f'n AWESOME. My mortgage is 1007. utils = 200-400 per month.

 

[thepd7]

Last few weeks of living alone until I move in with my gf of almost 3 years. I'm not going to have as much "me" time anymore, but the trade off is that I will be pampered 24/7.

haha good one...oh wait are you're serious. good luck with that.

I'm going to go against the trend here and say that I've lived with two random roommates in the past couple of years and wouldn't change it for anything.

Now, in an ideal situation I'd have my own place and pay what I'm paying now for the place I'm at.

However for the $850 that I'm paying in my 2br, I could've gotten a 1br place in a boring part of town, but currently I'm living in downtown SD, where I can get drunk and walk to any bar/club without worrying about driving back or expensive cabs. A 1br place in my location would be at least $1400+, so the $550 savings in rent is huge every month.

Plus you get the split internet/utilities cost, which saves you more money.

I rarely see my roommate ever, and usually just hang out in my room with my laptop/Wii all day..so it's pretty much the best of both worlds really.

Absolutely. I love living with roommates. I lived alone for 3 years in college and haven't done it since (4 years out). Get a nice big 2 bedroom with someone you like and it's incredible. So much cheaper and you always have someone to hang out with. Sucky roommates suck, but a good roommate can be a really great situation. My 4 roommates include my best friend and 3 others I still hang out with often.

 

[dr150]

If you have a lot of sex with girls (like me), you need your own pad! It NEVER, ever works having someone else living there.

If you are more anti-social and needs friends around them all the time, then get a buddy and share a pad.

It all depends on your priorities and your social makeup.

 

[Miklebud]

I lived with people in apartments from 20-24. As of February this year, I got my own place, and will NEVER live with roommates again. A wife/spouse is another story...
But I love the privacy, peace and quiet, and cleanliness. Soooooooo worth it. Although, I'm not living as rich, due to the added expenses, but it's still worth it for the sanity.

 

[mvbighead]

I lived at home for THREE years before moving out and purchasing my own house. I managed to save up close to 17k, put a downpayment on the house and I live alone and it's f'n AWESOME. My mortgage is 1007. utils = 200-400 per month.

Pretty much what I did through college. Managed to save enough money, and replaced my chitty car. Fortunately for me my gf (at the time, now wife) had already gotten the house part started. While I am sure living alone would be great, a great SO is pretty much unbeatable.

 

[slag]

If you can afford it, it's awesome to live alone.

Its more awesome to live with your wife who cooks, cleans, and provides meaningful conversation and companionship.



On second thought, eat out a lot and get a dog.