8 Young Women On Why They Love Living Alone — & How They Afford It

By R29

Despite what we gleaned from years of watching Friends marathons on repeat, not all roommate situations involve sharing an apartment with your besties, hilarious shenanigans with your neighbours across the hall, and frequent group dinners cooked by the resident chef. Some living arrangements are easier than others, but usually, there are plenty of arguments and compromises along the way. And in reality, you can’t always be your truest self in front of your roommates — because sometimes, your truest self just wants to watch Netflix in your birthday suit while the dishes pile up.

Living alone is an obvious solution to roommate-related woes, but it’s also more expensive and comes with its own set of pros and cons. To get a wider perspective, we asked eight millennial women who love living alone to tell us when they decided to go solo, how they make it work financially, and why they wouldn’t have it any other way. Read on for their advice for prospective solo dwellers.

Age: 26
Profession: Entertainment Industry Professional

When did you start living alone?
October 2018 (about 1.5 months ago)

What made you want to make the transition?
I wanted to experience living alone before moving in with my long-term boyfriend.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
I lived in an incredibly cheap apartment for almost four years, and saved a ton of money by doing so.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
Not having to engage in small talk with roommates after a long, stressful day at work!

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
Make sure you can comfortably afford a full year’s rent — you won’t be able to relax and enjoy your new digs if you’re stressed about paying for them every month. Get ready to get REAL introspective — no roommates means lots of time to think about every life choice you’ve made…ever. Be prepared to reach out and actively make plans with friends — it’s nice to only have to be social when you choose to be, but you’ll also have to put in more of an effort to do so.

Age: 23
Profession: Graphic Designer/Design Director

When did you start living alone?
This year!

What made you want to make the transition?
It felt like the right “next step”! Along with roommate troubles over time, it just felt like the right decision. I crunched numbers and then determined where it would be beneficial to live based on how much money I make, and my commute time to work. I know live 15 mins from work, whereas living in Brooklyn was more affordable, but an HOUR commute! Time is money!

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
I began picking up side hustles this last year aside from my full time job, and made realistic goals about what was possible. In the end, I had to sacrifice some monthly luxuries (think coffee, eating out, clothing shopping) but it has been TOTALLY worth it.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
As a creative, I absolutely LOVE having my own space both to design and decorate, but also I love coming home, blasting music and just having the alone time to make art — without any social obligations. Having roomies was fun, and forced me to be more social, but at the same time, distracted from my artwork. I now have to be more purposeful about spending time with friends, but regardless, I am glad I made the decision!

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
Crunch the numbers, and be realistic about what you can afford. If you want a social experience, and to save money, consider living with roommates or a partner. If you dream of your own space to create, be autonomous or just — you know — never wear trousers, see if it’s feasible financially, make a pros and cons list, do your research and jump in!! :)

Age: 29
Profession: Lawyer

When did you start living alone?
April 2016

What made you want to make the transition?
I did not want to go into marriage or any other type of co-habitation situation in life without having a period of time where I got to live on my own. I wanted to experience the good and bad of it before I chose to live with someone and build a family. I wanted that feeling of space before all of it went away.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
I am a boss ass bitch that can afford my spot because I worked hard to land a full time job that gives me this lifestyle. My parents never contributed towards this lifestyle choice because I wanted to do it on my own but I also didn’t need a side hustle to make it happen because I sacrificed years during law school and bar study so that my main job would get me here.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
No-one tells me when I take a few extra days to wash dishes, sit in the living room naked while watching tv, or judges me when I get home late or not at all at night.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
It is a lot of work. You have to do all the chores yourself and you also have to fix things yourself when they break. It will break you but there is nothing better than knowing you take care of a space on your own.

Age: 28
Profession: Writer

When did you start living alone?
In college

What made you want to make the transition?
Second year at uni I couldn’t find a roommate so I started living in a single and I haven’t looked back.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
I have rich, generous parents who have helped me tremendously/refuse to let me fail basically ever. They recently purchased an apartment for me, which is WILD and beautiful and rich-guilt inducing.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
Nobody cares if I leave dirty dishes or forget to do laundry or keep a bunch of old boxes lying around but me.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
Force yourself to make plans with people, even if it feels exhausting. It’s easy to isolate yourself by accident.

Age: 28
Profession: Internal Auditor

When did you start living alone?
Age 18

What made you want to make the transition?
I moved out of my parents’ house to go to university.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
Initially, my parents paid the majority of my rent and I worked part-time to pay the rest of my bills. Now, I work full-time and am part of an affordable housing program in Austin, Texas. I’m able to live in a new building about two minutes from downtown and pay a fraction of the standard rent for that area.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
I love coming home and watching what I want on TV, making what I want for dinner, cleaning up when I feel like it. It’s just nice having a space that’s 100% mine.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
My best advice for someone thinking about living on their own is to make sure they are debt free before they do it. Rent eats up such a large portion of our income. The longer you are able to save that money and use it towards paying down credit cards or student loans, the better. I could pay off all of my debt in a little over a year if I didn’t have to pay rent. Now, I’m probably looking at 6 years to knock everything out with my current income and expenses.

Age: 25
Profession: Public Relations

When did you start living alone?
October 2018

What made you want to make the transition?
I felt that at the age of 25, a new responsibility was needed. I was ready to take charge of my life and experience something that took me out of my comfort zone.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
It wasn’t without struggle but it was all about saving, saving, saving. I live in Southern California so the cost of living is not affordable to a lot of people my age. It’s with a lot of sacrifice that it’s even possible. So I saved until I had enough money for the move-in fees and ensured I had a job that would pay me enough to cover rent and still survive. In terms of rent, because I’m living alone, I decided to choose a place that was a bit out of reach because I wanted to feel safe and comfortable. The sacrifice has been well worth it.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
The ability to handle things on my own.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
It’s worth a try — if it’s not for you, you finish your lease and move on but, it’s an experience everyone should have. It teaches you how to be comfortable with silence, and you gain a new love for yourself, too. You appreciate yourself for the effort. It may be a risk, but risks are worth taking sometimes.

Age: 28
Profession: Technical Designer (apparel)

When did you start living alone?
Age 23

What made you want to make the transition?
I moved from my university life in Kansas to the working world in Baltimore. I didn’t know anyone where I was moving to so it just made sense to get my own place. I never really enjoyed having roommates because I had to depend on other people for rent who were unreliable or to clean or other house duties and was consistently let down. I was incredibly excited to not have the added stress of other people in my life.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
I moved to the suburbs rather than the city for my first career job and had a fairly decent starting salary.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
I just bought my first home, a condo, and it’s just all mine. I get to paint what ever I want, I can set it up how ever I want, it’s INCREDIBLY quiet. I lived with a roommate the year prior to buying my home to save up and I would just sit in my car for 30 mins to an hour after work just because it was quiet I and wouldn’t have to deal with another human and their emotions. Working in the crazy fashion world with lots of drama, the last thing I want to do is to come home and hear about someone’s struggles in a part time job. Not that their feelings and struggles aren’t valid and are sometimes even more difficult. They’re just different and it was too much for me to emotionally to deal with. Now I come home to my quite place, make dinner, hangout with my cat and maybe roast some s’mores in my fire pit in the back yard and it’s just quiet bliss.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
Find a cheap place that you feel comfortable in and try it for a year. I NEVER lived on the first floor when it was just me starting out and that made me feel much safer as a single woman. I also recommend finding a building with all internal rooms so you don’t have an outside entrance to your place. Your post can be dropped off in the building, even having the trash and laundry inside the facility made me feel much safer from the places that I had to walk outside to do a basic everyday chore.

Age: 29
Profession: Marketing

When did you start living alone?
Age 26

What made you want to make the transition?
I had ALWAYS wanted to live alone (despite my loud voice, I’m an introvert at heart!), but when my longtime roommate wanted to move in with her boyfriend, it was fate.

What allowed you to make that transition financially?
To be honest, when I initially started living alone, I financially probably shouldn’t have. By sheer luck, my salary has improved dramatically soon after I started living alone, which made things a bit less scary. However, considering my neighbourhood, my rent is relatively cheap thanks to a lead from my friend with her landlord, and while my parents haven’t helped with my rent in over five years, they did when I first moved to New York when I was 22, which set into motion the ability for me to live on my own four years later.

What’s the best part about your current living situation?
Knowing exactly what you’re walking in to. Even though I sometimes miss having someone to watch a movie with on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and my apartment is too small to host a big group of friends which can sometimes be a bummer, having complete confidence of what’s on the other side of your door when you get home (even when you have no one to blame for dirty dishes except yourself) is beyond freeing.

Any advice for someone who is thinking about moving to their own place, but isn’t sure if it’s for them?
Just do it. There are so few chances in life for something to be yours alone — don’t miss the opportunity if you can.

Originally published at https://www.refinery29.com.