When is it time to ditch the roomies and the 4-bedroom house and make the move to your own apartment, one to call all your own?
What now?
This is a question I’ve been struggling with myself lately. As a recent college grad, my biggest concern moving into a new place after graduation was the cost of rent. As we all know, living on your own tends to be more expensive than living with other people. With this in mind, I opted for a 4-bedroom home with 4 other roommates in an up & coming part of the city where my post-grad job was located. All seemed well.
Time to take a risk
At the time of graduation, this appeared to be a no-brainer. I was pressed for time, and I only had a couple weeks to secure housing before I began my job in the city. Well, it’s been a little over four months now, and I want out. Not that I didn’t enjoy my time in the adorable 4-bedroom home and hanging out with my cool roommates, but I’ve come to realize not only am I ready to be on my own, but the feeling of urgency is setting in that I have to be on my own.
Peer pressure is real folks
While my friends still attending school are living with roommates, I’m the only one of my friends who have graduated who is not living on their own. I’m not saying I’m feeling peer pressure to make the move, but rather, I’m seeing the green-eyed monster come out in myself; wanting to make the change and be on my own like my other post-grad pals.
I mean, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t love to be in a place of their own where you don’t have to always have pants on in order not to offend roommates. I’m ready for my pant-less place.
Mom's always right...right?
Of course, upon this realization, I mentioned the idea to my mom (I may technically be an adult now, but my mom is still my best friend and I continue to bring any new developments her way for opinions and ideas). Being the brilliant woman she is (yes mom, if you’re reading this, I do mean it), she recommended I make a list of pros and cons of moving into my own place, to be sure I was ready for such a transition and wouldn’t regret it down the road. Let’s be real though, she just didn’t want to have to help me move again.
Either way, I recommend taking such a step before making a change as big as living on your own. Below are my pros and cons of moving from my 4-bedroom, people-packed place to a slightly (or very) small studio or one-bedroom apartment—whichever I can find in my price range. These may be some things to take into consideration if you plan to make a move soon too.
Cons
- The price is not necessarily right
- Ya live alone, ya pay alone. All that rent is all on you, so chances are you will be paying more. In Richmond, I’ll likely have an increase of $100-$200 more per month if I live on my own…yikes.
- Not only will all the rent fall on me, but there’s no one to split the cost of utilities, water, sewage, electric, etc. bills with.
- Additionally, most apartment complexes add on monthly fees for having a cat (which I do), and it’s not like I can afford to buy a place of my own.
- (A plus, however, it that you control all the whole rent payment, so you don’t have to worry about a roommate not paying rent on time and getting you both evicted.)
- Lone wolf status
- What wolf pack? Even if you have a good deal of friends, living on your own can be lonely—or so I’ve heard. That wolf pack is down to one; can I handle that?
- What happens when I’m out of toilet paper?
- You’ve probably been there—you just ran out of toilet paper and realize that was your last roll. You don’t feel like going to buy more/you don’t have time/you have a 0.00 balance in the bank, you name it, it’s just not happening. That’s when having a roommate really pays off, coming to the rescue with a spare roll. Hallelujah! So what about when you live alone? Unless you’re tight with your neighbors, you need to be prepared all of the time.
- This applies to more than toilet paper. If you’ve had decent roomies, they usually let you borrow things. Whether it be a pan, an egg, batteries, her/his whole wardrobe on a Friday night, a roommate is often there to let you lean on him/her and share their stuff.
- You’ve probably been there—you just ran out of toilet paper and realize that was your last roll. You don’t feel like going to buy more/you don’t have time/you have a 0.00 balance in the bank, you name it, it’s just not happening. That’s when having a roommate really pays off, coming to the rescue with a spare roll. Hallelujah! So what about when you live alone? Unless you’re tight with your neighbors, you need to be prepared all of the time.
- Alright, I’ll make sure to always have ample amounts of TP…but what happens if I die??
- This one may be more of an irrational fear of mine…but am I the only one who has thought about how people would know if I’m in trouble if I’m living alone? Roommates usually keep tabs on you. Living alone can be a scary thought without people just down the hall to know when you do and don’t come home.
Pros
- NO pants requirements
- We’ve covered this, and we get it, I have a no-pants priority. But it goes beyond that. Not having any pants requirements made by other people (or social standards overall, for that matter) equals freedom. Number one on my list is the freedom that comes with not having to live by someone else’s rules. Your apartment, your rules. What could be more exciting is that?
- Everything in the fridge is mine
- This may seem silly, but I can’t wait for the day that I open a fridge and don’t have to sort through other peoples’ yucky foods or meats (I’m a vegetarian—meat-packed fridges are not ideal), and especially, because I don’t have to try to remember what is mine—it all is! I tend to have issues remembering what food is mine and what’s not….(Amy, if you’re reading this, I’m still really sorry about that one time I ate your Queso by mistake)
- No roommates = no guilt
- Tell me it’s fine, tell me everyone makes mistakes, tell me it’s no big deal—it doesn’t matter, if I do something slightly wrong or annoying to a person I’m living with, I’m overcome with a mass amount of guilt for days.
- For instance, you come home hella late and it sets off the house security system, and you wake the roomies up. This would annoy anyone. Living alone though, you can come home whenever you please without the worry of disturbing someone. (And did I mention you can then take off your pants as soon as you get home? Oh right, we covered that).
- Plus, then I could leave a dish in the sink without feeling like Satan. That’s always a plus.
- 100% your apartment means 100% your lifestyle, 100% of the time
- It’s plain and simple when it’s your place, it’s your way or the highway. This means you don’t have to be concerned about who roomies may bring home, noise levels throughout the day or night, and any other questionable actions/activities that living with another person or several people may bring about.
- All the messes (or lack thereof) are your own
- Roommates can be dirty. Being on your own, all the messes are yours. This means you don’t have to clean up after other people, and your apartment can be spick and span or as much of a dirty disaster as you please.
Weighing out my options definitely made me think long and hard about if living alone was worth it. But in the end, the decision has been made, and I’m feeling more ready than ever to take the plunge. It’s time to find a home to make all my own! Next step, apartment hunt for the perfect place. Wish me luck!