To live alone...or with a roommate...

[Shananigans]

I am planning a move coming up and am debating whether to live with a friend/acquaintance or by myself. I have tried to think of both pro's and con's of both, but this is all I can come up with:

With Roommate:
Can't have people over after bars
Have to deal with other people's messes
Have someone to "veg" with or run for ice-cream at 2am
Safer


Without Roommate:
More expensive rent
Might get lonely
No one to split bills with
Teach me some more independence


Can anyone help me here? The girl I am thinking of living with is someone I think is fairly respectful and would get along with well. But I still don't know if I want to have a roommate or can afford not to!!!

Any suggestions???

[toddzilla]

1. roomates suck

i wont ever do it again.

being alone isn't lonely.

[NicoleM]

2. How old are you?

Have you ever lived by yourself? Do you have furniture and stuff?

[Shananigans]

6. I will be 25 in less than a month...

I have some furniture, but love the idea of going garage "sailing" to buy some more.

I have lived by myself, but never in my own apartment (I house sat for my aunt and uncle for four months while they were in Arizona).

[NicoleM]

7. I had roommates until I was 23.

Most of them were good. But living on my own was *heaven*. I didn't have any furniture--the Kurdish refugees upstairs gave me a couch. But I still loved living by myself.

[Shananigans]

8. Didn't you ever miss the 2am ice cream runs or

having someone to lounge around with all day on Sunday?

[DarkPhenyx]

15. Don't forget to shop your local...

...Goodwill and Disabled AmVets. You can outfit an entire house there, dishes and all, it you aren't too picky about thing matching.

[arcane1]

3. I'm sworn off room-mates

never really had any terribly bad experiences, but I jsut need space... the room-mate scene just got old after a while, not sure if I'm meant to live in that kind of situation...

besides, how are ya going to walk around the house naked when there's someone else's company there? :silly:

[DarkPhenyx]

16. You worry about people seeing you naked?

Weird. *confused look*

[arcane1]

17. *I* don't worry

but you never know with other people's guests :silly:

hence, no roomies for me, I don't like compromise that much!

[DarkPhenyx]

18. I suppose it's a good point.

You can be naked around me anytime though. Honest. I won't mind. ;-)

[arcane1]

21. lol

just don't move in ;)

[DarkPhenyx]

23. No hell no.

I want you to be naked, and then go home after. :)

[arcane1]

24. hehe

the way it should be, lol

[gyopsy]

4. Roommates are 50/50

Half the roommates I've had over the years have been good. The other half have been awful.

If you can pick who your roommate is, I see no reason why not to have a roommate. I was subjected to "random" roommate selections three times in the past and I got burned pretty bad.

[DebJ]

5. Look for a roommate who works different shifts than you do; so you both

have a roommate and have privacy. My daughter did that. Works very well.

[DarkPhenyx]

9. I've lived with a roomie for 7 years...

...and I'm about to move out on my own.

To be honest if you can live with someone I'm all for it. The benefits far outweigh that downsides. IMHO. She and I have been good for eachother over the years, and have no issue with bringing people home from the bar.

I am moving out to my own place w/o a new roomie because she is getting married, and I'm thinking a little independence will be good.

Um...on the bar thing. Um...do you need someone to bring home with you? I'll volunteer if you do. :)

[Shananigans]

13. Haha...I actually didn't mean bringing a "person" as in singular...

home from the bars. I mean, what if I want to have an afterbar party or even a few friends over!

But if you are offering... ;)

[DarkPhenyx]

14. Woohoo!

Honest mistake on my part, though. I've never met that many people in a bar that I wanted to bring home at one time. :)

[Shananigans]

27. No, No, No!!!

I mean if I want to have an afterbar party with my FRIENDS that I already know. Although I have met a few people at the bar that I would like to join me afterwards, I'm not too into that whole thang.

[DarkPhenyx]

32. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I got it now. I think.

This would be why I don't do the bar thing much anymore. Too expensive, and too confusing.

[maveric]

10. I had roommates before I got married.

They were my good friends (both male and female), from high school. It was all fun at first but then peoples food and beer was being consumed by others, messes were made that no one fessed up to, and the long distance charges would cause fights every month. One friend worked nights and brought his buds home late at night/early morning to party and play the stereo.
After a year of this we were never as friendly to one another again.

[dwckabal]

11. Live alone

I've done it now for 10 years (minus a 1 year live-in GF) and I love the freedom of living by myself.

[IronLionZion]

12. If you have separate bedrooms

then you can still have sex ...er...people over after bars. :evilgrin:

I have three roommates now and I don't mind. Cheaper rent! We all have separate rooms so its ok. I wouldn't want to live alone but I probably will this summer.

go with the roommate

just my $0.02,
Indy

[Gothic Sponge]

19. I live alone and i wouldn't want it any other way....

Sometimes it gets lonely. :cry:

[Mr. Blonde]

20. I lived

in dorms this year. It is an experience and I can say I am looking forward to living on my own next year. Not that a roommate is bad, just they probably have habits that could drive you mad. I would say it is worth a shot, I mean it isn't like it's a life long commitment or anything.

[UnAmericanJoe]

22. I've lost a good friend by rooming with them

Proceed with caution my dear.

I say if you can manage it, live by yourself.

If you get lonely you can always invite people over, but if you get irritated with a roomie the situation is much more difficult to remedy...

[LDS Jock]

35. Gotta be cautious

I don't know that I would try it with a friend. It is kind of like loaning money.. a good way to lose a friend. I share an apartment right now but it is with my sister. If it's not family, I probably wouldn't try it.

Oh yeah.. more time to play on DU that way too!

[AlFrankenFan]

25. No roommate

No doubt about it.

-More expensive rent, but less of a chance of getting someone as annoying as hell
-Lonely? Nah
-True, but less of bills to pay with one person

[Sufi Marmot]

26. Alone - Hell is....other people...

I'm kidding...mostly... :-) I had roommates/housemates all through college and into my mid-20's and I've lived alone since then. I always had pretty good roomies, but I still much prefer coming home to a quiet apartment, where I control all the essential appliances (TV, stereo, etc...), and where I can indulge my own quirks and don't have to accomodate anyone elses'.

Ask yourself whether you're more introverted or extroverted - if you're more introverted like me, and the presence of other people wears you out after a while, then you should probably live alone. If you get energized by the presence of other people, you'd probably do well with a compatible roomie. As I'm good at entertaining myself, I rarely get lonely in my own company, and the rare occasions that occurs are more than offset by the tranquility of solitude.

Ironically, if you're reasonably extroverted and live alone, it will probably force you to be more proactive in your social life, making appointments for outings with your friends because you don't have a roomie to stay home and veg out with.

-SM

[Skittles]

28. if you have never lived alone and can afford it, do it

everyone should live alone at some time in their life!

[Shananigans]

29. Wouldn't it just be the perfect situation to live alone...

yet have a friend live right next door! *sigh*

This decision is so stressing!

[Skittles]

30. you can always make friends with your neighbors

nt

[skypilot]

31. It depends...

...on whether you move into a house or an apartment. I've found that roommates are MUCH more tolerable and kinda fun when sharing a house. Living somewhere that has more than one level seems to make a lot of difference.

[fudge stripe cookays]

33. DON'T get a roommate.

I did both.

You'll be amazed at how much you DON'T know people after they move in with you. You'll also be amazed at the insensitivity of people you thought were your friends.

Consider this: I moved in with a friend when her cousin moved out. They were behind on utilities. I needed to help her with an extra utility payment to catch things up. When I saw the utility payment marked: Official! Delinquent Payment! Final Notice! and opened it to see the amount and write my part of the check, she went ballistic. MY power was going to be cut off too, not just hers.

There can be constant fights over whose food is whose; bringing "friends", male or female over; keeping you up when you're trying to sleep; being loud if you're trying to study;

Living alone is the nicest feeling. You can do whatever you want whenever you want. You never have to answer to anyone. Practice safety in locking your doors, renting on top floors, and always being aware of your surroundings, and you'll be fine.

Live alone. You'll grow personally, and discover things about yourself you never knew before.

[Shananigans]

34. Kick

Anyone?