I have a few valuable ideas for those living alone for the first time or people living alone generally.
5 Things You Must Know About Living Alone
- Living alone is not the same as loneliness. You can live alone and have the best times of your life. This is the aim of the latter part of this article.
- Also, the way you talk about it means a lot. ‘Alone’ means acceptance. ‘Lonely’ implies the desire for something, especially companionship. If you’re lonely, your job with loneliness is to either get to a mindset of ‘I am alone, and I can change that’ or seek help. I talk about this more in my post: how to be happy alone without feeling like a loser.
- Our reactions to loneliness are different. Some of us are more used to it than others. The first few months will be tough if you’re not used to it. When some people get addicted to living alone, it becomes a battle actually to put in the effort and find companionship. So, my aim for everyone who reads my post about this topic is that you don’t get to that stage where the presence of another person in your space irritates you. Some never get to that stage where living alone becomes so normal. They can’t, even if they try for long.
- The stages of living alone for the first time start with anxiety, then move to comfort if you’re doing it right. After that, it gets extreme or addicting if you’re not careful.
- Loneliness and sadness aren’t really good friends. Don’t try to isolate yourself for too long when you’re sad. It can be dangerous. However, I disagree that everyone who lives alone is sad. Some sadness is inevitable if you are alive for a long time, whether you have company or not. It’s even worse when you have the wrong company.
- Human nature is dynamic, yet we have cultural norms. There are standards everywhere for what everyday life should look like, for men, for women. We believe in community, marriage, and companionship. So, living alone looks weird, creepy, or difficult to understand, depending on who you ask. So, be prepared to get treated or perceived in specific ways if you live alone for the first time.
- Living alone doesn’t make people evil. Being evil is a choice or a personality.
Now that we have cleared some of those things, let’s talk about how to manage this situation.
Living alone for the first time, everything you need
These are the things you need to get comfortable with this new lifestyle.
1. A comfortable home
Please, emphasize the ‘comfortable.’ Your home is the biggest player in how you will manage loneliness, and this is very serious. Get it ready to your best taste.
2. Sounds Systems
Living alone for the first time means you’re listening to the voices in your head more than before. Trust me. It gets hard if you don’t get out of your head a few times a day or even most times of the day.
Get quality sound systems. You will need it for playing podcasts, music, and movies. Most times, you’re by yourself. These will be your companions.
3. A Happy Mindset
This is internal. If you can’t be happy when you live alone, chances you will never be happy for too long. Think about it. How long will you be in other people’s company? How long will you rely on people’s support to stay happy? So, learning how to be happy if you live alone is important.
What no one tells you about living alone for the first time is that you can enjoy it too much. Check this other post to learn how to do that.
You don’t really need a survival guide or something like that. Really? You’re not getting drafted into the military or hiking in the wilderness. It’s living alone… by yourself. In a city. You get to do what you want.
But I understand the fear for anyone who hasn’t done it before.
(If you’re depressed, please seek as much help as possible. PLEASE. DO NOT TAKE THIS ARTICLE AS A SOLUTION. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP.)
7 Tips To Do When You Live Alone For The First Time
1. Start An Hobby
It can be anything that gives you joy. It can be anything. My recommendation is lean more towards hobbies that make you go outside or lets you meet new people. It can be an online hobby like playing chess, and you can still meet new people online if you play on places like chess.com. You can start a blog.
2. Get Out Of Your Own Head Regularly
Go for walks. Don’t depend on your thoughts all the time. It can be addicting and difficult. I have internal monologues every day and every minute, and it can be hard doing that for 18 – 20 hours a day. So, I play music and listen to podcasts.
Meet new people and travel a lot more if you can. If you have moved to a new place, ask around where you should visit. Then, check the places out; either it’s a bar or some hilltop.
3. Be Kind To Your Neighbors
They can save your life. You don’t have to be friends with them if you don’t want to. If something terrible should happen, will they help you? Will they rush to help if you need urgent medical attention?
Note: Being kind to your neighbor does not mean they help you. It’s just that being kind increases the probability a little more.
4. Choose One Day For Meeting New People
You can go to the gym or support a local football team, where you can meet people. Or, you can learn how to swim or dance from a coach around the city. You get to meet new people and practice something you love doing. You can do it as much as you want. The point is to include it in your plans if you haven’t.
5. Depend On Yourself For Your Happiness
This period of living alone will solely improve how you take of yourself mentally, physically, and financially. Capture the best moment, if you can, through writing or photos. Reflect on decisions that bring you the most reward. For me, it’s investing in quality sounds and meeting new people to watch football. I have shaken hands, hugged, and jumped with strangers because of the love of it. I still have those memories of that.
Journaling might help. I did that when I was still young. Will I recommend it to everyone? NOOOO. Seeing your thoughts on paper can be hard, scary, and annoying to some people. If you try it and you feel great, then do it again. And again.
Enjoy Yourself
Don’t be scared of living alone for the first time. If you don’t keep companies that will ruin you financially and health-wise, if you are taking good care of yourself mentally and physically, you will be fine. It’s not that dangerous. And it’s neither a sign of sadness.
Solo living is fun. I have done it. I love it. However, I love it even more when I find people I love who live and love it.