Living Alone vs. Living With Roommates in College

By Brittany Loeffler on January 30, 2017

Part of being an adult and going to college is being able to choose how to live your life. Without your parents in the same house, you can eat what you want, stay out as late as you want, and live with whom you want.

It’s extremely common to live with roommates while in college and even after you graduate, but don’t feel pressured to be common. Sometimes it’s hard to find a roommate, especially one who you feel comfortable and can live harmoniously with. If you want to live alone, there are a ton of perks to it!

via Pixabay

Cleanliness

One of the most common roommate arguments is about the state of cleanliness of the apartment. Whether it is dishes that need to be done, a common area that needs to be straightened up, or a bathroom that needs a good scrubbing, roommates can shy away and put the blame on others.

When you live by yourself, you are solely responsible for the mess that is made. That may not bother you too much, considering it’s your mess that you need to clean up and not someone else’s.

However, it’s nice to have roommates who help pick up the slack of cleaning an apartment and will do your dishes when they know you have a busy day.

via Pixabay

Food and Leftovers

Don’t count on your food always being where you left it when living with roommates. You may come home to an empty milk carton after pouring yourself a bowl of cereal. Those leftover pizza slices from the night before? They may not be there anymore. If you share food, your roommates may use more of something than you do, but you split the cost evenly.

When you live alone, that piece of cheesecake from your date at The Cheesecake Factory will be waiting for you right where you left it in the fridge. In fact, you will always know where things are in the fridge because nobody will move anything!

But, living alone also means buying all of your own food and no surprise brownies during finals week. It also means losing the opportunity to be introduced to new foods and recipes.

Social Life

It’s nice to come home to someone every day; even if your roommates aren’t your best friends, it feels good to be asked how your day was. If you don’t have any plans on a Friday night, you can always ask your roommates what they are doing and see if you can tag along.

If you prefer to have some peace and quiet when you get home, then living alone would be best for you. Someone who is more introverted may enjoy living alone more than an extrovert.

However, when you live alone, you miss the opportunity to easily meet people because you don’t have roommates bringing their friends and classmates over.

via Pixabay

Let’s Get Real … Being Naked

Let’s be real, this wouldn’t be an accurate pros and cons article if we didn’t mention the opportunity to be naked in your apartment. Obviously, when you live with roommates it’s unacceptable to walk around the kitchen buck-naked (maybe even a little unsanitary) unless you’re really comfortable with each other; to each his own. Normally people prefer their roommates to be clothed.

When you live alone you can walk around your apartment naked as often as you want! No more wrapping a robe around yourself to get something in the common area or out of the washer and dryer after getting out of the shower.

via Pixabay

Rent and Utilities

One-bedroom or studio apartments tend to be much more expensive than living in a three-bedroom with roommates. When you live with roommates you are able to split the cost of rent, furniture, cleaning supplies, food, and utilities. This can save you some major bucks, especially if you’re a full-time student and don’t have a solid income.

If you can afford to live on your own and pay utilities in full, remember you can’t blame anyone else if your electric bill is through the roof one month!

Embrace Your True Self

When you live alone you can embrace who you truly are without people judging you. If you want spaghetti for breakfast, go for it! If you want to use the bathroom with the door open, who’s going to see? You can be messy and leave your dirty socks in the kitchen for as long as you want without anyone complaining. Living alone gives you a chance to get to know yourself. You don’t have to put on a front for anyone.

Making the Decision

Hopefully, after reading this article you have some ideas about living alone versus living with a roommate. It’s all about preference and finding the right people to live with. You want to live with people who will make your college experience enjoyable, but if that’s difficult and you can afford to live on your own, then that’s fine too!

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