Living by yourself or with a bunch....which one do you prefer?

I’d go bananas if I had to live alone. I had an apartment of my own for a few months before hubby and I got married, and I hated it. Cooking for one is depressing. Eating alone even more so.

My dream (that I’m comfortable knowing will probably never happen), is to build a big communal home for my family and several close friends and their families. That way, we’d always have each other to take care of, and to take care of us.

I’ve only ever lived at home before. My roomie is my younger brother. I’m okay with these arrangements for now. When I move out for graduate school, I’d prefer a room to myself. That’s unrealistic on my budget, but I just can’t stand the thought of sharing my room with a stranger. But, oh well :) Gotta save some cash.

I never mind sharing living quarters with good friends though. I guess it just depends.

I’ve done both. It was actually cheaper to live by myself than with a roommate. This was in the same house. Telephone, food and utilities all ended up being cheaper, which more than offset the extra rent.

Alone. I just love it so much. There are times where I want more contact with people, but I’m never really lonely.

I’m happily married, but even then I still value and desire my “own space” occasionally, especially when my little kids are screaming and running around. Egads. ;)

I lived alone for a few years but had a boyfriend and I worked so I was fine. now my daughter lives here, I have no boyfriend, no job. I think I’d go mad if she wasn’t here! I do get lonely. I didn’t realize how fulfilling my work was.

I’ve lived with 3 guys who I met on craigslist for the past year and before that, I’ve lived with my family.
I’d much rather live alone. I don’t think I’ve had a place to myself for more than a week at a time. Unfortunately, living in San Diego is too expensive for me to live alone.

Privacy isn’t my huge issue, I don’t really do anything that needs privacy. But my problem is that I worry too much about everything, it makes me feel like I’m walking on eggshells. I worry about waking people up as I walk down the hall in the morning, I worry about accidentally using someone else’s milk, or ruining their organization in the fridge, I worry about stealing parking spots. Despite the fact that nobody in this house has ever complained about me doing those, and I know that realistically, people don’t give a damn about those things.
It’s stress I’d prefer not to have in my life.

@Sarcasm I take it you’re not married and don’t have little kids like I do?

There are very few times when i want my own company. I would rather have people around but also know that there is somewhere near by that i can escape to should i need some ‘me’ time.

The perfect situation for me would be to be married, where my spouse and I each lived in our own unit of a duplex. That’s so weird, isn’t it? I know, but it would be perfect for me. I just need to find the right guy. :-)

@lillycoyote That is so strange—that’s my perfect situation too!

Course, that involves finding someone, and then being ok with a certain level of commitment and intimacy, and blah-de-blah-de-blah.

I love living on my own when I did .Now I think it gets lonely at times. I have had roommates female and male. I actually prefer male. I am married now. I can go to the bedroom close the door and have my hubby watch my child, and relax. So now I am in a winning situation. I think.

I’ve never lived alone before. I moved straight out of my parent’s home, into a one of my dad’s other homes that me and my boyfriend (husband now) shared. From there we moved into our own house that we bought.
I’d hate to live alone for long periods of time, i need company. But not any company. I’d hate to live with a group of people, even if they’re friends. (i don’t have that many friends anyway).
I could live with my best friend. Large groups don’t appeal to me in any way.
But i love living with my husband, and i don’t ever feel like i need my own space or extra privacy or anything, i’ve just never needed things like that.

I much prefer living alone. If I want a “bunch” I can always go out and find one, or invite one over. I never seem to get lonely or bored when I’m alone. I’m very gregarious by nature, so the alone time allows me to relax, reflect and fart without fear of reprisals… :-)

@JilltheTooth LOL

Alone. I eat at my favorite restaurants, have coffee at my favorite caffee houses, I know all the merchants and customers. I eat when I want to, go to bed when I want to, I pack a bag and split when I want to, I take any job I want where I want and there is nobody to bitch or whine or answer to. I love living alone. I could never ever live under the same roof with someone else again. Maybe next door in separate homes/condos/apartments/townhouses, but never in the same place, I think it is unnatural.

There’s only two people that I feel I could live with on a permanent basis so if I can’t have them then I am happy living alone.

I’m a natural cohabitator, I feel and do best with some other/s around.

@papayalily LOL. I guess I’m not so weird after all, or maybe you and I are just weird in the same way. It’s not that I don’t like people, or like having them around, I really do. The duplex thing has always seemed like such a great idea, as would be the compound (not to be confused with the “commune”), where my friends and I could all live very close to one another. I love the idea of living very close to the people I love, I am just not terribly fond of us all living on top of one another, or us all being underfoot all the time.

@lillycoyote For me, it’s more the idea that marriage means giving up your individuality and identity. A duplex seems the perfect way for us to be together, while still having our own space identities.

@papayalily Well, yes, that is most certainly a big part of my thinking too. You have your own identity, your own space, yet, what could possibly say “commitment” more than a willingness to share a duplex with your beloved? ;-)

@lillycoyote I can’t think of anything :-)

Katharine Hepburn once said: “Men and women shouldn’t live together, they should live next door and visit.”

@JilltheTooth I love her. She just really had it together.

@JilltheTooth Awesome, she’s so right. Add one more to the club. And add one more reason to love Katharine Hepburn.