By “living alone”, I simply living with friends or living alone on rent or in a hostel. Living alone can be fun, especially when you are staying with your friends or co-workers. I too live in a hostel with friends and as cliched as it may sound, it is simply awesome to be able to manage your own life and do whatever you want without taking consent from your parents or family.
Living alone also comes with added responsibilities such as managing your own expenses, managing food and rent etc. If you are staying away from your home and are earning your own money, then it is a huge advantage. You get to learn a lot of things. You can wander around your place without any hesitation. You can call your friends for a drink or a party or a stay-over whenever you want. Your place is always a mess and there is no need to clean it up unless you are leaving it permanently. If you have a vehicle, you can go out to dinner whenever you want. After a long day at work, you can choose to invite your friends over for a night-out. If you are staying with your friends, then your fun gets doubled.
You can mutually decide to have whatever you want for lunch or dinner. On weekends you can go out to malls, theatre or other public places easily. You are earning your own money, so you know how to manage your resources without feeling constrained. You can even go travelling to nearer places or can plan the same to farer places across India or abroad. You get to eat various different cuisines from all over the world, especially if you are staying in a big city such as Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore. Ultimately, it gives you financial stability and provides you with a better opportunity for career building. It can be a life changing experience.
But it is not always a bed of roses. It comes to the difficulties of managing your own food every day. A vegetarian person may find it difficult to cope with the non-veg environment that these big cities usually possess. Even if he finds a veg restaurant, he might still not get satisfied enough. “There is nothing more satisfying than a mother’s roti made with love and affection”. Besides, there is also a strong feeling associated with your home.
These big cities and their busy environment may take a heavy toll on people’s general health. This is because they are generally from small cities and are not acquainted with the busyness. It leads to stress, nostalgia, strong longing, depression and much more. On a more moderate level, it leads to financial instability and the inability of a person to manage his/her resources skillfully.
As there are two sides of a coin, living away from home also has its perks and drawbacks. All in all, if you are able to survive through the initial tough phase, you never know you can come out with flying colors!!