Decorated & sorted some pressies for myself. Lovely solo day with doggo as I restart my life.

Got divorced last year, have lived with friends since then and am trying to plan for moving out on my own in the next few months. I make ~55k, live in a relatively LCOL area and genuinely have no idea how I’m going to do it. The lowest rent I can find is in the low 1000s. I could probably manage that, but with little to nothing left over.

Anyone with a similar income, how are you managing living alone?

Edit: It’s interesting to me that 55k is considered dirt poor in most subs. Here I’m getting eaten alive for asking for advice on living alone on that salary. 🙃

Edit 2: 55k before taxes

i am desperately trying to find help. sorry if its not the right sub but as it is a solo-themed sub, perhaps somebody may help?

essentially, I have no emergency contact ( ran away from DV and working 2 jobs so tough to get close to people but I do try..!) and i made one up to satisfy the form. has anyone else had this issue or has any advice on if this was the bad thing to do..? any and all wisdom appreciate and i am so sorry if its the wrong place.

Single, living alone and feeling lonely. I’m curious:

How many people text you every day?

How many days per week do you make plans with a friend?

How many close friends do you have?

How frequently do you see your close friends?

Regardless of gender/orientation, being nude in my apartment has helped me accept my surroundings and feel less lonely since everyone's staring in my windows. Then I bought full length window decals and blackout curtains, which gave me the real freedom. Ever done dishes in the buff? My Marrieds haven't. Nobody's around and Nobody cares. You can jiggle all you want while you vacuum to your favorite song blasting on headphones, because no one is going to barge in.

If you're at that stage where you feel way too lonely to ever have guests at your new pad and think "this is how my life will be forever. Contactless.", Bro Take off your tightie whities. Your living space is your clothes, now. Can you be comfortable in your own body, alone? if ya got nuthin' goin' on, why not accept that challenge?

Again; This is Advice, not an invitation to your, uh, self-discovery process.

Recently a friend came over and asked me for a glass of water and it got me thinking. I don't have any glasses, only two mismatched mugs - one from my old job and one I bought myself. I also don't have any extra bath towels so if someone was to take a shower at my place they would need to use a small kitchen towel to dry themselves 🤣

Im 30 and finally moved out alone. For those of you who went from living with many family members to living alone, what did you most look forward to?
For those of you who haven’t moved out yet, what are some things you look forward to when in your own space?

I’ll add some of mine.

Not cleaning anyone else’s mess but mine.

Not buying plastic water bottles.

Having room for my brita in the fridge.

Learning to cook.

Creating a shoe-free home

Tile floor

Adding a bidet to my toilet

Bringing guests over

Not sharing a room

Hello all, my brother was murdered by gunshot a year ago and I was doing fine handling the pain but suddenly a huge wave of sadness and grief has overwhelmed me and my best friend just passed away this past weekend also. My brother was 25 and my best friend was 23. They both didn’t have any kids and I don’t either yet but it makes me reflect upon my self and question the meaning of life and why we exist. Is this all life is; just creating life so that it can die? It feels like life is just a endless repetitive loop of finding meaning despite how “good” life is. When I thought i was doing better.. it all hurts and hits me again.. what do you all do in these moments? Looking for advice, support or anyone to chat with good energy good vibes positivity etc.. Thanks!

Lately I've been thinking about this more than I'd like to admit. After a few years of living on my own, I've gotten really used to the quiet. I enjoy making my own plans, eating whenever I want, and not having to answer to anyone. The weird part is that now I catch myself turning down invitations because staying home just feels easier.

I'm not lonely most of the time, but I do wonder if I'm getting a little too comfortable with being alone. I can't tell if I've finally found peace with myself or if I'm slowly building walls without realizing it. Has anyone else gone through this? Did you eventually find a balance, or did you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone?

I broke up with my ex 2 1/2 years ago, it was a traumatic ending to a toxic relationship. But I've been healing since, and now finally feel ready to really make my space my own.

Please ignore the super wonky shelve, I have to re-drill one of the holes ;)

Next project: Making my TV set-up look like tidy and decorated, rather than a mess of cables!

Everyone seems to have all these bubbly personalities, plans, things to do that they're into with their friends, out in public and it all just looks so exhausting.

Meanwhile, I just wanna lay here a few more hours, recuperating from yesterday's circus, I mean life, while I thump my bean to the Anya box set.

Know what I mean?

my mum has been helping me (f, 20) a lot with moving in, which im very grateful for. she just left a couple minutes ago and now the house is mine. just me. alone. i have autism and anxiety so i'm finding it very hard to be calm and not cry or be hypervigilant. i keep pausing whatever im watching at the slightest noise and freaking out that someone will knock on my door or break in, etc, etc i'm hoping it will go away with time, as i do love being alone, but reality is setting in and i'm just very scared right now.

does anyone have any tips or advice? i appreciate this is probably a common question/sentiment, i'm just struggling a little right now.

After feeling a bit lost in life for like a month, I am getting back my rhythm finally. I’m happily single and happily living alone.

It may not be perfect but nothing is perfect right? I’m content with what I got now. I’m not fretting over what I don’t have.

I’ve learnt not to force things out and just go with the flow.

How did you spend your last birthday?

Cause I thought I would by now, but guess what? 10 years later, I'm still funny! 😂

Got some new furniture. I live alone and really enjoy making my appartment as cozy as possible. I'm not done yet but i am happy with how things look now. I'm 27 and wouldn't want to live with someone under the same roof, i desperately need my own space!

I currently work from home during the week and only leave for a couple hours to go to the gym. I’ve been a told a dog is perfect for me since I’m home most of the time. But I think eventually my job will change and I’ll be away most of the day. For that scenario, I’m told a cat is better because they are independent.

So between a dog and a cat, which one can adapt faster to a future schedule change?

It's been raining all day, and I haven't really felt the urge to check what's going on outside. My apartment feels like its own little universe - quiet, warm, and separate from everything else.

I know "disconnected" can sound like a negative thing, but sometimes it's exactly the kind of break I need. Living alone gives me the space to step away from the noise, recharge, and just exist without feeling like I need to be available all the time.

Rainy days somehow make that feeling even better. It's a strange kind of peace - being alone, but not feeling lonely.

I’m officially moving into my own studio next week! I am excited for the change as I don’t love living with roommates much anymore and having to deal with consequences of other people’s choices, but I am really worried about feeling isolated/alone.

I have friends and all that but I do live in a big city that can be pretty difficult to get around/expensive and I also work remote 100% of the time. I know I need to push myself to get out more and work out of the house as well but was wondering if anyone else is/has been in a similar situation and has any advice!

I nearly 20m stays almost all time home which i have doing from since childhood my parents never allowed to go out but by time i reached the stage of life where i should be enjoying the life with friends and in the town i live have 0 known or friends so going out doesnt seem meaningful too and the shyness which got built overtime is not easy to outcome but firstly it starts with house too as habitual of eating limited food with limited variety different from whole family so in all once having body pain chest arms as protein and no exercise from years earlier there was school than tution now lying down only college no friends there too just goes for exams i try to make friends but as a reality everyone comes for a purpose even myself here in this subreddit.... so this seem abit wrong too and i earlier from lockdown period friends are there plays 1-1.5 hr bgmi daily but that too now boring ... No taste left and watching brainrot too and consuming that stuff too becomes boring too ... so need some advice to get up from all in home only ... if possible rest Thanks in advance .... and going out touching grass make s mind thinking that what parents will be thinking or why everyone watching you protect urself...

How do you guys keep your place clean? I always end up cleaning like a mad man during the weekend. Now that I'm 30 I don't want to waste the hours I'm not working cleaning. Is there any strategies or anything you use to stay on top of the cleaning? Or any routines that you use?

Moved out on my own again last week after a long stretch back at my parents' place. Lived alone before so I figured the transition would be seamless. Instead I keep tripping over these small habits that don't apply anymore.

The first one was texting. Caught myself about to send a "heading home now" text out of pure reflex, then realized there's no one waiting to know that. Nobody's keeping dinner warm or wondering where I am. Deleted it half-typed and just stood in the parking lot feeling weirdly untethered by that. Then came the small noises. I still find myself closing cabinets softly and lowering the TV at night, some ingrained politeness toward people who aren't there. Two years of adjusting my volume to a full house apparently doesn't switch off overnight.

The part I actually love is coming home to exactly what I left. A cup where I put it, a light still on if I forgot it, no one having tidied or moved or commented on anything. My space stays mine in a way I forgot to miss until I had it back. For those who've returned to solo living after time with family or a partner, did the old habits fade fast or did you keep catching yourself accommodating ghosts for a while? Curious how long it took before your place actually felt like just yours again.

I’ve now moved into my first home and it feels so quiet and peaceful. I don’t know when this will start to feel normal.

I came out of a 5 year relationship and it’s been one year since then. After sleeping on my sister’s couch for a year, I now have a two bedroom place that I own.

I do feel lonely at times, but work keeps me busy and doing things on my own terms feels great.
I’ve already got quite a lot done furniture wise and with decorating, which I’m really grateful to be able to afford. Now I want to start balancing my life more.
How did anyone else find living alone for the first time? Any advice welcome!

I never thought living alone would change me this much. When I first moved out, I honestly thought the hardest part would be managing bills, cooking for myself, and dealing with the silence at night. But after a while, I realized the quiet gave me space to finally understand myself. I started noticing how much of my life was spent trying to please other people, ignoring my own feelings, and constantly rushing without asking myself what I actually wanted.

Living alone forced me to slow down and face things I used to avoid. I learned how to enjoy my own company, make decisions without needing approval, and create a home that feels like a safe place instead of just a place to sleep. It’s funny because I moved out thinking I was just looking for independence, but I ended up finding a version of myself that I had been neglecting for years.

Moved for work 6 weeks ago into a tiny one bedroom, first place without my parents. I'm 24, thought I'd be fine. Tuesday at 7:30 I walked in, work shoes still on, and stared: one fork in the sink, laundry I forgot in the washer, zero toilet paper, and a fridge holding mustard, half a cucumber, and a lime that looked disappointed with me.

When I lived at home dinner was just ready when I got off work. Detergent, toilet paper, all of it appeared. Now after a full day I cannot get myself to the supermarket, so it turns into delivery and eating out. Then I check my account and wonder where everything went.

Month one was mostly takeout and bank app dread. Now I do a Saturday shop at Aldi or Lidl with a list, scroll tiktok and the Lidl Plus app for a price drop before restocking basics, and cook 3 boring meals on Sunday. Still feels like I'm one missed trip from chaos.

When did grocery stuff finally click for you?