Living on your own as a student in Liverpool is great! Here’s why

Let me set the scene. I am in my final year at university. After taking a year out to go to law school in France, I left the house hunt in Liverpool until the last minute. Living on my own wasn’t my initial plan, however, once I sat down to hunt for accommodation, it was slim pickings in the Liverpool property market. Once I accepted the prospect of living on my own for the first time in my life, I relished the opportunity to make the most of my own company in my final year as a university student in Liverpool.

After a couple of months of living on my own, I’m here to give you a run down (or reassurance) on why living alone is actually pretty neat.

My Place, My Rules

After spending three years in house/apartment shares, the novelty of sharing 75 square metres with like-minded young people was starting to bother me. The prospect of heading home from lectures to a kitchen that looked like Chernobyl was something I’d have to experience frequently when I lived with others.

Yes, this is melted plastic in the oven. An oven shared between eight people.

Living alone is not for the faint-hearted, or should I say the lazy. There’s no one else to keep you accountable for your mess, so the responsibility is all yours. This, however, is a real blessing. I can safely declare that I have not had to clean anyone else’s plate in months, and for that I am grateful.

On the other hand, you also have every right to leave your apartment in a state if you live alone. You’re not going to frustrate other people by leaving out clothes or by not putting down the toilet seat (a bad habit of my own), you’re free to do as you like. As the Spanish would say mi casa es mi casa.

No inter-house politics

A healthy relationship with your housemates is vital in creating a cordial experience in a house/flat share. 

However, the politics of the house can begin long before you’ve even slept in your new abode. The process and drama of sorting out a contract, the dropouts, the ditherers, the people you’re too afraid to say no to — these are all avoided if you just decide to go solo. In fact, a contract can be signed in a matter of days.

Even once you get the keys and head to your new shared house, a whole new dimension of inter-house politics can begin. From disputes over dirty dishes to loud ‘private intimate time’, or even arguments over FIFA, the student house can sometimes feel like the House of Commons.

Which one of yous don’t know how to clean a fridge? Disgustang!

When you live on your own, you don’t have to be a part of the great psychodrama over who didn’t take out the bins. The liberty of being on your own is that you don’t have to bother anyone else or place any friendships in jeopardy. 

You don’t have to hang around for anyone

When I lived with people I often found myself frustrated that I would have to wait for others. Cooking, washing clothes, even going to the toilet — it’s all about sharing. It’s often infuriating to need to go to the bathroom before going to uni, to only find out that someone is taking their sweet time in the shower.

These worries go out the door when you live alone. You can live truly as you want. Even small things like leaving on time for an event or seminar. When living alone, you, and you alone, are the ones in charge of your everyday life.

It’s a chance to role-play the big adult world

I’m far from frothing at the mouth at the idea of a Le Creuset casserole dish. What I mean by an adult life is a more independent lifestyle.

You are forced to plan out a day, to be more productive and you’re pushed into being more proactive with your social life. Living with people is great fun, but it can often feel like your only social bubble. When you live alone, you’re reliant on branching out and creating plans to socialise. I’d hate to use the word ‘adulting’, but sorting these plans can certainly feel like that.

Similarly, your space feels like your own. In your own apartment, you get to decorate and personalise all four walls. After carefully curating posters and artwork to go on my wall, I feel like I truly have a space of my own instead of it feeling like an archetypal student house.

It can feel lonely being on your own, but…

You get to learn a lot about yourself in the process. It sounds cliché but living on your own is a big leap to make if you’ve never done it before. Becoming self-sufficient isn’t easy. However, living alone isn’t the apocalyptic living situation some may think it is, it’s an opportunity to make the most of your time and get familiar with your own company. For that, it’s worth a lot.

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