What it’s like to live alone at uni

We all get fed up with our flatmates from time to time, and at one stage or another we think it would be much better to just ditch them and live alone. That’s more or less what second-year Greg did. Interested to find out what riding solo was like, we had a chat with him.

What’s the rent like?

Not cheap. It’s £130 a week including bills, unfurnished except for a lovely big bed, but my dad’s a furniture maker so I got free furniture that way. I had to trek around for a few days, and go to proper real estate agencies not student ones. I had to work all summer to be able to pay for it, but that work has also paid for a trip to Egypt with diving lessons.

Does that face look lonely to you?

So why did you choose to live alone?

There were some plans to live with flatmates from halls, but there was some indecisiveness and it sort of fell apart. I was a bit fed up having to deal with other people all the time. When you’ve got an exam the next day, you don’t want to have to be dealing with drunk people coming back at 4am.

No kitchen thieves in this household

Did you consider living with random people?

No, I think that would have been a lot worse. If I don’t want to deal with people I know, why would I want to deal with people I don’t?

Don’t you ever get lonely?

No. To be honest I’m not here most the time, I’m at my girlfriend’s quite a lot or seeing my mates, who live close by. But I’m not really a massive people person anyway. If I’m really feeling lonely and people are busy, I’ll just go to Kelsey’s – there’s always someone around there.

Who needs flatmates when you’ve got a stocked up ‘wine cellar’?

Are there any other students living in the building?

Not that I’ve seen. It’s not a very busy building at all, even early in the morning I haven’t seen anyone out and about.

What do most people think of you living alone?

A lot of people are sceptical in thinking it was my choice, they think it’s because no one wanted to live with me. But I did choose.

No flatmates, no compromise

Had any flat parties or plan to have any?

No, it’s not really big enough or worth pissing off the neighbours really. It’s good for pres though, because I can have anyone over whenever and not worry about my flatmates who aren’t going out or are working and have to worry about whether they’ll be annoyed.

What are the biggest benefits?

It’s my own space, which is nice and peaceful. I don’t have to worry about what other flatmates are doing all the time. I can have friends over whenever I want. Also, it’s nice when my girlfriend comes over because we can “let it all go”, without worrying if flatmates are listening in.

What’s the worst thing?

If you ever just want to chill with a mate, you can’t go into someone else’s room. You have to trek to their house which, when it’s rainy or cold, is a bit shit.

Do you ever walk around naked?

Yeah, I’ve only been here a short while, but I’ve done it quite a lot. I like it, as long as I remember to shut the blinds otherwise I feel guilty as there’s a church right opposite.

What would you do if you ran out of toilet paper mid-shit?

I’d probably just have to dash into the shower.

Said shower…

Do you feel more mature?

Sort of. I have more responsibility in the sense I can’t just pass tasks onto other people, it’s me who has to change the electricity meter and stuff. I don’t think I’m a top don or anything, it’s not going to prepare me much more for the real world – I mean, I’m doing classics.

Would you recommend it?

Definitely, it was worth working in summer to have this. I think in a couple of years more people will want to do the same thing.