Living Alone

Not too long ago, some guy named Eric Klinenberg wrote a book (gasp!) entitled Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone. I heard a brief blurb about this guy and his book on NPR the other day, and today there's an article in the "Home and Garden" section of the New York Times all about the quirky habits that people develop when they live alone (or the quirky reasons people give for wanting to live alone.

I gave the Times article a read this morning, because these days I'm alternating between living alone and sharing space with S, and I'm also still working towards acquiring a roommate. So, you know, I've been thinking a lot about the subject. Long story short, though, don't expect to learn much from the article.

Is it a good thing to live alone? Personally, I don't think so, particularly for safety reasons. Perhaps if one creates an appropriate social structure, it's all right. And yes, there are great benefits to solitude. But humans are naturally social creatures. On top of that, there are a lot of costs tied to living alone. As the lone member of the household, I pay an entire household's share for utilities, for example. Figuring out how to shop and cook for one can also be challenging (at least the article notes as much). And what if something goes wrong?

I am also responsible for upkeep of the entire household. When I went from living by myself to living with R, I was so grateful to be able to split up chores like washing the dishes and taking out the trash. I will happily wash some extra dishes if my roommate helps with taking out the trash and recycling.

And boy, it would be so nice to be able to split lawnmowing responsibilities with someone else more frequently (I must make a nod towards scrottie for helping with that). I spent a solid hour and a half this morning, trying to tame the lawn again with Mr. Pushy the push mower. We've had so much rain over the past two weeks that it has been impossible to mow, and things have gotten completely out of hand.

But what of the eccentricities mentioned by the Times article? This question makes me sigh. The first time I lived by myself, I was grateful for a chance to organize my household according to my own interests and lifestyle. I've never been all that optimistic about finding other people interested in maintaining a compatible lifestyle, and have been so happily amazed by scrottie in that respect. The majority of people I've ever lived with haven't been nearly so keen to have a compost heap going, or aren't interested in avoiding the accumulation of huge heaps of plastic shopping bags, or don't understand why dishrags are preferable to sponges (last longer, aren't made of as many synthetic materials, easier to sterilize). What are the chances of finding someone around here who is also excited about greywater recycling and alternative transportation? Given that the two bedrooms in this house are right next to each other, what are the chances of finding someone else who is willing to be quiet after around 9 pm, so I have half a chance of getting a good night of sleep (ach, this one is invariably the hardest)? I won't know until I start looking, but again, I'm not especially hopeful.