Hey c_hawkthorne, this article somewhat involves a company in Syracuse, you should give it a read because of the proximity. I can agree with this. I am currently in a 1-bedroom by myself, because it's not particularly expensive and I shared a room this past year with someone who I fell out of friendship with. It created a situation where I wanted to give living alone a shot for the first time ever. However, it gets really lonely some nights despite living in a complex. Nobody in this complex interacts with each other which is kind of sad to me. Sometimes having a whole night to myself and not saying a single word creates anxiety and tension. I know a lot of people my age that are living by themselves though. I'd imagine many of them feel the same way. I wouldn't say it's a mistake to have spent this year in a place by myself, but once this lease is up I'd like to have a roommate, hopefully my girlfriend if we're still together and in the same area, but if not then somebody else. It'll make it easier to save a bunch more money and allow me to be more social outside of work. That's the problem, it's hard to get out and do things after work a lot of nights and sometimes it's a dreadful feeling knowing you're going home for yet another night alone.Forget communes or co-ops. Millennials, Evans says, want the chance to be alone in their own bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens, but they also want to be social and never lonely (hence #FOMO).
Thanks for the shoutout. My dorm hall has a common lounge space and a bunch of the floormates, myself included, hang out there all the time. It really is a great way to socialize and get to know the others around you. But you still have your room to go to for any reason. I like the living style a lot. I think if we didn't have that space, I wouldn't be anywhere near as close to the people on my floor. But it also definitely depends on whether or not the people are willing to go hang out. There are people on my floor who are always in their room and don't hang out with anyone on the floor. It is a great idea and I wholeheartedly support it, hell I might live there some day, but it heavily relies on the willingness of the people to go and hang out in the common area.
The two places I lived alone, I happened to make really good friends with fellow smokers in the building. I agree that typically no one in complexes speak to each other. But, if you don't have balconies, you and your cancer stick craving buddies will become bffs while drunkly huddling in the snow at 2am. Start saying hi to people you see in the hallways and stuff. There are multiple people as lonely as you, but no one wants to be "that guy". I also often had small parties with friends at my tiny NYC apartment and would often hang a sign over the mailboxes politely warning people and leaving my cell number in case we were being too loud. The ps read "feel free to stop by and have a drink or just say hi" . A couple people actually did stop by. One 40ish year old woman who stayed for like 2 or 3 hours (it was not a good mix but she was box wine drunk and couldn't tell how awkward it was) and a gay couple who were drunk enough to have no shame and fit right in with us.