Come and tell me all the good things about living on your own...

[moonriver]

Dp and I have broken up after eight years (no dc). The split is a mutal and friendly one, but it is still hitting me hard.

I am due to move out in a fortnight and although in one way I`m looking forward to it, I am still a little nervous.

Please, anyone who has been through a similar thing, please come and tell me all the good things about living on your own...

Mmmhh - toffee popcorn

What they said. Plus:

When the postman shoves the mail through the door and it makes an interesting, satisfying thud on the mat... that's your mail, that is :)

My DP had to badger me for yonks to move in with him. I bloody loved living alone.

Oh how this thread is making me dream :P

I lived alone for years before i took up with DP and oh god I miss it sometimes. Most noticeable difference was that I was much thinner when I lived alone as I only ate when I was hungry, not when it was 'mealtime'.

You can have unnecessary (and unnecessarily expensive) cushions on your bed, and no-one will point out they are unnecessary (except your sisters and your parents).

All of the above plus being able to drool over McGarritt in Hawaii five 0 in peace being a member of the gym again and coming in at 8:30 and having a late dinner .. No one getting texts in the middle of the night or getting up for the loo during the night.. I was just thinking that he added zero value to my life when i spotted this thread and all this has confirmed it :)

I used to like watching sport on the TV. Except for the comments from the peanut gallery: "It's all fixed, you know. It's his turn to win." Just as well he was asleep the night I stayed up to watch Sir Stephen of Redgrave winning that 5th gold, else murder would probably have been done.

Also romances, musicals and weepies. If it didn't have violence or explicit sex (or preferably both) he just didn't get it. He woke up once while I was watching Shadowlands, observed me reaching for a handful of tissues and said "Why are you watching it if you don't like it?" Another time he interrupted Showboat (iirc it was in the middle of Only Make Believe), bustling in to ask loudly "What is this shit?" (Answer: it's MY shit, now go away and let me listen to it!)

The best thing about living on my own is the yellow lab snoozing beside me with her chin rested on my lap as I type. (exH would not allow any pets)

Oh I forgot to mention that I no longer need to put up with the constant napping!! Every time his arse hit the sofa .. bugged the crap out of me .. left me to entertain DD every trip as he would just go to sleep .. tough shit if i was tired ... I am so well rid!!

Great things about living by yourself -

You can blare ridiculously loud, cheesy music and holler along to it whilst doing housework and no one tells you to turn it down or to be quiet!

Noone to moan at you if you haven't bothered doing some housework.

You are responsible for your own finances and no one can tell you not to spend it on yet another pair of shoes.

You get the bed to yourself to do the starfish, hog the duvet or plain roll yourself up in it if you want.

You can watch what you want when you want on the tv.

I do have 4 young dc but have loved being on my own with them for the last ten months and doing what I please. The sense of freedom and also achievement at managing everything by yourself is fantastic

The most wonderful thing about living on your own is the freedom, the sense of joy and being the master of your own destiny.

You can say yes to anything you please, or no if you choose.

You can be driving home and think.... naah I will go for a swim instead. You can live your life through your eyes and not have to compromise, it is a pure gift, to live alone is bliss.

You can share your life with who ever you choose, your groups of friends get bigger and bigger because you have time, all thetime in the world to live your at your own pace.

Don't waste a moment worrying, just embrace it, and never let it go - it is a blessing.

loving this thread!
absolutely adore living on my own, my only worry is that I will get used to it and forget how much better it is than co-habiting.
This thread is a great reminder:)

Annie - never heard the term peanut gallery before - love it.

Oh and films - brings me on to the cinema - went to see a film recently that was wall to wall talking, not an action scene in sight, in fact it was so 'talky' that two middle aged couples walked out halfway through, huffing in disgust such was the dullness.

And i sat there happy as a pig in excrement revelling in not having anyone next to me pointing out that 'this is shit' and 'boring'

If films didn't have something bursting loudly into flames every third frame accompanied by a half naked angelina jolie they were declared 'crap' by all of my exes.

Great post rightchoice - sums it up perfectly.

I see the puppy is growing up HotDamn (they don't stay little for long, sniff) :)

No wee all over toilet seat.
No football and annoying yelling to accompany it.
Less tidying up.
Nobody hogging toilet for nearly an hour!
Happy and relaxed atmosphere for myself and dcs.
My favourite is having bed to myself and stretching out under crisp clean sheets!

the reduction in house work especially surprised me, I can keep my place spotless with hardly any effort

A big one for me is being able to make tea/dinner/evening meal whatever you call it at a time that suits me and my son, instead of having to have it on the table for the time the man gets home
Also not having to listen to boring shit about work and having to make supportive suggestions about what I am told
Never having to buy any more brown furniture
As someone else had said, being able to keep nail varnish in the fridge without being made to feel frivolous and irresponsible
The freedom to be frivolous and irresponsible if I wish!
Being able to leave alcohol in the fridge until I want to drink it, which may be weeks

Warming up now...

No garage tools in the lounge. Nobody nicking my trainers and getting them all oily and/or muddy. Nobody feeding the pets weird shit and shortening their lives considerably . Nobody greeting me in the evening with the news that I had to write a cheque for £200 because they'd just spent that much on tat in the local auction (but it will be worth thousands one day, he saw it on Antiques Roadshow), or on a broken car he intends to cut up for parts and leave all over the garden until it rusts . No random phone calls at work (followed by a major interrogation that evening if I didn't have time to chat). No dumping clean laundry into plastic bags which are then stored in an open shed up the garden until they're nice and mouldy. No collection of sacks full of plastic carrier bags. I can put the rubbish out every week without anyone hauling it back in and checking through it. I can throw cardboard boxes into the recycling bin and expect them to stay there. All these little freedoms you take for granted if you've never been deprived of them.

OK, sorry, those were all a bit too specific

I can do the opposite. I'm about to move in with one of those opposite sex types and will miss.....
Pjs on dark nights straight home from work.
Peas and gravy for dinner
Trumping
Tv selection
TUrning phone off and ignoring door if I want to just be by myself
No guilt about working late/playing sport /going out
DRinking wine on my own on a school night because I can
Cleaning and tidying and it stays that way
Cheap food shop
Being selfish
Listening to absolute 80s on a Sunday night whilst mumsnetting
Not having to wait for someone else to watch the latest 24 (behind the times I know..)
In fact, I'm now questioning my plans!

Nobody wanting to talk to me during the last 20minutes of a film.
Not having to ask if he wants a cuppa when I want one.
Wrapping lunch in clingfilm and turning it into a picnic without turning it into a collaborative production.
Eating what I want at mealtimes. He was a right fussy eater!
Having people round whenever I want and not when I don't.
Not dealing with the less desirable inlaws.
Lots of red. I love red. He was a neutral freak.

Going back to college and growing into myself.

Wow are you supposed to put nail varnish in the fridge?

At the moment I'm enjoying the freedom to be UNWELL!
I am sitting here in my trackie bottoms, muffled up in a fleecy, with a lemsip - the only person getting annoyed with my cough is ME Earlier I watched my Jane Austen DVD in peace and quiet - no need to cook anything or feed anyone. Now I'm off to bed with my hottie (only a rubber one) and can sleep diagonal if I want to - hard to beat.

PS I also like having my wardrobe to myself - the idea of manthings in there brings me out in a cold sweat!

Nobody digging in the butter/peanut butter/vegemite, just nice smooth tops at all times. The spreads being dug at make me irrationally angry...

Nobody touching your stuff.

Or putting their plate on the bench above the fucking dishwasher.

Or leaving things to 'soak'.

I adore my husband, I really do, but if something happened, there would not be a replacement.

Never dreading coming home to a row.
Being able to eat leftovers because they are still there!
Not needing to clean the bath because the dc and I only use shower gel in the bath which doesn't leave soap scum.
The bathroom floor always being dry
Not having to watch the news unless I feel like it.
Weeks can go by without any tv.
Everything is where it's supposed to be
Shopping for bedding/whatever is fun again.
Inviting friends to stay for weekends and not walking I. Eggshells about it.
Sleeping and waking according to mine and the dc schedule.
Doing loads of craft/painting with the dc because god forbid we do own a sponge and a dustpan! Mess is not to be feared!
Uninterrupted showers/bathroom time. (the dv are little they can interrupt me all they want)
No 30 minute poo sessions.
No skid marks. Lid down etc
No disgusting sweat stains in the sheets.
Loads less housework and yet house is very tidy
No constant media intrusion ;tv/radio)
Stress free family time.
Enjoying time with dc and not be guilted into leaving them to some mundane household task.
No more clothes destroyed during washing.
Being able to eat the odd burger once in a while without being despised for it.
Being able to chat to my make friends all the time without it upsetting anyone.
Can you tell I like being separated?

Wow, quite a response!

Thanks for the replies guys, feeling lots better now :)