Everyone should live alone at least once in their life. Some people will absolutely love it, while others will hate it. But it’s still something that everyone should experience. It’s not nearly as lonely as you’d think it would be. And going to the bathroom with the door wide open is quite liberating.

Have you always had roommates? Are you trying to decide if you’re ready to take the leap and live on your own? Here are some of the pros and cons of living all by your lonesome. I’m going to start with the bad so this post doesn’t end on a depressing note.

The Bad:
1. You’re going to start talking to yourself. A LOT! Sure we all talk to ourselves from time to time but when you live alone, you will start having full blown conversations with yourself.
2. Your money will disappear a whole lot faster than it did with roommates. Food, Internet, cable, electricity, rent. All these things need to get paid and there is no one there to split these expenses with.
3. You’ll have to get creative when trying to zip yourself in and out of certain clothing. (This does have one positive side effect: it’ll help you stay flexible.) You may be able to find a way into your dress but it’s much easier to be able to turn to someone and say, “Zip me up.”
4. Speaking of clothing, mirrors and cameras cannot replace real life opinions. You may think you look great but a second opinion is always helpful. Sometimes it takes someone else to make you realize that your outfit looks like it was put together by a two-year-old.
5. All the cleaning will be up to you! This actually has its pros and its cons. You won’t be cleaning up another person’s gross messes. But the responsibility of cleaning the bathroom (especially the toilet) will be all yours all the time!

The Good: 
1. You don’t have to share any of your food or drinks. Listen, I share my food. I will give you the last bite of my favorite meal if you asked. It’s just the way I raised, but it doesn’t mean I like it. If you live alone, all the wine is yours. All the cookies are yours. All the pizza is yours. You don’t have to share any of it.
2. You don’t have to worry about hearing other people having sex in the next room. OK, there’s the issue of neighbors. But it’s a lot different having to share a kitchen with someone when you were hearing them get it on the night before.
3. All the cleaning will be up to you! Don’t feel like doing those dishes right away? Don’t have to! Feel like taking off your jacket, bra, and pants as soon as you walk through the door, leave them there, and not pick them up until you need them again? You go right ahead! No one will bitch at you about the mess you’ve made!
4. You can be naked whenever you want. Walking around completely in the buff isn’t nearly as appealing as it would seem. Both How I Met Your Mother and Seinfeld have taught us this. However, if it is your thing, you can do it whenever you want. More importantly, you will never have to wear pants again! EVER! Pants will strictly be for those rare times you have to leave your apartment.
5. You can do whatever you want without ever being judged. (Sure your cat or dog may be judging you, but they can’t talk so it’s all good.) Even if you had the most awesome of roommates, there may have been certain times when you held back a bit for their sake. “It’s 3pm on a Wednesday. Maybe I should refrain from drinking an entire bottle of wine.” “The sun may be shining and it’s a beautiful day out but all I want to do is lay in bed, eat an entire pizza pie, and watch 72 hours of Law & Order.” Live it up! No one will ever think less of you for this.