What age did you first live alone?

[Lamb]

I've never really lived alone...I went from living with my parents until I got married and moved in with my husband.

At what age did you first live alone? I was wondering what age people will say because a friend of mine asked me if I ever lived on my own.

 

[tango]

Depending on what counts as "living on your own" the answer may vary for me.

I was 18 when I moved into a hall of residence at university so I was kinda-sorta-living on my own but only kinda-sorta. Renting a room in someone's apartment doesn't count as living alone so I guess I'd have to say 26, and I lived alone for the huge time of about three weeks before my then-fiancee (now wife) moved in to the place I found.

 

[psalms 91]

18 went into the service

 

[NewCreation435]

I had an apartment when I was around 20 for the first time with a roommate who split the rent with me. I lived in an apartment by myself when I was around 24, the year I met my wife.

 

[Stravinsk]

When I was around 15 I ran away from home, and lived with friends. Not really alone, and it wasn't long before I was picked up by the police.

My first experience of living alone was at age 18, when my folks could legally kick me out, which they did. I lived with friends for a short while, then completely on my own as a young homeless person for some time.

Fast forward through a whole bunch of crazy stuff I moved to another state, found a job and rented an apartment in my early 20's.

Since my wife passed I've lived alone for well over a decade, save for a pet. Been able to deal with it seeing friends regularly. This covid garbage has eliminated that, because as nice as these friends are, they are both hopeless T.V. addicted worldlings with their minds in the hands of corporate media, and I don't see them ever giving up that addiction.

 

[Josiah]

18 went into the service

... and then lived with other servicemen?


I too was 18 when I moved out of my parent's house (never to return). But I shared my apartment with another student. I did not live ALONE until I was 22. For about 5 years I lived with no one else but by myself in a one bedroom apartment.



.

 

[Forgiven1]

I was 18 or 19 when my parents moved out. Really, they were moving and selling the house. They moved to their new place and I stayed in the house a short while until I got my own apartment soon after. Lived alone until I was 23 and got married.

 

[psalms 91]

... and then lived with other servicemen?


I too was 18 when I moved out of my parent's house (never to return). But I shared my apartment with another student. I did not live ALONE until I was 22. For about 5 years I lived with no one else but by myself in a one bedroom apartment.

Yes with others as that is the service after I got out then took a job away and was on my own

.yes was 22 before totally alone

 

[Empire]

Still waiting for that day, yet not fussed in fact

All in all that living along on the money that you do not get is very hard to living with family

 

[Member4592]

At the age of 18 I moved out and started working at the family dealership.

 

[Faith]

I've never really lived alone...I went from living with my parents until I got married and moved in with my husband.

At what age did you first live alone? I was wondering what age people will say because a friend of mine asked me if I ever lived on my own.

I am the same as you. I lived with my parents, then my boyfriend who is now my husband, I’ve never lived alone.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

My first experience of living alone was at age 18, when my folks could legally kick me out, which they did. I lived with friends for a short while, then completely on my own as a young homeless person for some time.

I don't understand the mentality of parents who kick out their children. Is this mostly an American thing? Because that would seem outrageous in Eastern Europe. On the contrary, around here, most parents want their children to get married and to live with them by either adding more rooms to the house or buying a large apartment.

 

[Albion]

I'm sure that there are differences between the American model and the Eastern European one. In America, it is considered normal for children to be prepared for adulthood by their parents and then expected to live as adults upon reaching somewhere around age 18 or 21, depending to some extent upon whether they can afford living separately and if they are still students in college preparing for some career.

For the children to continue on, in their 20s and 30s, living a life of juvenile amusements or self-indulgence while depending on the parents to still take care of most of their basic needs strikes Americans as irresponsible of the parents since, at some time in the future, the parents will no longer be in a position to continue deflecting all the challenges of regular adult life for their offspring.

At the same time, it is normal for the parents to want frequent contact with their adult children, the grandchildren, and to be part of their lives, perhaps by living separately but nearby each other.

 

[Nazareth]

I've never really lived alone...I went from living with my parents until I got married and moved in with my husband.

At what age did you first live alone? I was wondering what age people will say because a friend of mine asked me if I ever lived on my own.

19.

 

[tango]

I'm sure that there are differences between the American model and the Eastern European one. In America, it is considered normal for children to be prepared for adulthood by their parents and then expected to live as adults upon reaching somewhere around age 18 or 21, depending to some extent upon whether they can afford living separately and if they are still students in college preparing for some career.

For the children to continue on, in their 20s and 30s, living a life of juvenile amusements or self-indulgence while depending on the parents to still take care of most of their basic needs strikes Americans as irresponsible of the parents since, at some time in the future, the parents will no longer be in a position to continue deflecting all the challenges of regular adult life for their offspring.

At the same time, it is normal for the parents to want frequent contact with their adult children, the grandchildren, and to be part of their lives, perhaps by living separately but nearby each other.

There's a world of difference between the 26-year-old living in their parents' basement refusing to get a job because they "can't find anything suitable" while spending their days smoking pot and playing video games without contributing anything to the household, and the 26-year-old living in the same basement while working and making an appropriate contribution to the household.

There are clear advantages to living with parents, even while making an appropriate contribution, and saving for a down payment on a house or simply having the freedom to find your feet in a professional career without having to deal with the issues of struggling to save a deposit while paying rent on your own place. I often find it curious the way people are expected to form independent households and the sheer number of extra bills that come with that - it works very well for banks and utility companies but less well for the individuals. Even assuming a 50-50 split of utilities it's remarkable how much someone might save by only having to pay half of a phone/internet/TV bill. Of course it can work well for the parents as well, given a contributing child helps with their financial situation in the process.

As you say, you'd hope that someone in their 20s was capable of living independently of their parents even if they were still living with their parents for the time being.

 

[Stravinsk]

I don't understand the mentality of parents who kick out their children. Is this mostly an American thing? Because that would seem outrageous in Eastern Europe. On the contrary, around here, most parents want their children to get married and to live with them by either adding more rooms to the house or buying a large apartment.

I don't know if it's an American thing. I haven't met many people that were kicked out when they were 18. But, I was living in America at the time.

As for their mentality, well, it came after years of counseling, drug treatment centers and me being not keen on their plans for me. This was particularly hard because I was their first son and up until my teenage years, I excelled in school, played lots of sports and had what would probably be considered a bright future in their eyes. It wasn't a future I wanted, though. In addition I had a ton of heated arguments with mom. Dad didn't argue with me, I'm sure his view was that his relationship with mom and the rest of the family would just be better if the cause of major strife was gone. And so, on a particular night my friends delivered me home passed out drunk and I woke up on the concrete floor of the garage the next morning, and after heading to the toilet to vomit, the knock came at the door, and he said "pack your things. You are leaving today".

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Did your being kicked out help you give up the use of drugs and alcohol?

 

[Stravinsk]

Did your being kicked out helped you give up the use of drugs and alcohol?

The occasional alcohol binge, routine pot smoking and once in a while acid trip stuff I did in High School was nothing compared to what I did after leaving home. I had not yet ventured into cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, which came later. Serving some time in jail, losing jobs/residences due to drug abuse and having some frightening/horrible experience is what led me to quit the hardest of the drugs several years later. Of all the substances mentioned, pot was the least harmful and the easiest to quit (I actually quit it long before the others) but ironically one of the things my folks were most concerned about. Credit the 80's American drug propaganda, I suppose. Today I don't put cannabis in the same category of the others. It's not only the least harmful, it is actually beneficial to the human body especially when it is taken as a food.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

I'm glad that you were able to improve your life, and I'm sorry that your parents didn't help you as much as they should have. I can't imagine me pushing anyone towards homelessness while they're struggling with drug addiction, much less my own son.

 

[Stravinsk]

I'm glad that you were able to improve your life, and I'm sorry that your parents didn't help you as much as they should have. I can't imagine me pushing anyone towards homelessness while they're struggling with drug addiction, much less my own son.

My folks helped me later. When I decided to quit the major damaging drugs, I was living with them again. They were decent people. Sure my mom had more of a say in that though. Dad was always distant, always got the feeling from him that kids were part of the package of getting married, not something he really wanted. Prodigal son was greeted by mom, and dad to please mom.