Full marks to E Ince (Letter of the Month, September issue) for extolling the virtues of living on your own. After 10 years of marriage I can thoroughly recommend it.
Four years ago I downsized from a 3-bed semi to a 1-bed maisonette. The equity in the house paid off the mortgage, now I’m surrounded by bricks and mortar that are all paid for.
Nothing moves unless I move it. What I put in the fridge is still there when I come home. I eat what I want, when I want, and come and go when I please. There’s nobody there annoying you all the time. No more having to eat greasy food and sickly sauces.
No more having to consider somebody else’s likes and dislikes. No more having to settle for less than a good night’s sleep. I can watch the TV programmes that I want and not what somebody else wants to watch. I decorate when I want and not when somebody else wants me to.
No more having to put up with reading in bed and having the bedroom window open at night. No more having to look at a £20 bunch of flowers sit in a vase by the window and wither and die.
I have two brilliant children who live the other side of town with their mother. We are in daily contact. They come round for a night or a weekend then all is sanity again.
Selfish – arguably, happier – definitely.
I’m into my 60’s now, still do a full week’s work and go to the gym 5 times a week.
Lonely and isolated? That’s a lifestyle choice that you make yourself. Get out more and get involved.
R L Atkins
