Experience
First hand stories from people dealing with different aspects of living alone and solo living.
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“It’s impossible to overstate how important my pets have been to me” by Caroline Abbott
At least one stranger on every walk will stop to admire Harvey or Alba or both, and enquire about their breed. It isn’t immediately obvious – Harvey is a Havanese and Maltese cross, while Alba is a Kokoni mix. During the week, we usually walk in our local area. We often see people we’ve seen before, and some I now…
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Why I Draw People Who Live Alone, by Jessica Billey
I draw people who live alone. For the past six years, I've been drawing portraits, gathering stories, and exploring this increasingly common way of living. It's an incredibly rewarding and inspiring project.
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Learning to Live Alone In My 30s: How I Travel Is In My Hands (Most Of The Time)
When you live solo in your mid to late thirties, the experience is significantly different to your twenties. Twenties are a period of trial and error. In and out of relationships, perhaps, a time of flatmates and house parties, and the fact that you now have a paycheck (however questionably low it maybe) that you can do as you like…
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Starting Again At 62: A Solo Rollercoaster Ride!
Until just over a year ago, up to the age of 62, I had never lived alone. From leaving home at 16 to sharing a flat with a friend. To marrying at 19. Having a child, divorcing, marrying again, three more children. Ending up a single parent again...until I married for the final time! I’d spent my whole adult life…
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Why I headed for the Highlands just after Covid restrictions were lifted
I realised my entire system was overloaded. I’ve always had a busy social diary – before Covid I was out more than I was at home. But Covid forced a lifestyle shift. A change of pace, a slowing down. An appreciation of the smaller, gentler moments.
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Looking Back: A Year Living Alone During A Global Pandemic
I remember the start of the UK lockdown vividly. I was in California visiting friends when the US shut its borders. I rushed home on a nearly empty flight, wearing a respirator mask from my friend’s earthquake preparedness kit the whole way. We’re only just starting to understand the full impact of a year under Covid. But one year on,…
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Walking on eggshells? How to negotiate a family Christmas in 2020
Families across the globe are facing heart-wrenching decisions this Christmas. It can be so easy to get caught up in family politics anyway at this time of year. With Covid in the mix, it’s pretty clear that Christmas 2020 is ripe for disappointment, resentment, upset and a host of mismatched expectations.
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The 7 Greatest Freedoms of Living Alone
What’s the best thing about living alone? When asked, people who live alone overwhelming say that ‘freedom’ is the most positive aspect of a solo life.
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5 Steps to a Surprisingly Happy Solo Birthday
Let’s face it, there are very few of us who enjoy the idea of spending our birthdays completely alone. With a little preparation and the right mindset, solo birthdays can be a wholly different, yet still enjoyable experience. The trick is to make it work for you, and to embrace everything it has to offer.
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Where the light enters: living alone after divorce
It was the first time I had been on my own in eleven years. Loneliness was the first thing that entered my heart and my mind, along with rejection and a strong sense that I’d failed. It didn’t make a difference that the ending had, in the end, been mutual. Over time, my experience shifted from one of loneliness, to…
