Roommate or no roommate?

This is one of the first questions you have to answer when looking into where you're going to move next. I'm moving next week to my first-ever one-bedroom apartment. That's not to say there haven't been times when I've enjoyed having a roommate, but over the course of the past six to nine months, I've developed a strong desire to live on my own. These are my reasons and every person is different on their preferences, but here are my top five for not having a roommate:

5. I like when everything in my apartment is mine: If I walk in after a long day at work and I want to watch Heroes or Top Chef or whatever it is I had in mind, I don't like asking to change the channel on my own TV. I like that if I spill coffee on something and ruin it, it's mine to replace as I see fit. Oh, and that hair on the bathroom floor? That's mine, too. I'm not as grossed out by cleaning it up.

4.  No differences in how we want the place to look: My landlord will let you bring in your own paint and they paint your apartment for you however you want. It's nice not to have to ask if someone's ok with a green living room or a yellow bathroom. I also tend not to have a lot of photographs or knicknacks hanging around: a limited number of posters or pieces of art hanging on the wall, preferably themed and with a frame, are more my style. This also includes general cleanliness: I go through neat and messy streaks, but at least I will know how my place will look when I get home: no surprises.

3. I found a place where the cost wasn't insurmountably different: Paying 100% of the utility bills instead of 50% is still going to be a shocker, but the base rent+parking total on the new place is only 14% more than on my last place, and my base salary has increased more than 14% in the interim.

2. I'm exhausted with the adjustment period: It's been almost seven years that I've had a roommate, and I've had five different roommates in that time. Each one is an adjustment to each other, and one that you know is temporary because you won't live with that person more than a year or two. Everyone has a different preferred noise level, preferred amount of alone time, cleaning schedule, room temperature (and desire to pay for heating and air conditioning). By the time you get used to each other, if you ever do, it's almost time to move out. If I had found someone who had many of these same preferences, maybe I'd stick with them... who knows? 

1. My erratic schedule will no longer be someone else's problem: I went from having a typical 8:30 to 5 kind of job to the kind where I could be working or not working at any given time. I'm looking forward to setting up  an office area in the living room so I don't have to constantly be in my bedroom. I'm also want to be able to come home at 2:30 a.m. whenever I feel like it and not have to worry about waking up somebody else, or  worry about going to bed late and waking up early to the sound of someone else taking a shower or talking on h te phone. I'm looking forward to having my family or friends from the suburbs come over  and be  able stay in the living room without having to check it out with someone first.

So, I've decided living by myself is the way to go for me. I was talking to a guy in the elevator of my building last week who is moving in with four roommates, I think he had just one before- If that's working for him, wow, more power to you, 80% discount on you electricity bills. But I haven't found the people whose needs match my own, and after seven years, it's time to go another route.