By Nkem Ndem
Lagos City is highly populated and as such, its inhabitants opt for all sorts of living arrangements from estate settlements to shared flats and hostels. While these accommodation options have their own unique perks, a majority (especially those who are single) tend to prefer arrangements where they get to live alone.
Sure, living alone sounds fab as in Lagos it seems like a privileged opportunity, however, in my short period of living alone, I have noticed several things that provide the summation that living alone in this city may not necessarily be all that it is hyped to be. I have also gone further to point out some of the worst things about living alone in Lagos for the benefit of our readers here at Jumia Travel.
You spend more
Sure, roommates or flatmates can be messy and you really do not want to spend so much time fighting with them or cleaning after them, but then, they come in really handy when it comes to splitting bills and rent. One-bedroom apartments, studio apartments and mini-flats are ridiculously expensive as they start from as much as N400,000 and even get up to N 2,000,000, depending on their location within the city. When you live alone, you have to cater to the rent as well as myriad expenses including electricity, internet and cable -not to mention furniture, toiletries and other shared items by yourself. With a roommate, however, everything becomes affordable as you can split it all.
You get REALLY lonely
While living alone, you cannot expect to have all the space and ‘alone time’ that comes with it without having to suffer bouts of loneliness a times. Basically, you only have your own company and there is no one else to share random thoughts with or laugh with. On the days you suffer a tough day at work; you can’t really share the excruciatingly painful details and laugh with anyone. Yes, you could pick up the phone to talk to someone, but let’s be honest, that’s just not the same. Even worse, sleeping may be difficult as you are always on high alert especially when there are unknown sounds that happen in the middle of the night
It is difficult to manage food
Even if you have a large freezer, you find that you waste more food. There is no one to share large take-outs with or give leftovers to and sometimes, you get tired of eating the same stew for weeks and just have to throw it out. You find that you have to forgo buying all sorts of things when grocery-shopping, especially fresh vegetables as having them stay fresh and consumed within the appropriate period of time before they go to waste is the biggest challenge. You also have to struggle with mastering portion control and learning to stick to cooking ratios for one…not fun!
It is harder to deal with emergencies
Life is unpredictable and sometimes, things do not happen the way you plan them. Even worse, you may find yourself in horrible situations where you realize your survival may depend on the help or even just presence of another being. Imagine a situation where you have an allergy attack or a heart attack in the middle of the night and you are alone with no one to assist you; you may not make it to the next morning. With a roommate or flatmate, however, you have someone readily available to raise alarm when needed and a caregiver for times when you are just too sick to cater for yourself.
Nkem Ndem is a PR Associate at Jumia Travel.
