According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 34 million American adults live by themselves. And many of them have found that there are lots of benefits of living alone.
When you live alone, you can decorate your house or apartment in whatever way you might want. You can also control everything from the temperature to the noise levels in your home without having to worry about anyone else’s opinions.
There are, however, some downsides to living alone. For instance, living by yourself doesn’t always leave you feeling as safe as you should.
Fortunately, there are living alone tips that you can put to good use to stay safe and happy when you live on your own. You should keep them in mind the next time you find yourself living all alone.
Check out seven safety tips for living alone below.
1. Choose to Live in a Safe Location
If you know that you’re going to be living by yourself, it’s very important for you to choose to live in a place that is known for being safe. You shouldn’t move into any neighborhoods that have crime rates that are on the higher side.
This is one of the more obvious living alone tips, but it’s a tip that’s going to automatically provide you with some protection in your new home or apartment. It’s also one of the top tips for living alone as a female.
2. Change the Locks on Your Doors After Moving Into a New Place
Regardless of where a home or apartment is located when you move into it, you shouldn’t be shy about changing the locks on your exterior doors. The last thing that you want is for someone out there to be running around with keys that would, in theory, work in the locks on your doors.
You should also strongly consider installing deadbolts on any exterior doors. They’ll set your home up with even more protection than it would have otherwise.
3. Make Sure You Introduce Yourself to Your Neighbors
Just because you’re going to be living alone doesn’t mean that you can’t still surround yourself with people who will look out for you. You should be friendly with your neighbors if you can.
You shouldn’t necessarily tell them that you’re going to be living alone. But you should make sure that they know that you exist. They’ll be more likely to look out for you and to notify someone if something seems awry in your house or apartment.
4. Cover Up Your Windows to Prevent People From Seeing In
When you’re living alone, you want to try to avoid drawing any attention to that fact. With this in mind, you should aim to cover up your windows with window treatments so that people aren’t able to look into your home or apartment and see that you’re by yourself.
This will also serve to help hide any valuable items that you might have in your home that would be visible to the outside world otherwise. People won’t try to break into your house to steal your big-screen TV or your expensive laptop if they don’t know that they’re in there.
5. Consider Investing in a Home Security System
It used to be very costly to have a security system set up inside of a home or apartment. It’s why a lot of people chose not to do it.
But these days, home security systems have become more affordable than ever. You can typically have one put into place in your home for just a few hundred dollars, if that.
It’s why doing it has turned into one of the best tips for living alone for the first time. You should look into the possibility of having a security system installed so that you can sleep better at night.
6. Arm Yourself With Tools Designed to Keep You Safe
If someone were to break into your home or apartment, would you be able to protect yourself? If not, that’s going to be something that you always worry about while living alone.
You should try to get your hands on some tools that are designed to keep you safe at all times. A gun, a knife, or even a baseball bat would be a start. But you should also think about buying something like tactical gear for protection.
Ideally, you aren’t ever going to have to use any of these things. But simply having them around your house or apartment will work wonders for your peace of mind.
7. Touch Base With Family and Friends on a Regular Basis
If something were to happen to you one day while living alone, how long do you think that it would take someone to notice?
If you don’t talk to your neighbors at all, they might not know that something is amiss. If you don’t talk to your family and friends much, they also might not suspect that anything is wrong when they don’t hear from you for a while.
For this reason, you should do your best to stay in touch with your family and friends as best you can. You should try to make it a point to speak with someone special in your life at least once or twice each week. It’ll raise a red flag for them if they suddenly don’t hear from you for a week or two.
Use These Living Alone Tips to Stay Safe and Happy From Now On
Living alone can be very empowering. But it could also potentially be dangerous if you’re not careful about what you do while living by yourself.
You should utilize each of these living alone tips from now on so that you’re able to live a safer and happier life. These tips will ensure that you don’t have to be concerned about running into any major issues while living without a roommate of any kind.
Would you like to secure more tips on making your home safer than it is now? Read the other articles found on our blog to get helpful advice.
