There’s this idea that living alone in university is the end goal.
That once you get your own space, your own routine, your own quiet — you’ve made it.
But if you’ve ever lived in student accommodations, especially in a shared apartment space like Palay or University Apartments, you know that’s not really the full picture.
Because the truth is: having roommates in university isn’t just cheaper or more convenient — it fundamentally changes how connected, grounded, and supported you feel during one of the biggest transitions of your life.
And yes — choosing to live alone might feel like freedom, but it also comes with something no one warns you about: missing out.
Comfort
Change is inevitable. And uncomfortable. And honestly? Kind of brutal.
Starting university — especially if it means moving cities, provinces, or countries — is one of the biggest shifts most 18-year-olds will ever experience. One day you’re coming home to the same people you’ve known your entire life. The next day, you’re starting from zero.
University does a decent job preparing you for the “real world.”
It does a terrible job preparing you for being alone in it.
This is where roommates — and student housing communities — matter more than we realize. Living with others creates a buffer during that high-shock transition period between high school and university. You’re not coming home to familiar faces, but you are coming home to people who are just as new, unsure, and overwhelmed as you are.
Think of it as a built-in “have you met Ted?” moment — but for adulthood.
There’s a reason so many student housing communities are designed around shared spaces. According to reflections from students living in purpose-built housing, roommates often become the first real sense of stability when everything else feels unfamiliar. You’re adjusting together. Failing together. Figuring it out in real time — together.
That shared discomfort? That’s comfort.
Social Life & Connection
We already know change is hard. What we talk about less is how isolating it can be.
A majority of university students report feeling lonely at some point during their studies. New coursework, new expectations, new routines — and somehow you’re also supposed to magically build a social life from scratch.
This is where roommates do more than just exist in the same space as you.
When you live in student housing — especially in communities intentionally built for connection — you’re almost never actually alone. There’s someone to complain to about your three-hour lab. Someone who understands why you’re stressed during midterms. Someone to sit with in silence when the day was just… a lot.
And yes, sometimes that looks like going out — splitting Ubers, getting ready together, pre-drinks in the kitchen. But sometimes it’s smaller than that. Your roommate popping into the living room and asking if anyone wants to go get a sweet treat.
Those moments don’t feel monumental when they’re happening. They feel normal.
But that’s the magic of shared living in student housing communities like Palay: connection becomes part of your routine, not something you have to chase.
And when you have that, loneliness doesn’t stand a chance.
Routine & Accountability
Skipping class is inevitable. We’ve all done it.
For the first time, no one is calling you out of bed. No one is checking attendance. No one cares if you show up — and that freedom is intoxicating… until it’s not.
Living alone makes it very easy to disappear into your own bubble. There’s no external nudge. No subtle guilt. No “are you coming?” energy.
But roommates change that dynamic. When you live with people — especially those in similar programs or routines — accountability becomes passive. You don’t need someone lecturing you. You just need someone putting on their coat at the same time you’re thinking about staying in bed.
Research and lived experience both point to this: supportive roommates naturally encourage better habits. You walk to class together. You study together. You procrastinate together — but you also recover together.
In student housing, routines form without effort. Shared schedules, shared study spots, shared motivation. Even when you’re distracting each other, you’re still moving through university with people instead of in isolation.
And that makes a difference.
Final Thoughts
Let’s be honest.
Do roommates mean less privacy? Absolutely.
Do they force you to adapt to other lifestyles? Yep.
Do they slow down that hyper-independent “I live alone now” fantasy? For sure.
But… what’s the rush?
University has a funny way of making you feel behind — like you should already have everything figured out. Meanwhile, you’re 18, 19, maybe 20 — with so much time ahead of you.
@yippiecaillet2 IM NOT RUNNING OIT OF TIME I NEED TO REMEMBER THAT #notrunningoutoftime #22 #london
The one thing you don’t have unlimited time for?
Those few years in student housing.
Shared kitchens. Late nights. Inside jokes. Group chats. Walking to class together. Coming home to noise instead of silence.
Living alone will come. Independence will come. Quiet will come.
But the version of life where you’re surrounded by people — where connection is built into your day — that’s fleeting.
So have a roommate.
Share your space.
Create the memories.
Because when you finally get everything you thought you wanted — your own place, your own routine, your own quiet — it’ll feel even better knowing you didn’t skip this part.
And if after all of that… you still think living alone is better?
That’s wild.
See you next week,
Liv Lee
