Renting Solo in Singapore—My Reflection 🏠

Should you move out and rent an apartment in Singapore? The answer will always be YES. Despite the insane cost, you’ll learn invaluable lessons—I promise.

I’ve moved out both as a couple (2020-2021) and solo (2021-2022) for a 2 years now.  Here is my reflection: on how much my lifestyle has changed and how I’m never going to be that version of myself from 2020 again. You can say i’m being dramatic, but I feel like I’ve created a new life for myself.

📌 Lesson 1: Prioritising Yourself—Learning to Value Me
Having my own space gave me the chance to hear my own voice loud and clear. What do I want to do? What do I want to eat? In my own space, I am the only one I need to consider. This made a huge difference to me now because I’m always someone that considers everyone around me first. If I want to make a mess, I’ll allow myself to. If I want to rest, I’ll allow myself to. This helps me put myself first and value my worth.

📌 Lesson 2: Taking Care of a Home is Taking Care of Yourself
I’ve learnt a lot about myself through the mundane tasks of doing laundry, making the bed, cleaning and chasing bugs out, etc. The list of chores were never-ending, but I never complained—they kind of made me feel alive. It wasn’t just about the chores but the accountability and responsibility the chores bring when it’s your own apartment, a space you need to care for, FOR YOURSELF. It sometimes feels like the when I take care of the space, I’m taking care of an extension of myself.

📌 Lesson 3: Allowing Myself to Simply Be Me—My Version of Freedom
In my own space, I allowed myself to draw on the mirrors, paste stickers and post-its everywhere; I allowed my inner child to run wild and free. I bought flowers weekly and I decorated how I liked without anyone coming in to make comments or moving things again. I danced freely, wore whatever I want and I did whatever I wanted. This apartment not only gave me a shelter but taught me a lesson on freedom in ways I could never convey.

If you’ve been considering and thinking about the cost of living alone/renting, I’m not here to convince you that it’s affordable. Just here to say: the lessons were invaluable.

I’m so thankful I found this space so quickly and moving in and out was smooth. It was beautiful and magical✨. If you can afford it, for the love of yourself, I highly recommend it.

If you want to hear more about my rental experience, I have 2 youtube vlogs on it:

🔗 I MOVED OUT✨—Moving into a Shophouse in Singapore

🔗 How much is rent?—Shophouse Q&A🏠✨

With love,
Chara

This was originally posted on Lemon8.