ゆっけの徒然日記

Living with others

I was talking with a young person the other day, and he said he wanted to live alone. In Canada, many young Japanese people live in shared housing. If you live in a somewhat urban area, renting a single room for yourself can cost over $2,000 CAD per month, so for working holiday visa holders or international students, living alone can be financially unrealistic. That is why most people have no choice but to live in shared houses.

I lived alone in Kyoto during my university years, but ever since graduating, I have always lived with other people. The first time I lived in a share house was when I took a break from university and went to Australia on a working holiday. Since I had never lived with others before, I had no idea how things worked. There were people who left their dirty dishes in the sink, and others who used my shampoo without asking—it was quite an eye-opening experience. But thanks to the flexibility of youth, I remember it as a fun time, though my memories might be sugar-coated.

After returning to Japan from my working holiday, I looked for a share house in Tokyo. It was cheaper than living alone, I had no issues sharing a space with others, and most importantly, it was fun. At that point, the idea of living alone completely disappeared from my mind.

Speaking of living alone, my experience during university was a disaster. I did not pay my electricity bills, I did not pay my gas bills, and as a result, my utilities were frequently cut off. Since my apartment relied on gas for hot water, I had no choice but to take cold showers in the summer to survive.

Because I lived near the university, my friends often asked to stay over. But when I mentioned my shower only had cold water, most of them backed off—which turned out to be a convenient excuse to decline their requests.

I could have set up automatic bill payments, but even that felt like a hassle. Going to the convenience store to pay the bills was also a hassle. That was probably the peak of my laziness. Because I was so lazy, I never cooked for myself, and my room was always a mess. When I needed to clean, I would invite my friends over and have them help me.

After living like that, I realized that living with other people suited me better than living alone. If I forgot to pay the electricity or gas bill, someone would remind me, “Go pay it!” If my room was messy, someone would scold me, “Clean up!” Having people around to nag me was actually a huge help.

I think people who dislike share houses tend to be those who are independent enough to manage their own lives without external reminders. On the other hand, people who do well in share houses are probably the ones who grew up with a mom who told them, “Hurry up and take a shower!”—and did not really mind it.