A step backwards or an adventure?

Being nearly 28, having left my student days behind a long time ago, it feels nothing short of weird having just signed up to live with four strangers in a shared house.

But what choice do I have?

Since the Ex has decided that he would rather chance it with a girl who lives across the atlantic than risk a future with me, it has meant that we have had to give up our Lovely Flat. I have looked to see whether I could afford said Flat on my own, and would barely be able to eat let alone dare to have a night out once in a while (which I have a feeling I am going to need a LOT of) and so I am moving. I have six weeks left in the Flat and have decided to treat it like staying in a luxury hotel, and no longer like my home. We were only renting it anyway, and would have had to move in a year's time, so it's just happening a year early. Except that we're not reminiscing over the good times and packing up our collective possessions with smiles and memories; I am left in a half-empty home with all of the end of tenancy crap to sort out alone. At least his dirty socks aren't all over the floor, and at least I can take up as much space as I like with my numerous toiletries.

After spending two frantic weeks convincing myself that I would never find anywhere to live in six weeks, seeing as Christmas is coming and all the good rooms would be taken already, I have managed to find a nice couple who own this five-bedroomed house, with a big double room for a monthly rental that will enable me to have lots of nights out without too much guilt. The other four rooms are currently inhabited by boys. And the prospect of living with four boys is a much more attractive one than living with girls. I do like some girls, and know some wonderful ones, however living with girls in my experience has been the stuff of nightmares. 'Who used my shampoo;' 'Who drank my grape juice;' etc and all of the 'talking' about nonsense that needs to happen or inevitably, you become the object of not-so-secret bitching. I am no good at dealing with girls, but I am good at dealing with boys. If a boy pisses you off, you tell him he's been a dickhead, then one of you engages in toilet humour and you move on.

So I have six weeks of lonely luxury, before nine months of sociable squalor. Feels...odd.