Freedom and independence are wonderful gifts from the single life. But being single carries its downsides too, some real, some about what other people think. A sampling:
2. Logistics to balance: You may need to take time off work to deal with plumbers, the gas man, sometimes even shopping.
3. The buck stops: With you. Whether you’re in an emergency or simply grappling with a decision, you’re alone. You can call, but single women can find it hard to cope with cops.
4. Overtime abuse: Bosses are more likely to keep you late at work if they think you haven’t a partner (or worse still, children) to go back to.
5. You’re up for ‘it’: Why do so many people think ‘single’ means ‘available’? Especially if you’re a woman, you’ll face passes and appalling jokes.
6. Homohypothesis: Insist on staying single and people will speculate wildly. It does not matter whether you’re actually gay, lesbian, heterosexual or anything else.
7. Listen-a-thon: You cannot escape lectures from every well-meaning person who’s sure that "settling down" into matrimony is the missing keystone of your life.
8. Dial-a-caretaker: "You’ve nothing else to do, no?" A silly assumption that lets others kill your leisure with requests to look after old people or children.
9. I, Me, Mine: You don’t want to share your life with a partner, you don’t want children to bequeath. Too many people consider that proof of your innate selfishness, alas.
10. Alone and lonely: Many singles are quite happy on their own. But loneliness can strike anyone. So is it better to be lonely and single or miserable in marriage? Tough call.