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[Senclair]

If you fall and can't get up than you're screwed. Jokes aside living alone is different for every person, some may find it boring while other will enjoy it.

[Lunardog15]

I would assume the not knowing what to do with your self would be a thing
https://xkcd.com/905/

[Imic]

Cleaning your clothes.

[Parsely]

How is cleaning your clothes unexpected? Speaking of which, I just spilled coffee on myself at work

[Retropunch]

How is cleaning your clothes unexpected? Speaking of which, I just spilled coffee on myself at work

Definitely not unexpected but I think it's one of those things that you don't realise how much cleaning you'll have to do if you never did it before. I never did it before I moved out as other people in the family were really bothered about delicates etc.

It can be a bit of a chore, especially I believe in the US where those renting/etc mostly go to laundromats instead of having a washer/dryer in their houses(?)

Anyway, I wouldn't worry but something that does help is making sure you have a mix of cloth colours (lights and darks) so you can do full loads on each. Sounds silly, but for about 3 years I only ever had work shirts that were white/light coloured so only ever did really small white washes which was always a waste.

[Parsely]

Yeah luckily I have a washer in my place so it's not a big deal, though noisy since it's right in my closet but I just take the chance to cook or take a walk or something if I want to run the washer. In general I actually am finding I enjoy keeping my home neat, clean, and organized so everything is going very smoothly!

[deoloth]

Make sure you have a copy and read any tenant/neighborhood rules.

I rent a home and was surprised when I discovered that the HOA bans all street parking after 10 pm every night, a trap I have watched four other new arrivals to the neighborhood fall into, and will fine you after one warning on a note placed on the hood of a car in front of the house. Does not matter if you have no idea who the people parking actually are.

Also, unlike what everyone told me (Even the landlord!), the ground between the sidewalk and road was apparently my responsibility (Even the guy I have doing lawncare was surprised the HOA did not cover it, and he rents out houses as well!) so when a storm literally ripped a tree from the ground and sent it four houses down, I had to get a new HOA mandated tree as lawncare was my tenant responsibility.

So yeah, read the rules, and make a note of anything that does not seem obvious to you.

[Retropunch]

Make sure you have a copy and read any tenant/neighborhood rules.

I rent a home and was surprised when I discovered that the HOA bans all street parking after 10 pm every night, a trap I have watched four other new arrivals to the neighborhood fall into, and will fine you after one warning on a note placed on the hood of a car in front of the house. Does not matter if you have no idea who the people parking actually are.

Also, unlike what everyone told me (Even the landlord!), the ground between the sidewalk and road was apparently my responsibility (Even the guy I have doing lawncare was surprised the HOA did not cover it, and he rents out houses as well!) so when a storm literally ripped a tree from the ground and sent it four houses down, I had to get a new HOA mandated tree as lawncare was my tenant responsibility.

So yeah, read the rules, and make a note of anything that does not seem obvious to you.

American housing rules are crazy - I've got a few friends renting in the states and it seems that they can just make random rules that everyone has to stick by. One of them had the wrong colour bbq so got fined. The whole Home Owners Association thing is so, so awful - my condolences.

Anyway, I would *highly* recommend reading all rules/etc regardless of where you are. I'd also suggest taking a picture of all the rooms and sending them over - it might be a bit late now as you've already moved in, but it'll help any disputes on deposits when you move out.

Whilst it'll probably be a long way in the future, something that I always try to do is get my landlord/lady to come round for a quick inspection a week/few days before my leave date/final inspection. Often they'll be happy to do it if you approach them about it in plenty of time and twist their arm a bit - saying that you want to make sure it's up to their standards of cleanliness and so on or try to mix it with a 'can you come and check that x or y is alright'. If they flatly refuse, it looks bad on their part if there are any disputes.

[Shazbot]

Home owner's associations are not "American", they are petty dictatorships of busybodies in suburbia and about the least American concept I can imagine.

If you want to own a house, own it. Don't let a communal pool or some vague nonsense about mutual property values lead you to sign away your rights to do whatever the hell you please.

[Retropunch]

Home owner's associations are not "American", they are petty dictatorships of busybodies in suburbia and about the least American concept I can imagine.

If you want to own a house, own it. Don't let a communal pool or some vague nonsense about mutual property values lead you to sign away your rights to do whatever the hell you please.

From what I understand though, you HAVE to abide by the rules (CCRs) - you can get hefty fines if not and they can take you to court (and always win). It's not always a choice either, one of my friends didn't want to live anywhere with a HOA, but had to because where he worked all of the housing had HOAs. 

[nenjin]

I ducking hate HOAs. They’re petty dictatorships that all revolve around maintaining or increasing people’s property values. Great ir you’re in a leadership position and have money. Complete ass if you’re a new, broke home owner.

The dues are the worst though. Just a way for them to like their pockets most of the time. They’re there to cover incidentals but half the time the HOAs just pass off costs to home owners and treat the dues like their own personal war chest.