Boston does this to people in the Spring. If you’d come six months ago, you wouldn’t be romanticizing anything.

As for advice, I want to tell you, “Of course you can move out. If you haven’t tried living with roommates in a city, take a year and do it.” 

Easy for me to say, though.

The reality is, moving out of a home you share with a partner could be painful, confusing, and expensive. It’s also difficult to force/schedule memorable life experiences. If you move to a city expecting a TV-show setup with cool roommates and fantastic things to do, you might be disappointed by what happens on a regular Tuesday.

An alternative to picking up and moving out? A week-long vacation in a city with good friends. That’s my vote. Stay somewhere beautiful. Have a glass of something on a patio. It’s not the full “I’m a woman living in the city with my friends” experience, but it’s independence – and something new.

Part of your question seems to be about domestic life in general. If that’s too much for you right now, see the world – and get less domestic.

– Meredith

Readers? Does anything take the place of living in a city with friends? Is that experience like it seems on TV? Is there a way to move out, take a year or so, and move back in?

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