I will be moving to a new city and university where I do not know anyone. I have decided to live in a one bedroom apartment in a duplex building (all residents are graduate students) about a block away from campus. There are other apartment complexes in the area and the average resident is a graduate student. While I am worried about the first few weeks being a little lonely, I know it will be because it will be a lot of change at once.
While there were many factors as to why I decided to live in an apartment off campus by myself, I know it will be the right decision for me. Your social life is what you make it. That was something that I learned in college. If I spend all of my time alone in my apartment, then I will not have a lot of acquaintances/friends. If I spend most of my time on campus, doing activities I enjoy, inviting my neighbors to hang out and meeting with my classmates for study sessions in the library or coffee, my apartment becomes a little oasis for when I want to be alone.
While living in a community can make things easier, where your social activities are preplanned and everyone is roughly the same age, it does not work for everyone. Also, that is not how the real world works. People will not be there to organize your life outside of work for you. I see living in an apartment on my own as an adventure and a challenge. Think of all the great people I will get to meet just because I took the extra minute to say hello and ask them how there day was going.
***Also, a tip I have learned over the years if you are nervous. People love to talk about themselves. If you aren't sure what to say, ask them where they got those great shoes or why they chose to go into the same program as you.