This month is Women’s History Month! From Susan B. Anthony to RBG, women have always been looking out for one another. A sad fact still remains however and it’s that men living alone are usually less of a target than women living alone.
While the world is slowly changing, there are still dangers for many women and single moms who want to live alone. Just like all the great women before us, we’ve got your back and are here to help. While living by yourself is one of the most fun and rewarding times in a person’s life, it can also, unfortunately, be dangerous.
If you’re a single woman living alone, you still need to take your own safety into consideration. Living with other people will always provide an extra degree of security, as more people in a house makes it less enticing to burglars. Having someone unwanted in your home is a violating feeling no one should have to experience.
Whether it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned pro, if you’re a single female living alone in an apartment, these tips will always come in handy to protect yourself and your apartment.
Safety tips for a single female living alone in an apartment
An apartment is a prime space for living alone. It’s a space that is all your own, with no parents or roommates and allows you so much more freedom. You can choose from a variety of layouts to suit your needs. And, as apartments are usually located in dense, urban areas, you live close to all the fun activities and perks that your new city has to offer, like dining or nightclubs.
But apartments also present some security risks if you’re living alone. For example, as apartment complexes are communal places, it’s easy for strangers to know your comings and goings without your knowledge. Since lots of people need access to the building, apartments don’t always have the best security features to prevent non-residents from getting in. These home safety tips for living alone as a female will help keep you and your apartment secure.
1. Look at apartments in safe neighborhoods
One of the easiest ways to keep yourself safe while living alone? Live in a safe, secure neighborhood with low crime. Researching the crime and safety rating of an area is easy on Google, allowing you to pick and choose neighborhoods where you’ll feel secure.
2. Check your apartment’s security before signing the lease
Appraising a potential apartment and building for security flaws is another way to avoid problems before they even happen. Does the building have a doorman to prevent non-residents from entering without permission? Is it a controlled-access apartment with multi-step authentication for residents? Do all the doors and windows securely latch? Consider all the ways someone unwanted could gain access to the building and the apartment. If there are too many weak spots that makes you an easy target then it’s not the right place for you.
3. Communicate with your landlord or property manager
Even after you’ve moved in, stay in communication with your landlord about any security risks. Did you see someone suspicious wandering the complex at night? Are the lights out in a certain part of the building? Is your door lock wobbly? Bring these to your landlord’s attention so they can protect your safety and that of the overall complex.
4. Invest in a security system
If you want to take your apartment security into your own hands, install a home security system. These days, many home security systems are easily installed on your own. Options like SimpliSafe, Ring or Google Nest will allow you to place wireless locks on all your doors and windows and access the entire system from your phone.
This allows you to monitor the exterior of your front door or other exterior parts of your apartment like the back windows. In an apartment complex where other residents’ guests can come and go or delivery people can bring parcels right to the apartment, it’s an especially good idea.
If you notice suspicious characters appearing on numerous occasions or see someone stalking or monitoring your door, you have video evidence. It can also prevent package theft. Women in particular vouch for using video surveillance as a key security feature to feel more safe and more comfortable.
5. Always lock your doors and windows
This may seem like a no-brainer, but with our busy lives, sometimes, little details like this get missed. Keeping your doors locked is a simple way to keep yourself and your apartment safe. Whether you’re home or not, always ensure to lock doors, windows and anything else that needs to be properly secured.
6. Buy strong locks
Adding extra locks to your doors or windows never hurts. You can go for extra deadbolts or keypad door knobs that require a code in addition to your key for that extra bit of security. (Just be sure to ask for your landlord’s permission first.) These handy portable locks that you insert between the door and the lock also come highly recommended for single women living alone.
7. Make friends with your neighbors
As a woman living alone, it can be hard to reach out to your new neighbors. However, befriending your neighbors and being an active member of the apartment complex is about more than having a social life. . Getting along with your neighbors means that you have someone to watch after your place while you’re away on trips. If someone suspicious is hanging out around your apartment, your neighbor can alert you.
Then, you can do the same for them, too. Of course, be careful of what personal information you give out until you know your neighbors well enough.
8. Always check the peephole
Even if you’re expecting someone, always check the peephole before unlocking and opening the door. You literally have no idea who could be standing outside trying to gain access to your apartment until you have visual confirmation. Don’t have a peephole in your front door? Ask your landlord to install one.
9. Have emergency plans for different scenarios
Being safe while living alone isn’t just about preventing break-ins or intruders. It’s also about keeping yourself safe in case of natural disasters or emergencies like fires. Know where all the emergency exits are on your floor and how to use them.
Create plans on how to get out of your apartment in case of emergency and have emergency kits prepared with essentials like documents, an extra change of clothes, a spare phone, water and non-perishable foods. Having this prepared could save you in this scenario.
10. Have friends over when repair people are around
While we all know to never let strangers into our apartments, the exception is generally when a technician or maintenance person needs to come in to check or fix something. Even if the worker is coming from a company, you still don’t want to be alone in your apartment with a stranger.
In the event that someone needs access to your apartment to fix the toilet or install something, ask some friends or a neighbor to come over at the same time. That way, you have someone trusted in the apartment, as well, and the repair person won’t know you live alone.
11. Keep loved ones updated when you’re home and safe
One of the best tips for living alone as a female is to keep friends and family updated on your whereabouts. If there’s no one at home waiting for you, let your network know that you’re home safe from a night out or a trip. That way, if someone followed you or you feel unsafe, you can quickly let someone you trust know.
12. Don’t advertise your single status to the outside world
You can take all the security measures in the world, but it won’t matter if intruders are easily able to identify that you live alone. It makes you a target. This could be from anything like seeing a single name on a mailbox to leaving your curtains open.
So, try not to make your apartment appear unoccupied to the outside world, even when you’re home. Keep lights on and music going when you go out. Close the blinds or curtains so people can’t watch to see how many people live there. If you’re going on vacation, ask friends or neighbors to check in on your place. You can even leave items like men’s boots laying around.
We’re not saying you have to go all “the party scene in Home Alone where Kevin uses moving cardboard cutouts to make it look like people are home.” But making your apartment or house look busy and continually occupied reduces the risk of you being targeted as a single woman.
13. Be careful what you share online
Keeping your single status private doesn’t just apply to the real world but the digital world, too. Be extremely mindful of posting on social networks that you live alone or when you leave home. You never know who could be monitoring your posts. This also applies to posting updates about going on vacation. It advertises to the world that your home is empty.
14. Have a weapon accessible
In a perfect world, the onus would not be on single women to always have to carry weapons to keep themselves safe. But the world we live in sometimes demands it, especially if you live in a not-so-safe area. So, it doesn’t hurt to keep a weapon like a baseball bat or pepper spray on hand.
15. Take a self-defense class
If you have some free time you could also consider taking self-defense classes such as martial arts. You don’t need a black belt to be able to defend yourself either just taking classes can make you more aware of your surroundings.
Having some knowledge of how to protect yourself will make you feel empowered. You can even take an online course or watch a Youtube video on safety tips for single women.
16. Get a dog
Getting a dog is easily the most adorable option for keeping your apartment safe. Anyone monitoring you and your apartment will know you have an animal that could attack if provoked. Plus, a barking dog that makes noise is a great deterrent to intruders.
The hard science about whether or not dogs actually help stop break-ins does vary. But experts agree the breed or type of dog is a factor. Larger dogs are more physically intimidating. But small dogs that bark a lot can give a burglar pause. Also, keep in mind that some dog breeds aren’t welcome in certain apartments.
17. Be sparing with spare keys
That old “keep the spare key under the doormat or flower pot” trick? Yeah, you and every burglar on Earth know it. If you can’t find a truly safe, unexpected place to hide a spare key outside your apartment, best to leave it with a neighbor or a family member. Also, be smart about who you trust to have a spare key to your home.
18. Have your keys ready when entering or leaving
An easy tip to stay safe is to always have your keys ready. Rummaging for your keys in your purse when leaving or entering your apartment gives someone the opportunity to ambush you when you’re unprepared.
Using these tips for living alone as a female will help keep you safe
Living alone as a single woman is a great time for growth and self-development. With these safety tips, common sense and having your wits about you, you’ll stay safe and enjoy the freedom and fun of living alone.
Looking for your own place? Start here.
