Are you happy doing things on your own?

I go to the cinema on my own but don't enjoy eating out alone. I like the shared experience.

I am happy to do things on my own. I often have a coffee out or a meal. I have had short breaks on my own but not a holiday so far.

It doesn’t bother me doing things on my own, DH is unenthusiastic about doing much so I’m blowed if I’m going to miss out!
I am looking at doing a coach holiday this year, he’s staying home and looking after the DDog ?

I am not there yet!
My DH died nearly 18 months ago is it really and I realise now we did a lot together which I have no desire to do alone.
Cinema, theatre, concerts, meals in restaurants, cycle rides, visits to places, holidays.
That's it really.
When will I learn to enjoy my own company?
I have a few friends who are either in couples or who are used to doing things alone.
I have joined U3A and other groups so I am not lonely but there is definitely a barrier which your friends are thinking of Shinamae although you can't see it and maybe never have.

I was in a little cafe in the Peak District enjoying a coffee and cake on my own.
When I went to pay the lady at the counter said she wished she had my courage to eat out alone.
I think it's people's attitudes to those on their own that needs to change. They always assume you are lonely and as for myself I am not.

I prefer doing things alone. Doing things with others is usually a compromise, finding something equally liked that fits time wise with others means someone is not entirely happy.

I am like you shinamae been on my own about 25 years had a few offers since but unfortunately I ve not wanted to take them up
I have no problem going to the cinema or theatre, walks, swims even a holiday on my own no problem at all but like grandmabatty I don’t enjoy eating out alone I find the whole joy of eating out is the company, the chat, the banter, the experience otherwise I may as well be at home
I have eaten out if I ve been out somewhere and needed to but it’s not something I d do as a pleasure, only a necessity

Gramaretto doing things alone only comes with practice like everything the first few times may seem strange or alien to you but you do get used to it and then you don’t bother It’s better than sitting at home alone

One thing I have to do alone is shop I loathe shopping with someone I m either rushing so I don’t hold them up or I m bored with what they are looking at so I have always shopped alone preferably

My DH died just before Covid lock down , so I had +/- two years of not being able to do anything anyway . Now most of my outings are with friends and family and I have now recently had a hip replacement so not going out much anyway. I haven’t even been to the cinema on my own yet. I love Cornwall but not in the height of school summer holidays so thinking I may actually book a little trip without family on my own in September . A big step but I know the area well and will book a cottage so I don’t have to eat out alone unless I want to . It’s tough Grammaretto ?

Thanks BlueBelle. I will give it a go!

I will begin by going to watch a film during the day and try the restaurant at the cinema. At least I can hide in my phone or film brochures.

Food shopping is fine and walks but I blame covid for setting me and others back by months. I go on buses now but still avoid crowded places .

I find it difficult, but not impossible, to do things on my own. Purely physical limitations.

Luckily I have my DH , family and friends that I enjoy going out with.
However I am quite happy to go places on my own if others are not available or not interested. Happy to eat on my own and as Bluebellesays shopping is definitely a singular activity.

I am happy, no, not happy, but OK doing stuff on my own. I go to the cinema, eat out, have been on holidays on my own. I fill my week with group activities, so I can have people to chat to. I have a cruise on my own booked for August. Have always been the same; I like to be independent and do my own thing. But I would much rather DH were still here of course.

I wouldn't say that enjoy is quite the word I'd use but I don't object to going for a coffee and a cake while I'm out but not a three course meal.

I wouldn't go out to the theatre/cinema or pub on my own but then rarely do these with others either.

My husband has been gone for six years next month, and I now realise how many people are alone. I go for coffees, theatre and cinema on my own, but wouldn't go to a pub.

Reminds me of my flat sharing days when I went to the local chinese restaurant on my own. I ordered at the counter and sat down at a table with half a lager, feeling very brave. Couldn't believe it when they brought it to the table in a bag!

I've been a lone wolf as far back as I can remember and still am. It's nice to go out with friends occasionally but generally I prefer my own company.

Like you Shandy I am more aware of others who live alone. I share a supper every Friday night with an old friend who was at our wedding in 1969 so we go back a long way. He has always been ok alone, has never married though he has plenty of friends and interests.
It must be easier for men though......
I can still remember feeling very brave ordering cider and a snack in a pub in Kent in 1968, full of old men and not a female in sight. No comments were aimed at me but just looks

Yes. I have been doing most things on my own for so long, it seems strange to be accompanied!
Some stems from when I used to go shopping with my mother - who hated shopping. We used to walk into a shop, she'd glance around once and want to leave without looking in more detail if she didn't see what she wanted at first glance!
Going to concerts - booked tickets for myself and a friend or relative and been let down at the last minute , so rather than miss out, have usually gone on my own and met some lovely people while at concert venues.
Same with holidays - I can go where I want and do what I want while away and don't have to put up with the cold silences when whoever I am with has wanted to be or do something different from me, but not said anything, and sulks for the rest of the time while we are out!
It is scary to go out and about on your own the first time, but it does get easier as your confidence grows !

I know those looks Grammaretto. I had the most uncomfortable meal in a pub with my dog at my feet, it nearly choked me.

I'm more than happy in my own company, perhaps a legacy of growing up an an only child. I've travelled on my on, eaten out on my own, etc. Really doesn't bother me. I'm quite a solitary creature at heart anyway.

Don’t have much choice since Paw died, although friends regularly come up trumps either with invitations or are happy to accompany me to the cinema or theatre.
I actually prefer going to exhibitions alone (no pressure to go slower or faster) and actually often end up speaking to other people (of my sort of age) when on my own.
Meals are different and I quite surprised myself by popping into a country pub for a ploughman’s lunch the other week while delivering something to a friend in the same village. I did bury my head in my phone though after I had exhausted “people watching” out of the pub window. No people.
Company is good, but no company still better than the wrong company for the sake of it.

I am happy to go to places on my own and to eat out at lunch time, but if I am staying away somewhere, I am not brave enough to go out for a meal on my own in the evening. I will choose a hotel with its own restaurant, or Airbnb where I can be self-catering.
I also hate going for a walk on my own.

I do not think I would dine on my own in an upmarket restaurant at lunchtime, never mind in the evening but I would dine in a cafe at lunchtime.

I have been to the theatre a couple of times on my own but I did not particularly enjoy it. I would go for a day trip but never book a holiday- I would prefer to stay at home.

I would never go to a pub on my own, not even to meet friends in case I was the first there.

I decided age 11 I wanted no children. I was married and divorced by 25. I am not interested in "family life" and never saw any point in it.

Like the OP I have a few close friends but am quite content (and often prefer) to do things on my own. Ive been all over the Middle East, Far East and North Africa travelling independently. And on the few occasions I was with a group I ditched them as soon as possible.

I entertain very much as my grandmother did. I enjoy a chat and a coffee (always by arrangement) but I make certain they know the time frame. Like my grandmother I would not hesitate to say "Time for you to go now. Ill show you out." In a similar way I always tell my hosts when I expect to be leaving and seldom stay longer than 2 hours.

If you dont enjoy your own company then you can hardly expect others to enjoy being with you.

I also run an online antiques business so that takes up quite a lot of time in sourcing new stock, photographing it, posting it in my shops and doing the admin. Not much time to be lonely.