‘It means I can be spontaneous’
Jessica Bateman, 30, is from London. There’s nothing I love more than waking up on a Saturday morning with no idea what I’m going to do for the rest of the day. Being single means I can be spontaneous and it’s a feeling I relish.
From my teens to my mid-twenties, I was in and out of relationships. Then, in the summer of 2013, I decided I was fed up of having to consider a partner when it came to making work and life decisions.
It had been my childhood dream to live in different countries and, as a freelance journalist, I had the freedom to do just that.
I scrolled through a list of destinations before landing on Berlin. A month later, after saying goodbye to my family and friends, I left London and got on a plane.
Instead of feeling nervous about being in a new country on my own, I loved it. Making friends with both locals and other travellers in bars and cafes, it soon felt like home. A few months later, after a quick trip back to London, I was looking at the map again. Booking a one-way flight to Athens, I remember thinking it wouldn’t have been so simple had I been in a relationship.
Of course, now I’ve reached my 30s, most of my friends back home are settling down, getting married and having babies. I’m thrilled for them, but it’s just not for me – at least not for a long while.
‘It’s a feeling I relish’