Living alone has its ups and downs as most people will tell you, whether it’s the amount of space you get to yourself, the quietness, or just being able to do what you want to do around your home, it can be a fun time in your life.
On the other hand that loneliness can set in, and during cold and dark winter nights such as the ones we are getting now your alertness increases and so does your worry of a potential break-in. It doesn’t matter if you are female, male, old or young, living alone can be daunting at the best of times but we aren’t here to scare you with the facts and figures. Instead, we are here to help provide you with some simple but effective tips on how to increase your security measures when living alone.
Get a Security Check of the Property
One of the first areas you should cover is to bring out a security firm who can help address any current risks that need fixing as well as some information on what you could be doing to improve your level of security. Now, some firms will charge for this call-out service but there are another number of firms that will also come out to you at a no obligation charge.
What this allows you to do is get an understanding of what needs fixing and replacing around your home. For example, should there be keys to the external windows? Why is that deadbolt not working? And why doesn’t your back door lock correctly? These are just some of the examples that you will come across but at least it gives you a sound idea of where you need to start.
Think About Home Security Systems
Following on from a thorough security check of your house comes the next big security measure and that is a security system (for example: MIGHTY MULE MM562 ) which will help keep close monitoring on your home. This alone will put burglars off attempting to break in to your home, and if current studies mean anything, there is said to be 84% of burglars who would not attack the home if confronted by this kind of security system.
It doesn’t matter where you live, you could live in a low-crime area that rarely sees any action but this will only attract out of town burglars to the area in the hope that you are off guard. It always pays to have some security in place like this.
Get to Know The Local Community
Another step in the right direction if you live alone is to build up a rapport and relationship with the people around you. Getting to know your neighbors is the first path to come to when you are looking for security. For example, if you were on good terms with your neighbours you would be able to entrust them to look after your house or at minimum keep an eye on your house while you are away on business or vacation purposes.
One additional bit of advice here is to not give out too much information to your neighbors until you are 100% happy that you know them well enough. However, this is a good tip to take on-board.
Don’t Live Alone!
This might seem like a tip that is defeating the obvious but we aren’t talking about house sharing or finding a partner, instead think about a companion such as a dog that can be your best friend. These animals also help fend off any would-be burglar because they are unlikely to challenge a house that contains a dog. Dogs can also alert you before you even know that something is wrong, they have incredible intuition and can detect trouble much faster than you. This will only add another element of security to your home.
Research Crime Levels
Finally, before you even settle on a place to live on your own, or even if you are wary of where you are currently living its worth researching the local area. These days you can easily do this online and you can clearly see crime rates and where crimes have been reported. This will give you a certain element of knowledge that you can then make a justified decision into where you really want to live.
At the end of the day crime is everywhere and it is a part of life, but when you live on your own there are a number of tips and security measures that you can put in place (some of which don’t cost a fortune), which will offer you much more peace of mind during these long, windy and cold dark nights.
So before you head to bed tonight, go around your home and take notes of what you could do in order to improve your security.