1. You Can Fill Your Life With Things That Actually Make You Happy. Many people link relationships with happiness, however this is not true for all relationships (or people). “If you’re happy, there’s no reason to force yourself into a relationship just because society expects it,” Kali Rogers, CEO of Blush Online Life Coaching, tells Bustle. “Happiness is not a one-size-fits-all proposition and can only be measured by the one experiencing it. So, if you’re happy being single, stay that way! “That is all there is to it.” If you enjoy travel, nights out with friends, hobbies, or anything else, you have the opportunity to pursue it.

2. You know you can trust yourself. There’s something incredibly satisfying about knowing you’re not being swept along with the mob just for the sake of it. “You’re being true to yourself,” New York-based relationship guru and author April Masini tells Bustle. “Getting a date, let alone getting married, is not that difficult. However, doing it on your own terms because you’re ready and believe your partner is the appropriate one requires discrimination, hard effort, and patience… You’re living your life and remaining true to yourself by being diligent and honest.” Knowing you’re being genuine and using sound judgment is a tremendous advantage.

3Your Life Is Not Stuck On A Specific Trajectory. When you’re in a relationship, there are certain expectations: move in, marry, and have children. Even if you don’t do any of those things, you’re continually up against the expectation. “Society promotes, encourages, and rewards coupledom, particularly marriage,” relationship therapist Aimee Hartstein, LCSW, tells Bustle. “This is particularly hard on single women because unmarried men are portrayed as ‘sowing their oats’ or ‘playing the field’ while unmarried women are considered to be old maids that are left on the shelf.” The positive is that if you’re single, you don’t have to follow that script, so you can set your own expectations.

4 Fewer Responsibilities. Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it also entails taking on many obligations and priorities that were not yours to begin with. Friends, family, and necessities can all consume a significant amount of time and energy. “I think that some people are meant to be single,” psychologist Nikki Martinez tells Bustle. “They are confident, they love their lives, they love the ability to have no deep-rooted responsibilities that would keep them from doing things at the drop of a hat.” And there is nothing wrong with that.

5. You get to design your own life (and apartment). Some people enjoy having their own personal space. Both in terms of their overall lifestyle and how their home is organized. Tina B. Tessina, aka Dr. Romance, psychotherapist and author of Love Styles: How to Celebrate Your Differences, tells Bustle that if you enjoy living alone and spending time by yourself, don’t want to have to negotiate for what you want with a partner, or your true love is your career, you might be better off being single. Cohabitation can be wonderful, but it requires a lot of compromise. Being single means you don’t have to do this.