7 Safety Tips for Women Living Alone
Women, unfortunately, have to always be vigilant about personal safety. They have to be on guard in a range of situations, from when they’re dating to when they’re walking alone on the streets. If you’re a woman, you might do an online search before meeting anyone from an online dating app, you could make sure that you avoid certain areas when it’s dark, and you may have to take particular precautions when using rideshare services.
If you’re a woman who lives alone, you might even be more of a target in your own home, sadly.
Women who live alone can take certain steps to be safer and also give themselves more peace of mind.
The following are seven things to keep in mind if you’re a woman who lives alone with regard to personal safety.
1. Get to Know Your Neighbors
Getting to know your neighbors can be a significant part of personal safety whether you’re a woman or not. When you get to know your neighbors, they learn more about your habits and routines, so they’re going to be more likely to notice if something seems off. Neighbors can alert one another of any strange activity that might be going on and create a community and communication network.
You can also look out for your neighbors when you know them.
It can be intimidating to get to know your neighbors, especially since it’s something fewer and fewer people do these days, but it can have a significant impact on your safety.
If you’re shy or nervous about approaching your neighbors in person, at a minimum, you might give them a note introducing yourself and letting them know your phone number. Then they can text you if they see anything suspicious.
When you know your neighbors, they can keep an eye on your home when you’re away on trips, and it’s always a good idea to have extra eyes around. You do want to be careful about oversharing personal information with your neighbors until you feel like you know them well enough.
2. Discuss Security Before Signing a Lease
If you’re in the market for a new apartment or condo, you should check out the neighborhood first and foremost. You want a neighborhood that’s well-lit and seems like it has a lot of activity so that you’ll feel safe going home, even at night.
You also want to talk to the landlord about what security features the building as a whole has.
If you’re living alone in an apartment building, you should look for ones with controlled access. Make sure all the windows and doors are secure.
If a landlord isn’t willing to answer these questions, or there seem to be a lot of weak spots in the security of the property, move on.
Once you move into an apartment building or complex, stay in contact with your landlord if you spot any security risks that you didn’t notice initially. For example, let your landlord know if you see someone suspicious or realize the lights are out in a common area or in the parking lot.
It’s best to avoid living on the first floor of a building, but you don’t want to be so high up that it’s harder to get out if there’s a fire or similar emergency. Consider the second or third floor.
3. Use a Security System
Whether you live in an apartment, a single-family house, or any other type of dwelling, it’s a smart idea to have a security system. Security systems have gotten much easier to install on your own. You can use security systems with wireless locks on your doors and windows, and you should be able to access your entire system on your phone.
A video doorbell is a good addition to a security system. This will let you monitor parts of the home and exterior areas of your apartment if you live in one. In places where guests are allowed to come and go, then a ring doorbell is a good idea. You’ll have video recordings if someone seems to be lingering outside of your door, for example, plus it’s a potential way to prevent or detect package theft.
4. Upgrade Your Locks
Adding locks to doors and windows isn’t likely to be something you regret taking the time to do. You can add extra deadbolts, or you can use a keypad doorknob. Then, someone will have to add a code to get in. You may have to ask permission from your landlord if you have one.
There are also portable locks you can put between the door and the lock.
5. Have People With You When You Have Technicians In Your Home
There are times when you may need a technician to come to your home to fix something, install something or do some kind of work that you can’t do on your own.
Even if you’re having someone come from a reputable company, you should still have someone with you in your home. You don’t want to be home alone with a stranger. Ask a friend or neighbor to come over while they’re there.
Then, you not only have someone with you at the time, but the technician won’t think you live alone.
6. Keep People In the Loop With What You’re Doing
When you live alone, it can take longer for family and friends to notice if something isn’t right. You should keep people you trust in the loop about your whereabouts on a regular basis. Maybe you even have someone that you really trust who can see your location on their phone.
7. Be Careful with Online Sharing
Finally, we live in a world where everyone seems like they share everything online, but you need to be mindful of what you’re posting, especially when you live alone. You don’t want to give too much information to someone who could be monitoring your posts.
You may not even know who could have access to your posts, so don’t share much about what you’re doing day-to-day.
Photo by George Milton at www.pexels.com