The first night in your own place is so quiet you’ll hear the fridge. Then you’ll hear yourself.

Silence you are not used to is loud at first. Every small sound becomes audible, and once the sounds stop being interesting, what surfaces is your own thinking, which has been there the whole time under the noise of other people. That first night feels strange because it is unfamiliar, not because anything is wrong.

If you are entering a quiet stretch, expect the discomfort and give it a few days. Do not rush to fill it immediately with something playing all the time. What you hear once you settle is usually worth the uncomfortable first evening.