Finding a roommate is hard, but it pales in comparison to the daunting task of getting to know them. Depending on the length of your lease, you may be forking over a year of your life to this person. Living in the same home, sharing good times, laughs, but also stress, bills, and responsibilities. Even if you’re a private person, your life will inevitably seep over into your roommate’s existence, and vice versa. Since getting to know your roommate is super critical to a healthy, happy living situation, you need to choose the best approach to get to know a prospective roommate as thoroughly as possible before the pen hits the paper and you’re locked in. Using a roommate finder app on your phone has a lot of advantages.
The Benefits of a Roommate Finder App!
#1 You can text people in a natural setting with a roommate finder app
When people are at home, at the grocery store, or waiting for a bus, they are more relaxed. More themselves. Interviewing face-to-face tends to create the infamous “interview honeymoon” scenario. When a company interviews a potential employee, they are on their best behavior. With a polished, toothy grin, they assure you everything is just so great! And the interviewee is also on their best behavior. They nod enthusiastically, yes, yes, everything is wonderful! Nobody wants to even begin a conversation that might allude to something negative three questions down the road.
It’s like politically correct chess, always thinking a few moves ahead. Then, work starts and the employee realizes everyone is, in fact, miserable there and the company realizes the employee thinks 9-5 is for chumps. (And seriously, who works 9-5 anymore? More like 7-7.) So use intermittent text messaging through a secure roommate finder app like Roomi to get a more realistic feel for who your roommate is by catching them in natural settings.
#2 Get to know roommates just like you would anyone else
Pretty common scenario: you meet someone for the first time. They seem cool. You exchange numbers and text each other for a while before you actually do anything together. It’s a great system. You get to know them a little at a time, do you best to filter out the weirdos, and by the time you actually hang out, you’ve got a feel for who this person is. So why should getting to know a roommate be any different? If it’s because you’re slammed for time, that sucks. But to help out, roomiapp.com has lots of expert blog posts on moving strategies so you can avoid that in the future, and find great roommates too.
#3 Catch people in different moods and modes
Have you ever met someone, then described them to a friend as really happy-go-lucky? Then your friend wrinkles their nose in confusion and says, “Wait, that guy? I know that guy, and he’s a total jerk!” And then either you or your friend find out that you just happened to catch them during an off-moment and got a totally off-kilter impression. Roomi lets you get to know someone over time, and you’re bound to catch a few different moods and get a sense of how they handle different scenarios. When their car breaks down, do they laugh about it, or send a tire iron through the nearest window? (Statistically speaking, the nearest window is liable to be their own, so hey. Not super smart dude.)
The Conveniences of a Roommate Finder App
#1 It works better for your schedule
Your life is busy. You’ve got some unfathomably hectic combination of work, a social life, school, and family. Taking an hour out of your day to sit down and do an interview with someone, especially if you have to drive, is tough to fit in. An app will make life so much easier because you can use it anytime, anywhere.
#2 You’ve got a log you can go over later
We’ve all a moment where we were in a fantastically good mood and, as a result, let our guard down or made a bad call. If you are really excited over talking to your new roommate, then great! But did you misinterpret anything? Are there questions you forgot to ask? Do yourself a favor and go over it all again when you’re feeling a little more level headed, just to be sure. Have you ever gotten the wrong impression of a roommate? What happened to change your opinion? Post your comments below.
