You never really expect to find yourself stuck outside your room at 1:00 a.m. while your roommate and their significant other “study” in your dorm room. Then again, you never really expect what college life throws at you. Many students prefer living on campus, while others are looking at apartments and housing elsewhere. No matter where you choose to live, this blog is our guide on some of the things to consider when choosing a roommate.
People will often tell you that living with somebody is a great way to cut costs and meet new people. But what nobody admits is that living with people you’ve never met before can be a pretty frightening experience and that not everyone is familiar with roommate etiquette.
We’re here to give you pointers on some of the things you should consider when choosing a compatible roommate.
Have a fair idea of the kind of person you’re looking for when choosing a roommate.
It’s important to ask yourself certain questions before you look at things to consider when choosing a roommate. How outgoing are you? Are you willing to share your stuff? What is the balance you’d want to keep between partying and studying? What kind of relationship do you want with your roommate?
It’s essential to keep these things in mind because you will encounter people with several different types of personalities throughout life. Different characters and values can often be the source of conflict in interpersonal relationships. If you look forward to establishing a lifelong friendship but are greeted with your roommate’s cold shoulder, problems could arise.
Cleanliness should mean the same thing to you and the person that you choose as your roommate.
The first thing you need to discuss is cleanliness. This is important because you want your potential roommates to have the same basic cleaning habits as you. No one wants to wake up in the middle of the night, searching for the faint smell of rotten potatoes that interrupt your sleep, only to find out it’s coming from the body of the person you share a room with, yuck!
But it’s often so that two people living together find out over time that cleanliness as a concept is different for the two of them. One might be an overachiever when it comes to cleaning. And the other, a sucker for the bare minimum. In times like such, we recommend having a talk with your roommate. Or even drawing up a roommate agreement! Those come in super handy!
Habits should also align when choosing a roommate.
A person’s habits are another thing you need to consider when choosing a roommate. Sleep schedules, smoking habits, vaping, or DJ-ing late at night. Whether you will have friends over, and what temperature you prefer your room to be. Sit and reflect on some of these questions. It’s important to find roommates that have a similar lifestyle and habits to yourself.
Feel free to ask your potential roommate questions about how they like to live daily life. Do they like unwinding with a beer and an episode of Friends like you do? Do they like talking on the phone loudly or walking around the room naked? Anything can be a source of conflict, so don’t forget to discuss unusual habits.
Relationship status can also impact roommate relationships.
It’s not wrong to ask your potential roommate about their relationship status as well as the likeliness of an overnight guest since you don’t want your roommate’s partner invading your space too often. The idea here is for you to be informed about these things beforehand so that you are not caught by surprise after meeting someone new in the morning tossing up pancakes in your kitchen.
What’s important is that you and your roommate both feel comfortable in your own homes. And that you’re able to openly discuss the conversation of partners and one night stands.
It will come down to your personal life vs. your roommate’s personal life.
It’s said that politics and religion don’t make for polite conversation. However, experienced adults will tell you, when it comes to living with someone new, it’s time to stop being polite and start getting real. It is important to discuss these issues with potential roommates.
This is definitely one of the things to consider when choosing a roommate. You want your roommates to be open and accepting of your beliefs, even if they don’t align with theirs.
Your first experience living with new people can be challenging but fun. Because who else, if not for our roommates, would go with us for fast food runs in the middle of the night? Who else would share their last bowl of ramen and cheer us up after a long day? If you are lucky, you might build lifelong friendships with the people you’ve lived with. And if you’re not, remember every situation comes to an end, and at least you’ll collect good stories from this experience.
D’you know what else Roomi does outside of helping its readers in the journey of choosing their roommates? With our ever-increasing lists of rooms and roommates across the world, we help you find your perfect match! Download the app here and hop on the easiest ride home, ever!
