Okay. You have a number of options when it comes to choosing roommates. Living in residence makes the choice for you. But eventually, you will have to move off campus into the world of dishes, bathrooms that don’t clean themselves and recycling day.
Choose who you want to live with wisely.
If you’re one of the lucky first years who gets plonked in a residence double room with a random roommate, chances are you will hate them and the two of you will never get along…
I’m joking. It’ll be fine. Just make your boundaries known: pin up your schedules, meet each other’s friends and voice your concerns! If it doesn’t work out, it takes 15 minutes to fill out a transfer form. First year roommates often become good friends. Really, it’s not just a cliché. And if you get a single room in residence, well, no issues there. Bring earplugs.
Off campus living is trickier. Once you sign a contract with your roommate(s), you are bound by ink and law. Realistically though, it’s like an obvious multiple choice question. Just choose the best answer. As in:
Sally and Nancy are best friends. They do almost everything together. Sally spends her weekends chugging watered-down beer while Nancy spends hours in the library knitting sweaters from tufts of hair lost from stress. Does Nancy:
A) Move in with Sally.
B) Not move in with Sally.
C) Not even consider moving in with Sally.
D) Move in with Sally, develop chronic insomnia and become addicted to “Grey’s Anatomy.”
I was totally thinking D too.
You also need to consider how many people you want to live with. In first year, I lived alone in residence. Second year I moved in with three girls from residence. I now live with seven people from my program. Out all these situations, I’ve had the best experience living with seven people. Which is surprising, because I’m shy. Like, will not say bless you when someone sneezes because I’m embarrassed for them shy. But with so many people, it’s easy to go about your own business and then get involved with other people if you feel like it. Operative word being if. I never see one of my roommates because she doesn’t care about anyone else’s life. Which is fine!
Boundaries are the secret to seven roommates living harmoniously. Closed doors mean privacy. Socializing stays in the living room. Everyone has allocated jobs (I’m compost, woo…) and each night someone different cooks dinner. We pay rent to one person on the same day every month. Utilities are split equally. Everyone practices common courtesy: no dubstep past midnight, no tuna in the garborator, no eating other people’s avocados and it works well. It’s fun, cheap and motivating.
When it comes down to it, choosing roommates is a personal (and fairly logical) decision. Go with your gut and don’t commit to something unless you’re 100% percent comfortable. And for the roommate on bathroom duty: that pink stuff around the bathtub? Yeah, that’s mold.
