Jump to content

Your thoughts and opinions on taking in a room mate


excell

Recommended Posts

I have a good friend from Illinois who is looking to move to Columbus. I have the room and space at my house, and he has made a very generous offer to me for room and board.

 

I have never lived with someone else since I left home, and even then it was just my mom. I own my home and I am looking for opinions and experiences from people in a situation similar to mine. I trust him, and think he'll have a relatively light footprint. The money would definitely be nice too. But this is VERY new territory for me, and I'm uneasy about having someone living with me.

 

Please, share some of your thoughts and experiences. smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If he's a good friend, someone that you get along well with, i say go for it. I think everyone should live with another person like that at some point in their life, and I bet it will make for some very fun times. One thing to think about though, even thought it is your house, he is living there too so you will have to be willing to compromise.

 

I've never seen your house before, but one thing that can make it ALOT easier is if you have separate bathrooms.

 

Another thing is that if you've never lived with someone before, it could be hard at first. Would you rather have your first experience of living with someone be a friend who you can get pissed off at/piss them off, or a g/f down the road? It could be a very good learning experience in that respect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the deal. You own your house, and all of the shit in it. You have to be willing to share it, and share it completely. Not your bedroom shit or anything, but the couch's and tv and shit. My roommate owns everything but the surround sound and my computer. And he's really cool about everything.

 

I tried to split the costs with him, but he wouldnt let me. The only thing he does that really fucking pisses me off is pull the "well, I own it...blablabla." Yes, I know that he DOES own it, but we have an understanding.

 

Chris, I know you and like you a lot, but Im not sure that you are ready to share all of your shit. Ill call you and talk to you a little more about it. Hope this helps so far.

-Marc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say no. In my time spent in college where you're almost always sharing a room with someone, if you've never lived with anyone else you're not going to like it. I've seen people drop out of school just because they couldn't stand living with someone else. I've shared a room for a while and I'm comfortable doing it, but a lot of people I know that aren't used to it are just miserable.

 

Also Ive had better experiences living with people I don't know, rather than my good friends.... I guess it all depends on the people and the situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as the house goes, the master is on the first floor with its own bathroom. He would have a room upstairs and a full bath to himself. Whichever room he does not choose of the two will be my office. It will have all of my computer shit, paperwork, and other items that I don't want pissed with, behind a locked door. I will change the lock to one like on an outside door.

 

We pretty much watch the same things, enjoy the same music (except he hates hip hop :( ), and he doesn't really own much other than clothes. I agree that this could be a positive thing, but Marc is right. I am very particular about shit, sometimes neurotic, and I think that is what I'm most uneasy about.

 

It'll suck to not be able to sit here in my boxers and watch TV, but I think I could adjust. I'd prolly just stick to the office, and put a TV in my bedroom so I can watch porn in peace. :D It would certainly be nice to have someone here to help on car shit and chores, and have someone to talk to since I spend a great time alone because I work 10-12 hours a day.

 

I dunno, I’m still uneasy about it. That’s why I posted, I like to hear others experinces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy living with my friends. It's nice to have someone around to hang out with too. With the exceptions of kitchen appliances, furnture, tv, and stereo he really shouldn't be messing with any other stuff. There's no point in being neurotic about a tv or stereo, they're there to be used. As long as you two have similsr personalities (IE, is he a total dick too? :D ) you'll be fine.

 

Plus, if it doesn't work, it's your house with your stuff in it. Kick him to the curb.

 

I'd say give it a try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had several friends as roomates over the years. Some worked well, others did not.

 

A few things I'd recommend thinking about:

 

Are your work schedules similar?

Nothing will drive you crazier than someone on a vastly different schedule. If you generally are in bed by 11:00pm and to work by 7:30am, and he in bed by 2:00am and to work by 10:00 am, there's gonna be conflict.

 

Does this person have the same hygene and cleanliness habits as you?

 

Will this person respect your property?

 

Can you trust this person implicitly?

 

Does this person have game enough to hook he and you up repeatedly? J/K??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Rotarded:

A few things I'd recommend thinking about:

 

Are your work schedules similar?

Nothing will drive you crazier than someone on a vastly different schedule. If you generally are in bed by 11:00pm and to work by 7:30am, and he in bed by 2:00am and to work by 10:00 am, there's gonna be conflict.

 

Does this person have the same hygene and cleanliness habits as you?

 

Will this person respect your property?

 

Can you trust this person implicitly?

 

Does this person have game enough to hook he and you up repeatedly? J/K??

He doesn't currently have a work schedule, as he is currently seeking a job here. I would imagine it will be pretty much similar to mine. I work 12 fuckin' hours a day, so unless he works third shift I think we'll prolly be okay.

 

He doesn't have the same cleanliness habits, but as long as he keeps his shit to his room (within reason, no rotten food etc) I don't care. This would be covered in the agreement.

 

He would respect my property.

 

Yes, I trust him. He is honest, and I have trusted him alone here several times.

 

Actually, he does. :D

 

Anthony, you have no room to talk. I would rather live with a dude than with Tina. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say help him out as a friend. Let him live with you for cheap for a short ammount of time.

 

tell him you dont want/need a roomy, but will let him live with you for a few months or whatever while he gets settled in and finds a place.

 

If you like how things work out, invite him to stay longer. If not, you just pocketed some cash and helped a friend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never been without a roomate since I moved out after HS at 18.

 

That said, I have ALWAYS lived with friends, and it has worked out very well. Both of my roomates are good friends of mine (one is only here on the weekends), and I hang out with them more than anyone else.

 

I'm in the position you are in Chris. I own my house, and most of the stuff in it, especially the shared type items, are mine. It has NEVER been a problem. About the only thing I have to bitch about is putting my DVD's back in the case. They respect my stuff, I respect theirs, adn it works out well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always lived with friends as well and only lived on my own for ~2yrs since 18. I have had mostly good experiences, there will be little things that bother you but I have never had a falling out with one of my friends because of them.

 

Just make sure he respects your belongings and cleans up his mess and all will be swell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see a common string of people saying you must be able to trust him, and you say you do. But in a very early reply you said something about having to keep your shit in your office locked away. Even going as far to put an outdoor lock on it (compared to the easy to pick indoor locks). I see those as being conflicting statements. You should be able to trust this person enough that you don’t need to lock any doors in your house (imho). Let alone have to put a different lock on a door.

 

Personally, if I moved in with a friend and they did that, I would be a little offended by it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would also be offended if someone put a lock on a door thinking that I would try to go through their shit and stuff. I just started living in a dorm room this year and I have had no problem. All my life I ahve either had an entire floor to myself or a wing of a house so I thought I was going to have a huge problem. My room mate and I talked about stuff that we cared about and didn't care about from eating eachothers food to going through eachothers stuff to get something like DVDs or school supplies, this really helped I would have a talk with him like this and if you leave the talk with a positive attitude I would do it, a little extra money is always nice. :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I DO trust him. However, I have important financial paperwork, items that I use to conduct my side businesses, and certain "items" that I don't want ANYONE having access to.

 

If I bring anyone in the house, this door is always locked. Even if they are just visiting for a few min. But I guess I'm not worried about him, but more a snooping girlfriend or something like that.

 

I think he will understand if I do something like that. I don't really think he'd care either way... I should prolly just ask him if he'd be offended.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's my dad always says about roommate situations

 

"I've been in the housing business for over 30 years and have seen hundreds of roommate situations, and they never end well" But I am sure it would be different if you own the place

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Fornicate:

Well, I DO trust him. However, I have important financial paperwork, items that I use to conduct my side businesses, and certain "items" that I don't want ANYONE having access to.

 

If I bring anyone in the house, this door is always locked. Even if they are just visiting for a few min. But I guess I'm not worried about him, but more a snooping girlfriend or something like that.

 

I think he will understand if I do something like that. I don't really think he'd care either way... I should prolly just ask him if he'd be offended.

Then the lock could be understandable. You can't inherently trust whoever he brings in the house, and I'm sure he would understand that. I would explain it like you just did. I'm just saying if I moved into someone’s house and saw that, or saw them putting that in, it would put me a little off and could start things off on a bad foot. But if they explained it in such a light before they put it in, or I saw it and said something, I would completely understand. This ties in with what Adam just said. Communication is important in any relationship: friends, dating, and roommates. If you lay down some ground rules, and talk about things that bother you when they pop up, things will be much better than just letting it bottle up.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...