General Housing Question!

[JMM051]

So for those of us who are not leaning towards campus affiliated housing and looking at apt. complexes/private rentals are you planning to find a roommate your first year or live alone?

I am really having a hard time with this one. Part of me wants the freedom of living alone but I would really like someone to explore my new city with and split expenses with. So confused!

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[Stories]

I ended up getting a roommate (he's another graduate student in a different discipline), and we got along great. I did tell him before hand, what kinds of things I was cool with and not, so we had established guidelines going in, and it has worked out great thus far.

If you like company, I'd definitely say you can have a positive experience.

 

[lebeth]

It's really so individual. Some people hate having roommates, some hate being alone. I fall into the former category, so I'm going to be on the hunt for a studio. I have gone back and forth between living alone and with roommates and at this point, the only other living creature I want to share my living space with is my cat.

While it is nice to have a roommate to split expenses with and hang out with, it is an enormous gamble deciding to live with a stranger for so many reasons. Not to say it doesn't ever work (Stories is liking it, and I know a few others who have been lucky too) but you just never know. What if their feet smell really bad? Or they are really messy? Or they hog the tv? Or eat your food? And I won't even go into issues of sketchiness (stealing etc). But you get the idea. I think it would be in your best interests to meet them ahead of time if you go that route, and like Stories did, lay out some ground rules.

 

[JMM051]

I think its common sense to meet someone that you would be living with pre-move in.

I was just curious what other people were planning on doing. I've done the Craigslist roommate thing. It turned out...okay. Could have been worse, could have been better. I have some friends that have had good luck with it too. I guess I am luck enough to be moving to a place with cost of living reasonable enough that I can afford a place by myself.

 

[emily487]

No roomie for me. I'm a senior now and I've been living off campus this year and last year, by myself. There's no way I could go back to having a roomie. Wayyy too OCD, haha.

 

[lebeth]

I think its common sense to meet someone that you would be living with pre-move in.

I was just curious what other people were planning on doing. I've done the Craigslist roommate thing. It turned out...okay. Could have been worse, could have been better. I have some friends that have had good luck with it too. I guess I am luck enough to be moving to a place with cost of living reasonable enough that I can afford a place by myself.

I know it seems like common sense but my friend who went to Temple for med school had only seen a picture of his roommate before they met! They'd only exchanged emails. Not even phone convos. But it ended up working out so it's doable but I am too much of a weenie to consider it.

 

[hankea4]

I am going through this same dilemma as well. Found my current roommate on Craigslist 2 years ago and was a success story. But now we need to live in 2 different parts of the city b/c I'm going to grad school, so it makes sense to go our separate ways. I'm leaning towards a studio because I too want my own space, but the financials are making me hesitant.

This may sound totally shallow and strange, but a good way to pre-screen potential roommates is to look them up on facebook. true story. you can extrapolate a fair amount from just looking at their profile and pics - their lifestyle choices, traits, circle of friends, etc. It certainly isn't a subsitute for meeting someone face-to-face, but can save you some time up front if you notice any "red flags" if you know what i mean.

 

[glas]

I'm totally struggling with this dilemma too! I've never lived alone - roommates in college and for the past few years boyfriend but I think I might really like it. I've tried living with a Craigslist random before - major bummer, seriously impacted my quality of life. On the other hand you can really get so much more for your $$ if you share... Tiny studio all to myself or spacious rowhome with laundry, dishwasher, living room... and roommates?