Living Arrangements?

[jen4clinical]

How do people feel about living arrangements? I've heard it's good to have a roommate to combat lonliness, but I've also heard that you are so busy a roommate can be a distraction. Opinions?

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[Ollie123]

Up to the individual. I live alone and am glad. I've become a bit of a recluse because of it, but the ability to be completely on my own schedule helps. Plus I don't have to feel guilty those days there just isn't time to do the dishes.

Others I know would go nuts without roommates.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Yeah it's definitely a personal choice. I can tell you what the five members of my cohort chose to do though.

I live alone, I love living alone, and I can't imagine going through grad school with a roommate. I keep weird hours, I hog the bathroom since I come up with all my good research ideas in the shower, and I order pizza at 3am.

A second member of my cohort also lives alone and wouldn't have it any other way.

The third person lives alone but always has people over so it's kind of like she has roommates that don't pay rent, haha.

The fourth person lives with her fiance, which is a benefit because he does her laundry and makes her dinners, but he also takes up a lot of her time.

The fifth person owns a townhouse and has a roommate who's a vet student. They get along great (we all hang out sometimes) and she says it's a perfect arrangement.

So it seems like the formula for success is to either live alone (you're at school so much you don't really get that lonely anyway) or get a roommate who's in another grad program so they're as busy as you are without being in direct competition.

 

[deleted176373]

Live alone... prefer it that way.

Mark

 

[EquestriAnn]

I want a roommate, I live with two roommates right now and I love it. I have my privacy if I want it, but there are friendly people to greet me and talk to if I so choose. However, speaking from experience, no roommate is far better than a bad roommate. Don't even get me started on this....

 

[jen4clinical]

So, if I don't know my roommate, is it worth the chance that they'll be bad? Is it worth it financially to live alone?

Thanks for all your replies!

 

[psybee]

if it's "worth it" is a really personal decision. how flexible are you? do you like things neat (or quiet, or whatever) but it doesn't bother you if they are messy, or is it actually distracting, for example. how private and quiet your room is, how social you are (and how social your roomate is) all play a part.

when i was younger, i liked the social aspect of a roommate, but when i got older i just wanted to go home and chill out for a while an not have to make small talk, and not worry if that was rude. i actually rented a 2br myself, so that i could choose my roommate, being the one holding the lease, because i had become much more particular about who i wanted to live with. i ended up picking people to live with not based how how much i liked them, because you can think someone is smart funny charming fun etc and learn that you don't like to live with them, and instead ended up picking folks based on roommate compatibility, even if we didn't have much in common, and honestly that worked best for me.

 

[PinkSoil]

Haha, my roommate is my husband so there's not much I can do about that if he gets to be a distraction. However, we do have a house in which I have my own study so it's nice to have my very own place to do my work.

 

[Thrak]

Haha, my roommate is my husband so there's not much I can do about that if he gets to be a distraction.

My roommate is my wife. If the living situation doesn't work after a year (commuting, etc), worst-case scenario she moves back home, I move on campus, and we see each other on weekends.

We'll do what we gotta do.

 

[psybee]

my roomate is my BF/fiancee. he's a very respectful of my work, I'M the one who's easily distracted because he's all handsome and fun and interesting. damn it! i plan to do whatever classwork that is less interesting on campus, and only bring home what i really am into. also, we don't have cable, and he has agreed to not get a wii yet. i'm not made of stone!

 

[Liselaime]

My roommate is my husband as well. I must admit that he is very distracting. I've managed to make it through undergrad despite the distraction, so I have high hopes for grad school as well.

I second the notion that your optimal living situation depends on your own personal preferences. Do you like living with other people/need social interaction at home, or would you be happier with more privacy? If you think you might want a roommate but aren't sure, you could try a short lease (3 months, perhaps) and see how it goes.

 

[blindchaos]

However, speaking from experience, no roommate is far better than a bad roommate. Don't even get me started on this....

Oh my goodness I second that!!!