Sometimes living with new roommates is a positive experience, and sometimes the experience is less than ideal. However, no matter if you are living with somebody you have known for years or someone you just met there are three essential tips to help in new roommate awkwardness.
Open Communication
Being able to openly express your opinions or needs in a positive demeanor is a major key to unlocking roommate nirvana. Being upfront and honest at the beginning of the roommate relationship can help build a stronger bond than trying to be the idea of a perfect roommate. Offering your leftovers to be nice the first month, only to never share again, is only confusing and undermining the foundation of the roommate relationship.
Learning the dynamics of each other’s personalities is the best thing for a new roommate relationship because then no surprise tendencies with arise. You’re someone who prefers Netflix on low volume as background noise as you quietly browse the web. Your roommate, however, loves to talk throughout shows and would rather have the music up loud. Knowing this, you both can work out schedules for work, school, TV, or quiet time. These qualities are important to be known in order to navigate this new dynamic.
This also leads to another useful tip…
Compromise
Everyone has their own vision of what it would mean to move out and live in their own place; Even how awesome and close your new roommate relationship will be. Sharing living spaces however also means meeting your roommate(s) in the middle. Compromise is another major key component to sustaining positive roommate relationships. This means anything from financial decisions regarding the living space to your personal living needs.
Firstly, cleaning should be discussed since everyone’s definition of “clean” is not always the same. Everyone should contribute a little to keeping the space cleaner maybe than you are used too or even less clean than you like. Compromising the standard of clean in your apartment can save you headaches in the future when you didn’t clean the bathroom as your roommate would have.
However, anyone who is a little tidier like me, there is nothing wrong with cleaning your apartment more often than your roommates. You like your space clean, which means you may clean it for yourself. Just don’t expect the same effort if your roommates are not as tidy.
This living space is shared by you which means that you must open and aware of the financial situations of your roommates as well. While nothing too invasive, all parties involved should be relatively aware of what is affordable for the household regarding shared expenses. It’s better to compromise on cable vs. streaming options upfront rather than end up in financial awkwardness down the road.
Bills should be no different. Utilities, rent, and share luxuries should be split evenly; period. Compromise, however, plays the middle man in order to meet every roommate wants or needs. This way you and your roommates and split the cost of all shared living expenses; you can even set-up automatic payments so you never miss a due date. Luckily, apps such as Venmo makes splitting costs simple. Venmo allows you to send a receive money with friends directly on your phone. It even lets you deposit any amount instantly into your bank account for a 1% transfer fee.
Being Alone Together
This new space is still your own living space. Roommate relationships are important to strengthen so that everyone has the opportunity to make the most out the living space. Learning to co-habitat in shared living spaces is the greatest skill to share among roommates. Doing your own thing while openly sharing a space with someone else is a tricky but worthwhile skill.
-Richard Zarrilli, Jr.
Sources: Buzzfeed Psychology Today Bank Rate Venmo