Living with roommates can be a choice to save money, or simply a way to cut costs while you search for your own place. Yesterday, I was thinking about the costs of having a roommate and realized that the significant savings on rent and bills make it worth the small sacrifices involved.
I’ve had both fantastic and awful roommates. When I moved to the UK, I struggled in my first two houses. In the first one, I had a terrible relationship with one roommate. In the second house, nobody socialized; everyone just came home to sleep, and we barely knew each other.
This often happens when roommates are randomly chosen or when you rush to accept the first person without considering their habits and lifestyle. You could end up with rude, messy, noisy people, or all of the above.
So what can you do?
In large houses where the landlord picks random roommates, I would focus on myself and make my room as comfortable and inviting as possible since I’d be spending more time there than in shared spaces.
In one house, I even kept my food and kitchen items in my room because if left in the kitchen, my food would be gone, and my pans would always be dirty. If you have enough space in your kitchen, you could install lockers.
For me, it was a temporary fix. I had just moved to a new city and took the first available room with a six-month lease. I had to wait it out, so I tried to communicate with others about maintaining the house. Surprisingly, in six months, nobody ever took turns cleaning. To keep my sanity, I made my room a nice little haven. I got a desk to eat dinner at, planted flowers by the window, and kept it clean.
Most roommates may not be proactive in improving the living situation. If they refuse to clean, you could negotiate trades, like taking their cleaning turn in exchange for them taking out the garbage. Alternatively, everyone could pitch in to hire a regular cleaner.
Having lived with various roommates over almost 10 years, I’ve learned it boils down to two main issues: money and cleaning.
Money can strain relationships. We all pay rent, but sometimes utilities are extra. Whose turn is it to buy toilet paper? Why pay for cable if nobody watches TV? It’s crucial to have regular discussions about finances. If no one uses cable, cancel it. If everyone agrees, get better broadband. To avoid nickel-and-diming, you could rotate buying common items like dish soap.
Cleaning is another sensitive subject. Even with assigned turns, some people have higher standards and others might think they cleaned well but didn’t. Open communication is vital. Set clear expectations, encourage visible efforts, and hold people accountable. If issues persist, suggest sharing the cost of a cleaner. It’s a minor expense for harmony.
Remember what’s important to you. Living with roommates doesn’t mean living like a broke student. I’ve seen beautiful shared houses with plenty of space, sometimes with extra rooms, studios, or gardens. The tenants could choose smaller, private studios but prefer the benefits of a larger shared space.
Living with roommates can actually be a great experience.