When searching for the perfect post-grad roommate, you might think you’d need to look high and low. For influencers Annika Osterlund and Brielle Asero, this was far from the case. Osterlund was living with her roommate from college when they decided to get a larger apartment in New York City. With an extra room to fill, Osterlund posted to her Close Friends Story on Instagram that she was looking for another roommate. Asero, who’d made friends with Osterlund via DM, swiped up. Before they knew it, they were living together on the Upper East Side — and for Osterlund and Asero, both influencers who share about post-grad life and their experiences in NYC on social media, it was the start of a very entertaining new era for their content.
“A lot of people ask me how we became roommates and it literally was just that easy,” Asero tells Her Campus. And despite the saying “nothing good comes easy,” it’s been really good. Osterlund and Asero get along extremely well — often hanging out at home with their third roommate, Althea (who isn’t a content creator and prefers to stay out of the spotlight, but you’ll spot her in some of their videos), making videos in their shared space, and decorating their apartment to look iCarly-esque, complete with a giant banana and gummy bear lamp. “We literally have such an open-door household that we are never apart, which is awesome,” Osterlund says.
The moment their apartment really felt like home was when they got their living room couch. Picking out a sectional on Facebook Marketplace and moving it out of the previous owner’s apartment was very much a hassle, with Osterlund enlisting her boyfriend for help in getting it up the stairs. (Cue Ross from Friends screaming “Pivot!”)
“Getting the couch was a nightmare — that was a bonding experience in and of itself,” Osterlund says. But honestly? It was worth it. “It’s literally made for this apartment,” Osterlund says. Asero adds, “It fits perfect. Is kind of weird.”
But it’s not all fun and games and making content together; they still have to deal with chores just like any other post-grads living adult life for the first time. Luckily, all three roommates are on the same wavelength about cleaning. “It’s very much a respect thing,” Osterlund says. “We all want the place to be clean, so we all just clean up after ourselves.”
That said, the roomies know this is a bit of an anomaly. “Generally, we don’t delegate [our chores], which is crazy and not normal,” Osterlund says. “I wouldn’t recommend it because you can get in a weird situation with your roommates if you’re just expected to do stuff.”
As for roommate advice they do stand by, Osterlund and Asero believe you have to have personalities that complement one another, similar eyes for decor, and the same budget. But, it’s also good to have some differences, too. “You need to have some yin and yang qualities, and you will notice that right off the bat,” Osterlund says. “You can’t have two go-with-the-flow roommates — otherwise, you’re never gonna get a couch.”