Living with someone else is never easy. Sharing a small dorm or even an apartment has its ups and downs. As spring semester rolls around, you start to think about where you’re going to live next year, and more importantly, who you’re going to live with. Discussions about living arrangements can be awkward. Your current roommate may want to live with you again while you’re thinking of living with someone else. Or maybe you have a group of five friends and you’re trying to figure out how to evenly split up, or you might even be trying to figure out if living with close friends is the best option. There is always the fear that living with your best friend might be a big mistake. Bad living situations have been known to break friendships. You may love her to death, but she’s messy, goes to bed later than you, and never does the dishes. She might be your best friend but would she really make a good roommate?
When it comes to deciding whether or not to pick your best friend as your future roommate, here are a few things to consider:
1. “Can I see myself living with this person?”
This seems like a simple enough question. When deciding who to live with, of course you’re going to imagine what it will be like living with him or her; however, it is really important, especially when picking between friends, to see which friends you would be more compatible with. For example, do you follow the same sleep patterns, are you both very clean or okay living with a little clutter, and do you want to live in the same building? (make sure your friend doesn’t have his or her heart set on living off campus when you’d rather stay on)
2. “Is she/he a friend that I am willing to spend time with everyday?”
We all have different types of friends. We have the friends we go to when we want some adventure on a Friday night, the friend who is always willing to grab food or go to the gym, and the friend who will listen to your problems and poor life choices at 3AM no matter what. All your friends have a special place in your heart, but that does not mean that you could live with every single one. Sometimes we need a break from people; therefore, it is necessary to find that person in your friend group who you’d be okay with seeing every night before you go to bed and every morning when you wake up.
3. Give yourself time to be apart.
You might chose to live with your bestie who you already do everything with. You go to the gym together, have the same major, eat every meal together, and basically finish each other’s sentences, so why not live together? There is nothing wrong with rooming with “your person”; however, when you’re living together, make sure you give yourself time to be apart. This might be difficult at first, especially if you’re both used to doing everything together, but deciding to do things separately isn’t bad. It doesn’t mean your friendship is in danger, or you aren’t as close as you originally thought. Doing your own thing will strengthen your friendship by giving both of you some much needed time to yourself.
4. Don’t be afraid to branch out.
If you end up living with a close group of friends, it might feel as if your social circle has suddenly shrunk in half. Instead of interacting with your roommates, floormates and you’re besties, you’re now limiting your daily social interactions to mainly close friends. This might seem amazing to some, since you only have to see people you truly like and can avoid everyone else; however, as much as the kids on your floor might annoy you now, it can be difficult to adjust once the feeling of a big community goes away. To avoid this feeling of loss, make sure to branch out and meet new people. It might be difficult at first since people already have established friend groups and everyone isn’t congregating in the lounge at night, but look for friends in a club on campus, a sports team or even in class. Again, this is not a detriment to your current friendships, and no one can replace your clique, but spending time with others will give you a more peaceful living environment and a better appreciation for your best friends.