For those of you entering your sophomore year, you are finally in charge of arranging your own living situations. Whether you decide to live on-campus or off-campus, you will soon encounter decisions of whether or not you want to live with a roommate or choose to live with a suite/flatmate. Oftentimes, we don’t get to choose because of the lottery system, but other times we have a lot of freedom in deciding our future housing plans. Whether you decide to continue sharing a room with someone or you opted to share a living space instead, here are a couple of things to keep in mind about the differences between living with a roommate versus a suitemate.
#1: Personal Space
Due to the nature of the living arrangements, you are bound to have to share a lot more space when living with a roommate. Something that can occur in this situation is the inevitable sharing of personal space. If you are someone who likes to have your own personal space and be alone from time to time, then maybe having a single in a suite or apartment will be the best way to go. For those of you who crave human contact, a suite in Thomas or any off-campus housing is perfect, because you’ll be able to have your alone time in your own room while still being surrounded by people.
#2: Noise Level
It’s only natural for it to be louder when you are living with a lot more people. If you decide to live with your best friends, chances are that the conversations with be a continuous flow of the suite’s culture. When considering your housing options, think about how you work best. Finding the right balance in what you want and need is an important thing to keep in mind when deciding your housing options. After all, no matter what you decide, you’ll still be able to hang out with your friends outside of the living arrangements.
#3: Scheduling
When living with more people, you will have to keep in mind that your suitemates will have different schedules. Are you a morning or a night person? Do your suitemates prefer to work in their room or in the common room? Living with more people means that you will have to be aware of the people around you and their schedules. Don’t forget that your friends are people too with responsibilities and school work to get done.
Check out this guideline from Virginia Tech about questions to consider when living with people.
Cover image courtesy of the Odyssey
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