Sharing an apartment with a roommate in New York City is something that many people have experienced as a way to reduce the cost of living and improve interaction and cooperation with others. However, there are some challenges to living in a shared apartment. Here are some tips on living with roommates to help you adjust to shared living.
Best Way to Find Your Roommates
When it comes to finding a roommate for student housing NYC, uhomes.com offers a convenient way for the incoming students who will study in New York. This platform can help you find roommates based on your interests, ideal room type, and rental budget. Its aim is to find your roommates according to your needs and preferences.
uhomes.com also offers services to help you get to know potential roommates before signing a contract. At the same time, a comprehensive security audit mechanism is guaranteed to ensure the authenticity and privacy of users’ information. This is especially important for first-time renters or those new to a new city.
In addition, this platform provides rental services that cover multiple countries and regions, and helps students and young professionals to find apartments for rent in some popular areas near universities and city centers. Like in New York City, uhomes.com provides Columbia University Housing and New York University Housing close to the campus and some apartments with a short walk distance. It eases the process of renting an apartment and make it possible to find roommates with similar interests. If you’re looking for a reliable platform to kick-start your life as a roommate, uhomes.com is a trustworthy choice.
7 Tips for Living with Roommates
Respect each other’s personal space
Everyone needs some personal space in the shared house. Respecting each other’s privacy in a shared living environment is important. Avoid rifling through each other’s belongings and get permission to enter each other’s rooms beforehand. Maintain an appropriate social distance, especially when sharing spaces such as the kitchen and living room and be careful not to disturb each other. If you need to share specific items or facilities, communicate in advance how often and how you will use them.
Clarify responsibilities and rules
Shared living requires everyone to share some ground rules. Before you and your roommate start living together in the student apartment, be sure to discuss expectations about cleanliness, noise, visitors, etc. with each other. For example, who is responsible for cleaning, who is responsible for garbage disposal, and whether or not you are allowed to invite friends to visit. Discussing these topics clearly before you move in can help avoid conflicts later on. At the same time, contingency plans should be made for emergencies, such as dealing with water leaks, damaged appliances, and other problems.
Communication is Important
It’s crucial to maintain good communication with your roommate. Because you live in the same space, your lifestyles, habits, and schedules may differ greatly from one another. Regular communication can prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. It’s a good practice to explicitly discuss some of the basic rules of life from the start, such as cleaning divisions, noise restrictions, visitor policies, and other personal preferences. By establishing open lines of communication, any problems can be resolved in a timely manner, ensuring a harmonious living environment.
Sharing common items
Many shared households share items such as laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and kitchen equipment. When using these communal items, agreeing on the rules for purchase and use beforehand is advisable. For example, who is responsible for purchasing them and whether these items need to be replenished after use. Try to avoid mixing personal items with public items to avoid unnecessary disputes. If a roommate forgets to replenish public items, this can be solved by a friendly reminder or by setting a rule of taking turns to buy.
Check bills and expenses regularly
Shared the apartments with roommates usually involves a lot of bills, such as utilities, internet, and garbage. To avoid disputes, you should check bills regularly with your roommate to ensure that expenses are shared fairly. When allocating expenses, you can use shared billing tools such as apps like Splitwise to keep track of everyone’s expenses and payable amounts for transparency and fairness. A fixed payment method and cycle can also be negotiated to ensure that everyone pays their fees on time and to avoid unnecessary stress due to delays.
Respect your roommate’s pace of life
Every roommate has a different pace of life and schedule. For example, some roommates may need to rest during the day, while others may be used to working late at night. In this case, you should respect your roommate’s routine and not disturb their rest. If there are special circumstances, such as you need to use the washing machine at night or do some noisy activities, it is better to inform your roommate in advance and seek their understanding. Maintaining respect for each other’s rhythms can minimize many unnecessary conflicts.
Make the visitor rules together
The issue of visitors between roommates often triggers conflict. The arrival of visitors is not only necessary for socializing but may also affect your and your roommate’s daily life and privacy. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts with visitors, it’s especially important to communicate clearly with your roommate about visitors before you move in.
