7 Things to Talk about with Your Roommate Before You Move in Together
Moving in with a roommate in a dorm or a private apartment can either be the best experience of your life or the worst. Make sure you discuss a few important issues with your roommate before you decide to move in together.
1. Discuss how you both will share common expenses
Issues arising with respect to sharing expenses can make or break your relationship with your roommate. Some like accounting expenses at the end of the month while others like splitting the check on the spot. Talk about how you both would like to go about sharing your monthly expenses to avoid quarrels later.
2. Talk about alcohol, smoking and drug habits
Habits related to drinking, smoking and drugs can be very critical in defining how smoothly you can live with your roommate. Whether smoking is allowed inside the house or not or whether you store the fridge with several beer bottles are issues you will have to clear out with your roommate from the very beginning.
3. Talk about restrictions regarding hosting parties in the house
Everyone loves having house parties because they are convenient, fun-filled and inexpensive. But house parties can turn nasty when there is loud music, indiscriminate drinking and intimate acts happening behind closed doors. Are you ready to allow or tolerate such situations, if your roommate hosts a house party? Discuss in advance and decide what you both can and cannot do if you host a house party.
4. Discuss whether partners can sleep over or not
Letting each other’s partner sleep over may seem completely innocuous at the outset but it may not really be so in the long run. What if one sleep over becomes two, two becomes four and four becomes never? What if you don’t get along with your roommate’s partner? Play safe and keep a cap on how many nights you both will allow each other’s partner to come and stay over. Once you know each other well and are comfortable with the presence of each other’s partner, you can then erase out such restrictions.
