Am I going to get shanked??

[Guest]

Anyone ever have a room mate? I've been on my own for at least 5 years and never had the experience. I'm considering trying out Craigslist but dunno if I'd be headed into one of those horror stories that I hear about. I have no problem living alone, but I think it may lead to either better living arrangements or I could save some money.
Any past experiences with Room mates that may help me decide if this is a path I want to try?

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Muk;37796]Anyone ever have a room mate? I've been on my own for at least 5 years and never had the experience. I'm considering trying out Craigslist but dunno if I'd be headed into one of those horror stories that I hear about. I have no problem living alone, but I think it may lead to either better living arrangements or I could save some money.
Any past experiences with Room mates that may help me decide if this is a path I want to try?[/QUOTE]

haha. I'm not sure if craigslist is the best route, since there are alot of crazies on there. Not to mention, you have no idea if they have a steady (legal) income to make rent payments on time. The last thing you want is to damage your credit, that is, if you two sign a lease together and it's not room sharing.

However, friends may not be any better. I'm sure we've all heard of the horror stories of friends hating each other and what not.

The one advice I would offer is that you find a place that is roommate friendly. Meaning, that it has two bathrooms (assuming you only have 1 roomate) and the bedrooms are apart, etc. This will allow the feeling of having your own personal space and it works well for me.

Also, I'd try to room with someone that is laid back who doesn't get upset easily, especially over the small things. Getting in a fight over why you left the light on is just stupid and is bound to cause issues.

Other than that, the normal advice and common sense applies. If you like your place clean, dint room with a messy person. If you hate pets, make sure they don't have one.

[Guest]

In college I lived with both male and female roommates, after I got out of school, I lived alone. Female roommates are always better because you get to be an automatic friend with benefits most of the time. Of course common sense still applies.

[Guest]

The problem with moving in with a random stranger is you don't know them. You don't know if they will go into your room when you are not there and take stuff, if they will eat your food, or some other stupid shit. But I think if you interviewed them in person first you could get a good idea of their personality. My first roommate found a friend of a friend of a friend to live with us, and she turned out to be total bat shit, so even the ' social circle' route can lead to bad results. But then again she was fat, so that's probably why she went crazy.

I do see the point of both roommate and alone living arrangements. With a roommate, it is more social and cheaper. By yourself you get the privacy and know no one will mess with your shit. It's also a dhv to live alone, since most younger people can't afford a bachelor pad and must have multiple roommates (I've lived with 3 other roommates before, that's 4 people in one house).

How much will you save?
Figure up how much money you will save with a roommate and decide if that's enough to try it out. I think craigs list will work as long as you meet in person with the candidate first.

[Guest]

[QUOTE=Gunslinger;37802]The problem with moving in with a random stranger is you don't know them.[/QUOTE]

You're like a miniature Buddha covered in hair.

[Guest]

Its about the right match. Personally I lived with a room mate which was disastrous because we did not have alot in common, place was big but our differences were bigger so i decided to go out alone after all i was only saving about $200 a month.
I later grew bored and did the room mate thing again only this time with someone who we had alot more in common. That worked well until he moved out of town for a job. Then I took a female roomie which was fun being friends with benefits but then that got complicated since i could bring other girls home and most of the other girls thought that she was my girlfriend and i was cheating on her...

Bright side if you do roommates you can afford to stay somewhere more expensive for cheap like uptown. 2 bedrooms 2 baths lease for about $1300 so divide by two and you come out with a steal....

At the end its what matters most to you? privacy? savings? comradeship?...

I would personally stay away from craigslist

[Guest]

Well I'm only considering Craigslist because with a simple search, I can find hundreds of ads. Where do you suggest looking for a roomie?