Roomies 101: Traits of a Good Roommate

Now that you have your own dorm, let’s talk about roommates. It is hard to find the perfect roommate to live with, but it’s also challenging to be the perfect roommate — though we can try. In this guide, you will find the fundamental traits of a good roommate.

Contributes consistently

As simple as it sounds, some people struggle with consistently contributing towards the shared space. It’s about paying on time, contributing to shared costs, and exerting effort. For instance, going to the grocery store with or for the roommates and buying toiletries in bulk for all the roomies can be cheaper than buying per piece.

To foster cooperation between the roommates, you can have a regular meeting for all roommates to talk about shared responsibilities such as chores and bill-splitting. Here, you can also discuss adjustments and compromises that you can make, especially when the bills (i.e., electricity and water) are excessive.

At the end of the day, we often choose to live with roommates in order to cut costs and improve convenience, so establishing a system of contribution and communication can greatly help us attain a sustainable lifestyle.

Well-organized

In our dorms, we have both personal and common spaces. If these spaces suddenly overlap, violating physical boundaries, it could result in messy confrontations and arguments over where’s what and who consumed whose.

A roommate who keeps their things in check creates the least amount of conflict in the household as it puts the weight of responsibility on themselves. With common spaces such as the kitchen and the bathroom, a roommate should keep things in their places. Here’s a tip to establish ownership: labels. Labels could help to check who owns what and in situations like checking when food or groceries were bought/cooked to mark when it could expire (we will go over food and food waste in a separate blog).

Respectful

Respect is at the core of sharing a room. Respecting each roommate and their boundaries is an important trait, as it ensures harmonious relationships and a peaceful dorm. A dorm should still be a safe space for all, and building the element of trust through proper communication improves that.

Here are some basic areas of respect:

1. Sleeping schedule.
2. Privacy.
3. Preferences.
4. Physical and social boundaries.
5. Personal space. Make sure to ask for permission before bringing a visitor.
6. Possessions.

Conclusion

In an era of co-living comes its challenges with cohabitation with other people. Being responsible for yourself is easy, but being responsible for other people is an entirely different and noble task. It is important to find traits that roommates should have, but it is equally important to hold the same standards ourselves.

Interested in finding roommates and interacting with the renter community? Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5559640647415482