Living by Yourself vs. Living with Roommates

Although you have always dreamt of being independent and living on your own, sometimes sharing a flat with another person is not such a bad idea, especially if you are renting a place in a big city. The rents in this cosmopolitan city can sometimes be ridiculously high, especially if you are looking for a trendy, nice, neat, and well-organised spot in a central location.

Of course, on the other hand, living with someone else can be a real nightmare if you are not sharing the same interests or do not have the same cleaning habits and routines. If you are still wondering whether to look for a place for yourself only or to call a friend that is looking for a shared lodging, then you'd better read this post. It will outline both the advantages and drawbacks of both of these options.

Cleaning

Cleaning is proven to be the topic which provokes the most disputes between flatmates, so if you plan to share your housing, you definitely need to be prepared to face some disagreements regarding this topic. Although there are many rental property cleaning companies, not all tenants take advantage of their services before they move out. This is why, you may be prepared to face a top-to-bottom move in cleaning once you find a nice place that you want to rent out.

If you will live alone, you will have to buy plenty of cleaning products in the beginning which may break your monthly budget. The sum spent on cleaning products will sound much more reasonable, if you share it with a flatmate. Needless to say, you will have to invest much less time and effort into the actual heavy-duty initial cleaning when you have a hand to help you. If an extra person is a good thing when you have to clean a flat or house in the beginning, it may not be a great experience to live with someone who does not like cleaning on a regular basis.

Maintaining a home spotless is a tough chore and if you are not living with the right person, you may have to end up cleaning the mess which both of you made, or in other words, it may not be such a good idea to live with another individual in the long run. Even if you are good friends with that person, you'd better think of making a shared cleaning schedule if you do not want to end up being Cinderella in your own home.

Interests and Hobbies

Before committing yourself with a rental contract to living with another person, you'd better think of the mutual interests and hobbies that you have. It is important that the person that you live with likes the same type of music, TV shows, movies, art, etc. Or, at least, make sure that you have nearly the same lifestyle. Otherwise, you may end up watching films that you do not like and listening to music that you do not like just because your flatmates likes them and has brought a TV or a stereo.

If you live with a person who works night shifts and you do morning ones, this combination will be unhealthy for both his/her or your sleep. As one of you will be usually awake when the other one is sleeping and will make a lot of noise. If your job is intense and you value your peace, you'd better consider a more solitary accommodation option than a shared flat.

Budget and Sharing the Bills

Having a flatmate is a good move budgetwise. If you live with someone else, you will be able to get some financial support when it comes to paying the utility bills, as well as the internet, TV, magazine subscriptions, etc. Of course, these bills will be much higher if two, three, or even more people live together. The other side of the medal is that you may have some difficulties splitting shopping bills for food that both of you eat, especially if you are cooking together. Consider this, if you do not like to share food or your diet is special.

Pets

This brings us back to part 1, where we discussed the cleaning. Having a pet involves much more cleaning than a person could imagine before getting one. If you are a pet owner and the friend that you want to live with is not, be prepared for some serious issues. Not all people like pets, or even if they do, they do not like to clean after them. Pet owners are proven to live happier on their own.

If you, do not like cats and dogs yourself and your roommate-to-be has a pet, then you'd better not live with this person. Pets are like children - they demand a lot of attention and care constantly. If you do not want to end up babysitting or walking your friend's dog on a Saturday evening instead of going out with friends, don't agree to living with pets.

There are many other important things to be taken into consideration before making a decision whether to live alone or with a friend. The most important thing is to listen to your inner voice and not to someone else's when you are making this decision. Good luck with your next move in!