HOW DO PEOPLE AVOID PICKING A TERRIBLE ROOMMATE?

Most people want to earn enough money to rent their own place. However, this is not possible for most people because of skyrocketing rent prices in London and around the UK. In 2011, a national survey found that 1,850,137 households have either more than one person or more than one family. So, what is the reality for today’s house and flat sharers? How easy is it to find a good roommate?

Some people will stick with what they already know and rent a house with their friends. Others will look elsewhere to find a roommate by placing an advert online or on a shop window. Some others might even organize a ‘speedflatmating’ event which helps people to find the right person to move in with. During the event, people have a chat and try to make a decision about a roommate.

It can be very difficult to find a good person to fill an empty room. How do you know if a stranger can be trusted? Will they pay the rent? Will they nick your food or your belongings from your room? They may do something unacceptable and cross the line. If your new roommate showed up without any socks, you may lend them a few pairs and that would be a kind thing to do. But how will you feel if your roommate goes into your room and takes some of your clothes? What if that person was actually one of your friends? This can be something most people wouldn’t accept.

Perhaps it is better to live with strangers than with friends. In this way, you might hold yourself distant from your roommate and don’t let him or her ask for or get any of your stuff in the house. Some people would say that living with strangers is not a problem when you are younger but it isn’t so easy to do so when you get older. The amount of house sharing is rising, for both younger and older people. And this means that we won’t make easy decisions about who to live with in the case of sharing a house.