How to pick the best housemates
Find the perfect people to live with next year
It’s that time of year again: house hunting season! Whether you’re a first timer or seasoned pro, here at Purple Frog, we know it can be stressful. Alongside deadlines, partying and settling into a new uni year, you’ve got to pretend you’re on ‘Location, Location, Location’.
Before you can get started choosing your perfect student house, it’s important to settle on who your housemates will be.
While some of you might already have a perfect group of best friends, the decision won’t be so easy for others. So, if you’re still deciding who to live with here is my advice on choosing the best housemates, based on my amazing experiences.
“You’ll never guess what happened!”
Laughter: the glue that holds a house together.
For the last two years I have been lucky enough to live with my best friends. Through highs, lows and an awful lot of drama – usually me running in with another story about a Bridget Jones moment – we’ve filled our houses with so many happy memories. Uni would be very different without my best friends.
Moral of the story is…
Live with people who can make you laugh. They’ll make the good times amazing and the bad times a whole lot better.
“Whose washing up is this?”
In second year, I had a favourite pan (sad but true), and each night my housemate would use it and leave his leftovers in it.
While I did take some revenge by eating a little of the left overs each night, it was sometimes annoying living with someone with different standards of cleanliness. But after a quick chat, the problem was solved and whilst he still used my special pan he started to clean it afterwards.
Moral of the story is…
Don’t worry if your housemates are messy. Making sure you can communicate with the people you live with should allow you to compromise on any issues.
“Can you please keep it down, I’m asleep.”
After a night out, it’s sometimes better to just have a little lie down. Party hats are optional, though.
On a rare occasion last year when everyone in the house didn’t go out together, we got in trouble for being noisy when we came back in. Admittedly running around the house at 4 in the morning, shouting about my lecture at 9am was a little inconsiderate, but in the words of Freddie Mercury ‘Don’t stop me now’.
Moral of the story is…
Choosing housemates who like to go out or perhaps stay in the same amount as you is important for keeping the peace.
“What!? I thought you two would be together forever.”
Essential for tricycles, but for house shares it’s not so good.
Last year, my friend found herself in a house with two couples. That’s a lot of dodging film nights and watching smug people cuddle left, right and centre. Meanwhile, our house witnessed at least four breakups. For a house of five girls that is pretty impressive/embarrassing, depending on how you see it.
Moral of the story is…
I hate to be cynical but, while you might think you’ve met the love of your life, living with a boyfriend or girlfriend at university probably isn’t the best idea. No one wants to be waiting for the kettle to boil stood next to their ex at 8 in the morning.
Also, no one you’re living with will enjoy being the third wheel.
The most important thing to think about…
The most important thing to remember is that if people make you happy outside of living together then you will probably enjoy sharing a home with them. Also bear in mind that if you decide not to live with someone, tell them in plenty of time so that everyone knows where they stand and no one feels left out (or homeless).