DO YOU REALLY NEED TO INTERVIEW PROSPECTIVE ROOMMATES?

Written by dan the roommate man


Continued from page 1

Study Habits

When, Where, and How often.

Kitchen Arrangements

Will you share food costs? What are your nutritional needs? Who will dorepparttar dishes? How often? Does three-month-old spaghetti inrepparttar 110516 refrigerator make you crazy?

Housekeeping

Habits How neat and tidy are you really?

Sleeping Needs

What hours? How much? Windows open?

Privacy

How much do you want or need? Private bath? Private bedroom? Private study space?

Social Habits

Are you dating? Do you like to party? When is entertaining friends OK and not OK?

Spare Time

How do you like to spend it? Watch TV? Listen to jazz? Raise white mice for experiments? Read?

How Do You Express Your Emotions?

Are you moody? What are you like when you are down and out? What are you like when things are good? Are you shy or extroverted? Are you a good listener? When you are angry do you fight, sulk, or talk it out? What are your pet peeves?

Where Do You Want To Live?

Are you looking for a house or an apartment? Do you have your heart set on living in a particular area? Is an access-controlled building a top priority?

What Is Your Budget?

How much can you afford to pay for rent and utilities? What kind of "luxuries" (if any) do you require? Cable TV? Telephone? Air Conditioner?

DAN THE ROOMMATE MAN

www.roommateexpress.com


COMMUNICATION-KEY TO A GOOD ROOMMATE RELATIONSHIP

Written by dan the roommate man


Continued from page 1

Nobody likes to be mad, and good discussions often come easier than you'd think, with just a little effort to approach them and share your feelings.

Be reachable!

Chances are you probably have a cell phone, but if you don't, consider getting one. Pagers are also nearly as handy and cost a lot less if you're on a tight budget. This will give your roommate (and friends) a way to get hold of you any time, and at least give you a message. Most severe roommate problems arise from one person "broad siding" another; be it with a house unexpectedly full of people or "borrowing food" without asking.

Friends A common contention; sometimes its not your roommate that can drive you crazy, it's his or her obnoxious friends. Think about that before moving in with someone, you'll be inrepparttar company of their friends as well as themselves. Are you OK with them being around with you not there?

Frustrations easily mount when you or your roommate come home to a bunch of guests unexpectedly. Unless you're both social butterflies 24x7, agree to talk torepparttar 110515 other person by cell phone/pager before you giverepparttar 110516 go ahead for your "crew" to swing by for some brews and watchrepparttar 110517 game. Again, in deciding on a roommate this is another point to check and make sure your lifestyles don't conflict. You're looking for someone with whom most ofrepparttar 110518 time will not have a problem with people coming over when you want. When one of you wants to keep it quiet one night, it won't be a big deal.

Bedrooms

Bedroom locations are a major key to enjoying your living area. If your bedroom isn't a place you feel comfortable, you're going to be unhappy and prone to having problems with your roommate. Check a prospective place out before agreeing to share it. Online floor plans greatly help with this.

Wall sharing with common areas, other apartment units, and other bedrooms arerepparttar 110519 biggest things to think about. For example, if your roommate says he likes to play PlayStation 2 until 3am and you like to hitrepparttar 110520 sack at midnight, avoid sharing a wall withrepparttar 110521 TV. Usually you won't have much flexibility in floor plans, and you'll have to choose between sharing a wall with a common area, or another bedroom. Weight things out: If you're a night owl, sharing a wall withrepparttar 110522 TV area might berepparttar 110523 way to go.

Doorways and bathrooms are another thing to remember. Your roommate will be coming in and out of these while you're trying to sleep, do they need to travel by your door? Sharing a wall withrepparttar 110524 bathroom may look good, but at 6am whenrepparttar 110525 noisy shower wakes you up your feelings may change. Check things out, runrepparttar 110526 shower, see how loud it is (you should check outrepparttar 110527 water pressure anyway!). Remember things will be quieter once your things are there, too, but don't count on it.

Like to sleep in? A window that lets sunlight atrepparttar 110528 crack of dawn may be something to avoid. Also, nearby roads can wake you up, especially inrepparttar 110529 winter plowing season. Think about distance and sheltering fromrepparttar 110530 street, as well as parking.

danrepparttar 110531 roommate man

DAN THE ROOMMATE MAN

www.roommateexpress.com


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