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Think Twice Before Moving in with a Friend

Is living with a friend as great as it sounds?

By tnkPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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After living with my parents all my life, getting my own house felt like an essential. On top of that, it felt like freedom and a chance to be myself without my parents constantly telling me to do my chores and making every decision for me. The decision was easy. I’m getting my own apartment or house no matter what the costs are. From then on, I started searching for the perfect home. While looking, I brought the topic up to my co-workers who helped me search for a cheap house or apartment for rent that would fit my budget. After looking for some time, my friend mentioned that she was also looking for a place. We started spending more time together and quickly became close. I figured since my budget wasn’t very much, having a roomie would help with the bills and create more wiggle room for me financially. I never thought these decisions through as much as I should’ve because I was ready to get out of my parents' home. That was my first mistake.

We started searching together and set up a system; I would schedule the appointments and we would both get together and check out what could potentially be our new home. We looked at approximately five houses and apartments before making our decision on which house would fit our budget better. The house was a modern house with around four bedrooms and two baths. The two-story house was going to be our new home. We moved in within a week and thought it was the best decision ever. After settling into our new home, the problems quickly started to rise. From personal experience, here are my reasons why living with your best friend is not such a great idea.

First, moving in with a best friend is NOT a sleepover. Living with them might feel awesome for the first couple months, but because people are so different, the feeling quickly changes. This is from personal experiences only. The first month felt as though we were just having a sleepover, every day. We would talk about things that I have never talked to any of my other friends about. It almost felt as though we were just as close as sisters. It felt good to always have someone there for you, helping you with life problems and giving you advice when you absolutely needed it the most. But just then, everything changes. You become claustrophobic with your things and with space throughout the house. I wanted so badly to have my own time in the house without someone constantly being there. The little things will end up bothering you the most, like “Can I borrow a cute dress?” or “Can I use your makeup? I ran all out and don’t want to go to the store,” Quickly, and most likely unnoticeable, you are sharing your whole wardrobe with them without even realizing it. Once you say yes to a question like that, the question will pop up more often, trust me.

Secondly, most houses for rent are on a one-year lease. In this time, many things will change. As many of us know, we all hate paying the bills and losing money out of our paycheck for things like electric and water; things we don’t even notice we are using until the bill comes in the mail with your name on it and a three-digit payment that is due within a couple of weeks. It sucks. Bills suck. Now try getting the money for bills from another person. This particular person that I moved in with was nowhere good with her money. She would blow it on the most ridiculous stuff, and if I brought up a conversation about how a certain bill would be due within a week, all hell breaks loose. She explains to me that it is all my fault that she doesn’t have money to pay the bills because I didn’t let her know about the bill way before she spent all of her paychecks, and get this... she wasn’t going to get paid for another two weeks. Try not stressing out about that, whenever the bill is in your name and you have money for your part, but not enough for her part. After a few arguments with your roomie, you get this random text message that says “I want to move out.” Commitment to a lease and bills for a whole year with someone that you might think you get along with now, will mostly likely be a disaster later.

Thirdly, you never realize that you need the small things in your house. Examples might be laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, and most importantly, food. But who’s buying it? At the beginning of the year, when we first got this house, we decided that we would be splitting the bill for the essentials in the house. That worked out one time, and ever since then, I have had to buy my own laundry detergent and food. It’s been four months since we moved into this house. After I get home from work, I notice a pot on the stove, empty. She would cook for herself with the food that I bought. How rude is that?

Who wants a nice and clean house? Almost everyone, I’m sure of it. Now, try living with a roomie that doesn’t pick up his or her stuff. Who is going to clean the house, do the dishes, or mow the yard? All these factors play into having your house and living with someone else might be a problem. You pick up your stuff around the house, but their things just lay around the house for weeks or until you tell them to pick up their things. Keeping a clean house is hard, especially if you’re a clean freak like me. Oh, and get this, whenever my roomie “clean the whole house,” that consists of her cleaning only her room and bathroom. Not the house. So, if you want things done, you will probably have to do it yourself.

In conclusion, living with a friend is often difficult. In some cases, it can ruin friendships. These experiences are from my roomie and my other friends that have experienced living with roomies as well. If you do happen to find a roomie that you are just fine living with and you both get along well, then kudos to you! I am glad to see that there are some people that get along while living in the same house. If you are deciding on living with a friend, you might want to think things over more before jumping into a year lease with one of your friends that you think you know so well, until you move in with them and spend every day together. My story is a disaster, and if I could go back and realize these things before moving in with a friend, I most certainly would not. Moreover, I also go to college full time, which is stressful when I am trying to do my homework and her music is blaring through the speakers. Think about all these factors and more before making a decision that will last at least one year before it might be too late. With whatever decision you might make, good luck!

friendship
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About the Creator

tnk

"writing is like the painting of a voice."

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