Crazy roommates.. what would you do?

[S4lty]

College time soon, and that means renting!! Anyone here have experience with renting apartments or having roommates? I've heard the crappy roommate stories. But what are the chances of having a bad one?

Basically I've got two choices.

1. Rent a room in a house with two other "unkown" roommates, $550/mo. From pics it looks nice. And the one guy I talked on the phone with seems cool. But who know right.

2. Rent a bachelor suite in a high rise, $873/mo. Pretty nice looking apartment buliding and room. It would be on the 20th floor!! Everything about this place seems pretty freakin sweet.

Money isn't an issue here, although saving $300 would be nice. The issue is this whole roommate thing. And I live 3500 kilometres away, so driving over for a look is a no go.

 

[Aran]

Spend more, live alone. I made it three months with my first set of roommates and four with the second, when I lived in college housing (three people to a two bedroom apartment) without going nuts and finding my own place.

It was that or kill them. All of them.

 

[Vlaude]

Spend more, live alone.

I agree with this. If you think you'll get lonely just invite your friends over, they'll be more than happy you did I would assume. But having a nice quiet place to sleep and study is worth the extra expense in my opinion.

 

[Magdalene]

I agree with Aran *curses*.
No, seriously.
I'd rather pay more, under any circumstances, than share an apartment (also meaning space, bathroom, utensils, silence or lack thereof) with people who are not immediate family or totally best friends.
Although, given a choice, I'd rather live alone or just with partner/spouse than with anyone...

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

I agree with Aran *curses*.
No, seriously.
I'd rather pay more, under any circumstances, than share an apartment (also meaning space, bathroom, utensils, silence or lack thereof) with people who are not immediate family or totally best friends.
Although, given a choice, I'd rather live alone or just with partner/spouse than with anyone...

>I< would suggest ... IF yo!ur gonna "cohabit"
be the landlord and not the renter
Get the High end ... make it an understanding
Thanks for the cost help, BUT: leave a dirty dish in the sink YOU(renter) are OUT

Money isn't an issue here ... Highrise

 

[Farsight]

The good:
When I went to college, dorm-living was required for the first year. My (previously unknown) roommate turned into the best of friends for the next 4 years.
The bad:
When I enlisted in the Navy, my first roommates in the barracks were constant party animals. I couldn't get enough sleep, they trashed the room on a regular basis, leaving me to do the cleaning for inspections, etc. As soon as I could, I moved out of that room and picked my own roommate. Again, we were great friends for the whole time I lived there. (Side note, both of those people were kicked out of the Navy after failed rehab)

It's a craps-shoot, moving into dorms/barracks. My advice is follow everyone else's advice and take your fate into your own hands if you can afford it.

 

[Lord Raven]

...Money isn't an issue here, although saving $300 would be nice. The issue is this whole roommate thing. And I live 3500 kilometres away, so driving over for a look is a no go.

I didn't do college, but I've lived in a variety of settings. If money is truly not a problem (and you've factored in utilities, etc.. right?) then go for the solo apartment.

I'm an avid reader of stories on the collegehumor(dot)com site and they have some horrific college roommate stories.

In real life, controlling your space is a comfort worth paying for. Enjoy the view!

 

[S4lty]

Ooooh but it seems like I would be missing out! Bad stories, but stories nonetheless. I guess I am biased more towards moving in with roommates because I come from owning my own place with no roommates. Which I must confess, is dull. All with the lack of friends that haven't moved out for college, and the lame ppl I work with who I don't even think of inviting over

But yea, above advice seems sound. Heck, with college AND a part time job (that I can pick and choose to which is most fun) I should have it easy finding friends to invite over.

Nordberg, I almost forgot about collegehumor! If I ever find myself bored sitting alone in my penthouse suite, I'll check it out again and smile at the choice I made.

Edit: And yes, the $875 includes all utilities. Including parking for my truck, which I'm going to try and find somewhere cheaper (aka free) to park. But no internet, which I'll have to figure out.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

For future reference Re: Room-mating best efforts


Caution: Strong language


Someone Please Be Roommates with This Kick Ass Guy from Craigslist