What Living With Roommates Has Taught Me

Thinking about living with roommates? Read our testimonial from one of our Alcove roommates to give you some insight.

What's Living With Roommates Like? - My Experience

Thinking about living with roommates, but you're unsure what it’s like? This is how I felt before I moved into my new home with Alcove.

Living with a roommate for the first time can be daunting, especially when you have to consider logistics such as cleaning and splitting the rent.

Here’s everything I’ve learnt about living with roommates through Alcove and how this experience has improved my self-awareness, relationships, and sense of community.

Why Live With Roommates?

Everyone's situation is different when you decide to look into shared housing. Some of us may be looking to save on rent, or perhaps you want to join a community and make new friends in your local area.

For me, it was a mix of affordability, getting to have a larger space at a fraction of the price, and also meeting like-minded people.

One of the benefits I found when having a roommate was also shared moments like cooking together, late-night conversations, and celebrating seasonal events together. Some things you miss out on when living alone.

Transitioning To Having a Roommate

I used to live alone in an apartment; therefore, transitioning to suddenly living with three other roommates was a new experience.

What was new to me was how mindful I had to be when living around others, picking up after myself, and honoring my chores around the house.

Rather than making assumptions, I realized sitting down to have weekly roommate meetings about schedules and bills, and contributions was important, so everyone knew their responsibilities.

What Having a Roommate Taught Me

Some of the biggest lessons I learnt living with roommates are:

• Self-awareness - You really begin to notice your own behaviors and habits when living with other people. You start to learn little things like when and how long to use the bathroom for, taking clothes out of the dryer straight away, and washing up straight after cooking, which make a big impact on your living situation.

• Boundaries - Living with roommates means you need to understand when to connect and when to give each other space.

• Community - Everyone has something new to teach each other, whether it's a new recipe, cultural tradition, or stories. Making the effort to chat and connect with each other brings a stronger sense of community!

Roommates Tips I Wish I Knew

• Be respectful of shared spaces - Making an extra effort to keep shared spaces like the kitchen and living room tidy goes a long way.

• Respect each other's routines and downtime - Knowing when each other needs to switch off or use the bathroom extra early for their work shift helps respect each other's routines and quiet time.

• Be more flexible - Not everyone will clean the way you expect, one day they might forget to wash up their dishes, or can’t clean that week. Learning to be more flexible when living with others makes it more fun.

• Get to know each other - Take the time to understand each other's values and habits, which allows you to know what to expect of each other and how to respect one another. For example, one person might love cleaning but hate cooking.

• Be mindful of noise - If you're playing your favorite tunes in your room or having friends over, then be mindful of how much noise you are making and how this might impact your roommates.

• Honor your commitments - If it’s your turn to clean this week or cook, honour your commitments, don’t do things half-heartedly or late, as this keeps everyone's responsibilities even.

How I Found Compatible Roommates With Alcove

The best part about finding roommates to live with was my experience with Alcove. Instead of moving in with complete strangers, their co-living platform allowed me to connect with roommates who shared my values.

I felt as if I wasn’t just moving in with people, but I was joining the Alcove community, while being able to find a spacious, affordable place to live close to where I needed to work.

Living with roommates through Alcove also made splitting rent easy, since it’s all done on the platform, avoiding awkward conversations or chasing anyone's rent money. I truly feel renting with Alcove has helped me grow as a person and create new friendships, and for that, I am grateful.

Read more of Alcove's testimonials here.