How to Get Along With Your Roommates: 5 Top Tips

01/12/2021

How to Get Along With Your Roommates: 5 Top Tips

Worried about getting on with housemates at university? Here’s how to maintain great roomie relationships!

Whether you’re in halls or moving into a student house for the first time, living with people other than your family can be a daunting experience. Even when you’ve made friends and chosen your housemates for second-year, it can still be scary knowing these friendships will be put to the test. 

Living in close proximity is very different from just being friends who socialise together after class. So here are our tips for making sure you get on with your housemates…

1. Show a little respect

Everyone is different when it comes to sharing personal items, whether it’s food, toiletries or electrical appliances. So the number one rule for happy housing is to be respectful of people’s things and always ask before borrowing.

The same goes for people’s privacy. Make sure you respect housemates’ needs and boundaries. Knock before entering people’s bedrooms, and let them enjoy having their own space away from the rest of the house.

2. Set some ground rules

Being able to talk about everything (even boring rules) is important if you want to know how to find housemates at university you can maintain good friendships with. Good communication is key!

You and your housemates should be able to openly discuss expectations about cleaning, noise or having people over to stay. Set basic ground rules early on, and you’ll be less likely to fall-out further down the line.

3. Clean up after yourself

When living in shared accommodation, remember that the things you do can impact others. Even if you don’t mind living in a messy house, it doesn’t mean that everyone else feels the same. The easiest way to avoid any issues is to always clean up your own mess.

 

Don’t leave piles of dirty dishes and don’t leave your things lying around in communal areas for others to tidy up.

4. Make time to get to know each other

If you want to know how to get along with your roommates, make time for them. If you feel like you don’t know each other that well, find activities to bond over. Whether you watch a series together, do some cooking together, go out socialising, or take up a joint hobby, there are many ways you can build better relationships.

For housemates who already know each other, it’s just as vital to maintain friendships. So don’t forget to put in some effort and schedule in some quality time to avoid becoming passing ships in the night.

5. Be ready to compromise

Don’t expect things to always happen the way you want them to. When living with others, you’ll have to learn to meet in the middle. If you want to know how to find housemates at university who are easy to get on with, consider whether your personalities are a match.

But remember, even if you’re polar opposites, there’s no reason why you can’t live harmoniously. As long as you are both willing to compromise! 

We hope our tips on how to get along with your roommates are useful. For help finding university housemates or just to meet new people at the University of Bolton, see our student chat forums.

As a leading Greater Manchester university with a friendly and supportive campus, there’s nowhere better to study, and nowhere better to meet likeminded students, and make friends for life.

To find out more about undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in 2022, see our available courses.

 

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