November 8, 2017, by Lucy

Things to Consider When Choosing Housemates

In Nottingham, student houses seem to go fast. Come the Christmas holidays, most people will have got a house for the next academic year under their belt so since it is already November, it is worth starting to look for next year’s accommodation. Daunting it may be, but to help calm your panic or clean your stress induced blurred vision, I’ve laid down some pointers to make you realise what you actually want in a housemate.

Personalities

I mean, it sounds like an obvious one, but more often than not people choose to live with people they don’t even like simply because they want to secure a house. However, as the age old motto goes, ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Although you may just want to latch onto any old fella, it is worth thinking about how much you like this person… You will be living with them. Now, are you an introvert who simply needs their own space, or are you an extrovert who loves people more than life? Will you be out partying every night or will be snuggled in bed by 9pm? All of these little details may seem trivial now but once you are living together, you might come to hate it every time your housemate decides to wake the entire neighbourhood up because of their 4am yoga exploits.

Budget

You might dream of living in a beautiful mansion with its own swimming pool and ten acres of land, which is all well and good so long as you can afford it and so long as your housemates can afford it too. Since not everyone at uni is on the same budget, either through their student loan or through other forms of money, it means that people’s idea of how much they’d like to spend on rent differs greatly. When it comes to looking at houses, you should probably talk about money, as much as a taboo subject as it is, before you end up signing a contract and realising that you have minus £400 to last you the whole year. Gulp.

Hygiene

Halls are amazing in the sense that you have a cleaner to come and tidy away the sins every week or so. Houses on the other hand are the complete opposite. Shock, but suddenly you become responsible for your own mess. (I know, right? Who’d have thought it?) If someone is slobby in halls and has a tendency to leave their dishes out on the side until you have to chip away the mould, then maybe you should think twice about living with them. Unless, of course, that is a trait that you look for in a potential housemate, then go ahead and knock yourself out. Just think about what state of a house you want to live in cleanliness wise and steer clear of anyone who violates your conditions.

Responsibility

Whilst you have to make sure that you’re an appealing housemate, benefit yourself by looking for people who would be an asset to your house too. With no parents or wardens around, all of the adult related responsibilities fall onto you, meaning that if something goes wrong, you’ll have to know how to deal with it. When it comes to money, it’d be stupid on living with someone notorious for their late payments. When it comes to cooking, it would be extremely helpful to life with a Nigella wannabe, teaching you the tricks of the trade. And don’t get me started on cleaning, but a Barry Scott like figure would be nice.

Whoever you end up living with next year, make the most of what you have since living in a house with other university students is an experience of its own. You don’t need to surround yourself with teetotal, germ-o-phobes who whip up a roast every night, but you should at least consider what you think you can and can’t live without.

Happy house hunting!

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