Finding an ideal roommate is an exhausting task. You have to look for someone with the same budget, like-minded personality, having basic decency and basically sane mind. It’s no cake walk!
Which is why, most of us prefer living with our friends. Every Monica wants to live with her Rachel! And truth be told, in today’s roommate generation, it is everyone’s wicked fantasy to live with their partner in crime.
Living with a friend has its own perks. To name a few- easier to manage your budget, always a good company around, lots of mutual parties and all in all a good time together. While all these might sound like living your glory days; in reality, it can be a real test of your patience! It all boils down to one thing- how do you draw a fine line between having a “roommate” or a “friend” living with you. To your relief, you can manage both into one quite easily!
Here are a few generalities that can make living with your friends as blissful as it sounds:
- Set Ground Rules
You know your buddy better than anyone else. You know how best they handle any matter at hand. Sometimes, you might no see eye to eye with their ways and so, you should set ground rules before hand on how you will be managing living together. This helps avoid awkward conflicts in the future.
- Match your Personalities
Having a close friend and living in a close proximity to them 24/7 are two different things. Whether you are a tough and competitive Monica or a warm-hearted and sweet Rachel, it is imperative that, before you move in, you make sure your personalities aren’t clashing. It can make co-habiting very difficult. Even if your personalities don’t match, try working out a way to vibe together.
- Define Boundaries
While a reliable shared company always feels cozy and trusting, having a little privacy at your disposal is also necessary. Everyone needs a little me-time to calm the wrecking brain. But living with your friend can make it difficult to establish privacy. Obviously, you don’t want to engage in an awkward conversation where you have to tell your own friend to back off for some time!
Try coming to a mutual understating where you calmly establish some privacy policy. Always remember, a calm conversation goes a long way.
- Overlapping Groups
Living with your friend might mean having a mutual group of friends. This makes things very smooth. We’ve all had Friends fantasies of having the entire gang with us all the time. But you might also have separate friends from work or college.
Talk about how “bringing friends over” should be managed. This way your privacy will not be hampered and there will be no clashes.
- Separate Chores
We love our pals but sometimes they can be a real pain when it comes to making them do their chores. Make a list of all the chores and divide them between you and your friend to avoid confusions later. Or else, the generosity of a friendship can be taken for granted and you might end up doing all the work alone.
- Sharing Food and Groceries
Friends have a lot of ease within themselves which makes it natural for them to overlook the usual “kitchen rules”. If you have any food or other groceries that you want to keep for yourself, communicate the same to your roommate. If you feel it is tricky to say no to your buddy, then decide on having separate shelves in the kitchen and the refrigerator to keep individual stuff and a common shelf for common groceries.
- Cleanliness
Nobody likes to come to a messed-up home with coke cans lying on the bed, food packets lying on the floor, overflowing dustbin and a disturbed kitchen. Set down cleanliness norms to avoid such atrocities!
- Plan to Overcome Arguments
We all fight with our friends. Sometimes, they can get on our nerves! But a little distance for a few hours makes it all come back to normal with no trouble. But what happens when you live with them? Arguments are bound to happen. Device a procedure to overcome these arguments in a way to avoid rifts in your bond.
Keep a calm mind and step away if the argument starts to heat up too much. Take your time but always make sure you bring things back to normal after an argument.
- Have Patience
Like I mentioned, living with a friend can also be a testing time. Your patience will be tested many times along the way. Keep yourself ready for that.
- Keep it Real
One of the biggest advantages of using the bond while living together, is that you can keep things real. You don’t have to look for ways to initiate a conversation if you are ever having trouble or want to talk about any inconvenience.
There is never a sure answer for whether living with friends can be a smooth ride. But keeping in mind the above tips can make it whole lot easier and fun to keep your bond safe and co-living easier.
