@jym626 is right. If your TV were to get broken while in the common area, I doubt anyone would admit it, especially if one of their friends broke it. If these kids plan on hosting any parties in the common area, that TV will be particularly vulnerable.
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Lots of urban universities purchased apartment buildings, and the suite/room arrangements are often unusual. Even some older dorms have quite a mix of room sizes/shapes/configurations.>>>>
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Yes, this is true. But SURELY the housing office people aren’t nitwits, so why can’t they think: “hmmm, we have this one building where the units each have a much bigger bedroom. Maybe we should allow students to choose those bigger rooms by PAYING more.”
New Hall
larger bedroom (16 x 12) $3500 a semester
smaller bedroom (13 x 11) $3000 a semester
Is that so hard???
The idea of allowing “the person who shows up first” to pick, just is bad for morale. I would think that Housing offices would want to avoid “things starting on the wrong foot.”
The TV is yours. You brought it for your room. That is where you plan to use it. End of discussion. If others want a TV in the common room, fine. They can buy it. You don’t need a second TV or part of a second TV. You HAVE a TV.
Hey! Just wanted to let everything worked out! While the other room is bigger, one of the two bathrooms is right in my room, so that’s kind of awesome. Also-the 24 inch is going in my room, while the big one is in the common room with the understanding that if someone other than me breaks it, the cost is being split between the three of them (or whoever actually broke it/has the guest who broke it can own up). Move in went smoothly and I’m really happy to be here!
Glad it is working out - just a heads up on the pots and pans you bought to prevent issues…my son had 3 room mates that could not understand the concept of teflon and using plastic spatulas on them. Every time I went, the very nice ceramic/teflons were scratched beyond them being healthy to use. So I bought one more with a red plastic covered handle and put his name on the handle with a big black thick sharpie. Ugly yes, but at least that way they knew the boundaries. If they wanted to keep using the poisonous scratched teflon, that was up to them, or they could buy their own. But the one he kept nice was clearly off limits. A lot of problems can be avoided when rules are made clear in the first place. One more - make a trash day schedule now (maybe a week at a time Monday - Sunday per person) or that tends to become one person’s job and resentment builds! Have fun!
My roommates and I split the kitchen stuff. One bought dishes, one pots, one glassware and I brought the silverware. We lived together two years. That silverware was then used for 25 years after graduation by me, DH and kids. My daughters now have it at their apartment. Only one spoon has disappeared in all that time. The other roommates also used their stuff for several years after graduation. So it might not get destroyed, etc, but it’s best to not plan on that.
I hope your roommates abide by that (oral?) agreement. It would be difficult to track them down afterwards if something happens and make them pay. But, regardless, best wishes for your studies at Northeastern!
I actually prefer schools that do not charge different rates based on size of room or amenities. When there is a differential in fees, it tends to segregate students by wealth.
As there is a flat rate for the rent, it is not possible to ask someone to pay more. The fair way would be doing a semester switch like someone suggested or at least do a lucky draw. As for the TV, you may stay firm to keep it in your room. However, I would suggest to come up with a list of items that everybody want or need to use (e.g. vacuum, microwave, TV, etc) and then each person take the responsibility to contribute something. At the end, that item still belongs to the person who contributed it. If anything that is broken during your stay in that apartment, it should be replaced/fixed with even share. If you pool money to buy something now, it would be hard to decide who get what at the end. For the dorm room my D lived in last year, she provide the fridge and her roommate brought the microwave.