Friends as Roommates?

<p>Have any of you roomed with people you were friends with before going to the school? Or heard stories about people who have? If so, how'd it work out and would you recommend it or no?</p>

<p>I have had more than ten roommates over the years (in school, and camp also) and I really don't recommend rooming with a friend.</p>

<p>It may seem cool at first, because you guys already know each other and will feel comfortable around each other, but it can kill your friendship- and I'm talking friends-since-second-grade kind of thing. First of all, you their friend's sleeping schedule, cleanliness, tendency to bring girls/guys over, study habits, or any other weird things they might do in private. That alone can kill a friendship. You can't concentrate on why you love your friend, just how it ****es you off when they sing loudly and off-key to Aretha Franklin while writing English papers. Secondly, even if you DO know each other's lifestyle perfectly and don't mind, there's always such a hazy line between roommates and friendship. When you want to hang out, it's not special anymore. Your friend might figure you don't need to chill or go out because you "hang out" all the time.... in your room. More time together does not equal more fun together.</p>

<p>Also, if you room with someone you don't know, sure you could get unlucky. But chances are you might actually meet someone cool and wouldn't have met otherwise. It helps prevent you from shutting yourself in a little circle before you've even had the chance to meet people. If you MUST room with someone you know, I'd pick an acquaintance you get along with well, but aren't particularly friends with. Roommate scenarios also change depending on whether you're a guy or a girl (different problems).</p>

<p>If you have any more questions, please send me a private message. I'll be happy to tell you some successful (and not-so-successful) stories about roommates I've had.</p>

<p>i live with four other girls in my apartment, we've lived together for two years now.. two of them i met in freshman year, one i just met last year, and the other i've been friends with since 7th grade.. and i actually share a room with her.. we get along 20x better than everyone else.. but we have a great time, it really doesn't matter.. but l mentioned above, it is cool to meet other people that you probably wouldnt otherwise..</p>

<p>It is much better to live with someone you don't know.</p>

<p>Howabout someone who is a friend but not a really close friend? Just someone you like, who you talk to occasionally.</p>

<p>One of the best things I am looking forward to in college is meeting a new person as my roommate, they will have so much more to offer you, and you to offer them, if you room with a friend your life cannot change and most likely you will grow to dislike your former best friend. My advice, and what I am looking toward, is a completely new friend.</p>

<p>my vote is for the "not a good idea" camp. I saw a few people who were best friends in HS and ended up barely speaking after being roomates. </p>

<p>Coming into it being friends seems to give a sense of privilege, for one thing, that you don't have with a stranger. That means borrowing clothes, books, having people over later when the roomate has to study or has midterm the next day, and so on, all under an assumption "they'll be cool with it". </p>

<p>And second, there is no law that says your roomate has to be your best friend or even a friend at all. All it takes to be a good roomate is respect for each other; basically don't treat the other person the way you wouldn't want to be treated. Sure, there are plenty of stories of roomates who become lifelong friends, but on the other hand I've seen plenty of people who didn't really have that much in common and weren't really in the same circles of friends but got along just fine as roomates. </p>

<p>My advice would be if you have a best or set of good friends and they're going to your same college, don't room with them frosh year.</p>

<p>meet new people</p>

<p>every story i've heard of friends rooming up has had a bad ending</p>

<p>I agree...my best friend of 15 years and I got an apartment together, and I am learning this the hard way. Your best friend does not necessarily make the best roommate-either their habits or too much of him/her may ruin your friendship. </p>

<p>We'll work it out, but we decided to live in separate places next year.</p>

<p>This can be hit or miss. The guy I lived with my sophomore year was someone I met as a freshman and became friends with. The year I lived with him was my favorite year of college and we are still best friends even though we both graduated from college a long time ago. He left school for year to go on his Mormon mission, so during my junior year I lived with another friend, and that was not a great match. It didn't ruin our friendship, but it definitely strained it a little bit.</p>

<p>My son is experiencing this right now. He is rooming with a friend from his high school and it is not working. It's one thing to be friends, it's another to live with them all the time. If he had to do it over again, S would pick someone he didn't know.</p>

<p>My sister will be rooming with her best friend next year (she's a soph now) and I worry it may break apart their friendship; I would hate to room with my best friend, no need to break up a friendship if you don't have to</p>

<p>I don't think there is an easy formula for this. I'd bet that it just depends on the person, friend or not.</p>

<p>I Agree! It really really depends on who your friend is. The more warm-hearted/nicer/more considerate your friend is, the better it will be living with that person. The more evil/self-fish your friend is, the more you shouldn't live with that person. Based on my experience, it is a lot better to live with your friend(whom you actually know) than a total stranger(who may have no problem stealing from you and doing other excessively evil things). I had a shady, cheap-ass roommate from hell(who stole nearly everything she could get her hands on in my room, summing up to a vaule of $2000, and she would mess up the place but never clean, and never contribute to purchasing household supplies like toilet paper). I'm not saying that this will happen to you but it is a potential risk to take when you room with a total stranger. My point is, I would definitely room with a good friend than a stranger.</p>