<p>I'm a first-year, so this mainly goes out to the first-years who, like me, are living at the dorms. Feel free to answer if you're neither a 1st year nor living at the dorms, though. As this Fall semester comes to a close, what would you have done differently in terms of housing, roommates, etc?</p>
<p>Oh, god, I learned so much from my housing situation this year. I’m a sophomore.</p>
<p>Last year, I lived in Unit 1 and I’d say overall the experience was decent. My floor was social, we’d all get dinner together at Crossroads, go out to parties, hang out in the lounge. Living there was the ‘freshman experience,’ I’d say. But I lived in a total crackerbox triple room, and I got sick really frequently. Also, the bathrooms were pretty gross. But it was livable for a year.</p>
<p>I moved into apartments with a few of my floormates this year and while my apartment is spacious, the experience hasn’t been good at all. While my landlady and the actual apartment itself is pretty good for Berkeley, I really wish I would have chosen to live with other people. There are some people that you’re just not compatible to live with… Get to know your friends REALLY well before you jump into living with them! The dorms are kind of a bubble, and you might feel like you know people better than you really do. I live with two of my old floormates and one girl who was a friend of another guy on our floor. One of my apartment mates is awesome, one is okay… But one of my apartment-mates turned out to be very stingy, inconsiderate, and handled conflict in an abrasive manner. It got to the point where I would only talk to her when I walked in the door… I’d make a little small-talk and then make a beeline for my room, because every time we talked it seemed like she’d bring up some kind of complaint or negative comment. Today, she walked into my room and told me I was ‘disrespectful’ and I wasn’t allowed to use her things in the apartment because I didn’t stop and talk to her before I walked out the door yesterday. I haven’t used anything of hers since like a week before Thanksgiving…</p>
<p>So yeah. To all freshmen looking around their group of friends right now, trying to decide who to live with: BE CAREFUL. Maybe I was just lucky with my randomly assigned roommates for freshman year, but we were always very courteous to each other. With friends you really need to see if you’re compatible, because the natural courteousness that comes with living with random roommates is different when you live with people you already know. If I were to choose things again… I probably would have just dormed again. Not in the Units, because the buildings were old and cramped, but I probably should have lived in Clark Kerr or something.</p>
<p>I’m in a triple right now and I think it’s a bit cramped. I love one of my roommates to death but the other one is…a jerk. I don’t think there’s another word for it. I got really lucky with the one I love and we clicked just like that. About the other one, I guess I got unlucky with the housing lottery. However, even though quite a few people from my school come to Berkeley every year and wanted to room with me, I think that getting random roommates is a huge part of the college experience. </p>
<p>So, I would suggest you not room with your besties (unless you really can’t see yourself with anyone else). You might get lucky and meet some awesome people. However, there’s always the chance that you get a horrible roommate so be careful…</p>
<p>Anyway, if I could re-do my housing situation, I’d be in a double in Unit 1 with a random person as my roommate.</p>
<p>I definitely second the first reply. I lived in the dorms freshmen year, and I’d say that on the whole I wish I had made more of an effort to get to know more of my floormates better. I always felt kind of awkward just sauntering into someone else’s room, but in retrospect I wish I had been more outgoing.</p>
<p>I’m living in an apartment this year, and I really wish that I had done a lot of things differently there. I knew from near the beginning of the year that I would be rooming with one of my friends from high school, but when the time came for us to actually start looking for places we both totally panicked and–in a fit of stress and fear that we wouldn’t be able to find a good place in time–agreed to share a 2-bedroom with her two roommates from the dorms as well, who neither of us really wanted to live with. The experience has had its ups and downs and I think it’s taught me a lot, but it is not something I would recommend. I -would- recommend that people start looking early for roommates and apartments if they can, but if nothing materializes right away then to keep in mind that there are apartments for rent virtually all year round and you shouldn’t let yourself panic into making a bad decision.</p>
<p>Honestly, not too much. Things happened to work out pretty nicely on their own. Maybe I would get an apartment slightly closer to campus/in a less sketch area, but at least I get a good exercise walking to campus and back at least 1-2 times a day. I also really like my apartment itself, but like every decent place in Berkeley, it’s too expensive for what you get. My roommate and I are both fairly chill, so not too much tension on that end. While I liked having a constant social interaction in the dorms last year and like my roomies/floormates, I definitely love having the privacy of my own apartment, not having to use communal showers, less loud noise, etc and would not choose to go back to the dorms. Also, even if you get an apartment with someone you don’t know, it can still work out. I barely knew my roommate before getting an apartment, except that we were in the same discussion section a semester before, but it all worked out and we’re pretty content. </p>
<p>On the flipside, I know people who have apartments with their close friends (but not people they had roomed with before) and are hating it, so…friend=/=good roommate. It also depends on the personalities of the people you room with, so it’s the luck of the draw too. Some roomies might be chill, but unwilling to clean up after themselves, which leads to problems. The only advantage of living in the dorms over living in apartments? Not having to clean up as much and washing dishes. I hate doing dishes…and sweeping the floor.</p>
<p>try rooming with people are hygienic. seriously, what is it with me and getting roommates who leave asshair all over the toilet or don’t bother to clean anything, and i have to do it? living in an apartment this year. plus my rooomate keeps to himself now and always locks the door, never coming out. (friend from last year, and i thought we get along lol. so idk…)</p>
<p>also, why do people don’t want to clean up after themselves and live in their own filth? i bet you 1000 dollars that my roommate is going to stay here during winter break and never clean up after himself haha. when i come back from break, i will be in for a shock.</p>
<p>@insertname
I totally agree. How the heck can people live with themselves knowing that the house/dorm is so disgusting? lol, it annoys me so much</p>