<p>After going through a MAJOR headache of finding myself housing, in addition, to moving to 3 different locations b/t late June and now, I just gotta ask--how important is having a single room ? </p>
<p>I'm mainly asking people that aren't living in the dorms anymore. I noticed that my friends, males and females, both wanted their own rooms. </p>
<p>I'm not the picky person so I didn't mind sharing to save $$$, after all, I don't spend that much time in my apartment anyway. I just don't see why some people would pay such a premium. Here a single is worth a high $600's to 850's+ depending on where you live on campus and how many rooms there are in the apartment floor plan. Its just too much money for me to justify.</p>
<p>The benefits--
Privacy/Quiet time
Brining "friends" over for the night! (LOL)
No sharing </p>
<p>Cons--
Cost</p>
<p>Is it honestly worth it ? Or am I the only "cheap" person? I'm curious as to how other people feel.</p>
<p>If you have a car, try looking at apartment complexes 20-30 minutes away. That said, if the only two choices were to shell out $650 for a single, or have a room-mate, I would sign the lease ASAP.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on your personality as well. I tend to be more reserved and need my own personal space, so I’ll rather get a single room. I also study better when I’m alone haha.
If you really don’t mind sharing a room with someone else, then go for it. :P</p>
<p>I think it’s because sharing common and living space with people, especially when you’re first starting out and have small apartments, can be challenging without some place to withdraw to once in a while. Sure, that place could be outside of your apartment, but having privacy and personal space at home is, I think, the key to a good roommate relationship. </p>
<p>It’s fine for a little while, but when I was in college 1 year of sharing a room was more than enough for me. I loved being able to retreat into my own space, decorate and arranged as I chose, when I needed a break or needed to deal with person issues or have a private phone conversation. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, which is great, save the money. But the older I got the more I valued my space. Now that I’m out of college and have an apartment with a roomate we both insisted on our own rooms. It cost us more, but we are happier.</p>
<p>I switched to a single as an ongoing birthday present. The biggest thing for me was that a single enabled me to ‘turn off’ and catch my breath. It was definitely worth it.</p>
<p>For me personally, being in a single is well worth whatever extra cost there is. It’s not that I don’t like people (well, for the most part), I just need to have my own space and freedom to do whatever I want to, like going to bed when I want to without being woken about by random roommates attention-seeking laughter when they have friends over (I’m a light sleeper) and not having to share stuff, or wait on the shower, or have to deal with someone else on a constant basis.</p>
<p>That being said, I think it’s a good idea that everyone have at least suitemates their first year, for transition reasons. I’ve done my time though, and it definitely is not for me.</p>
<p>It all depends on how well you’d get along with your roommate. I got along great with the guy I lived with in the dorms sophomore year, so we wound up getting a two bedroom apartment where we shared a pretty large bedroom to save on costs. Both of us were pretty busy and didn’t spend a ton of time in the room, so you always had your own quiet time. Neither of us were light sleepers, so no problems with one having to stay up late to work on a problem set. We also split groceries and took turns cooking, so it also worked well from that standpoint as well.</p>
<p>My roommate doesn’t bring friends over, or disrespect my personal possessions, or be rude, or whatever (he coughs in bed a lot, although earplugs fix that). </p>
<p>So I’m not worried about sharing a room with him, as I did last year and it was fine. Also he spends a lot of time out of the room, so it’s super easy to have some private time. </p>
<p>So to each his own. RacinReaver and I had good experiences, but others do not. A lot depends on your roommate, not just how much you interact with others. Because like a roommate who spends all his time with his girlfriend and sleeps in her room basically gives you an oversized single.</p>
<p>Actually we had a chance for a single for each of us (for no extra cost). But it was in a bad location with a terrible social atmosphere over there, so we decided to get a one room double in what I believe is a significantly better residence.</p>
<p>All other things equal, I’d probably pay that extra money for the single. I have money to spend, though. And if I didn’t my parents would be willing to pay for something like that I’m sure.</p>
<p>I had a double last year and now have a single, and I strongly prefer the single. However, I’m quiet and reserved, so my desires may be different from yours.</p>
<p>As for me, I live in a double dorm on campus and I love it. I don’t know which class year you are in but for me, as a freshman, it was a great help to have someone I know from the very first second of arriving on campus. Although we don’t hang out a lot together, we get along well and always tell each other what happened to us. I’m not sure if I wanted a single even if it was free.
So, you should consider that having a (good) roommate(s) will in fact motivate you. Motivate you to talk, to socialize, etc. In a single, you <em>could</em> pretty easily get secluded and feel alone, even if you’re the most outgoing person.
Of course, Im not saying that there are no advantages of having a single.</p>
<p>I’m with you on this one. I think the benefits of a single have been pretty well-established on this forum, but I really like living in a double. </p>
<p>A great roommate can motivate you, keep an eye out on your mental and physical health, and be a good friend (and a possible source of new friends). You might have to get lucky during your first year, but after that the trick is finding someone suitable.</p>
<p>It’s worth it to me. I had a roommate last year and she was terrible. I need to have a home to retreat to, and I didn’t because she was such a mean person. I could NEVER relax. This year I have a single with a private bathroom and I don’t know why I ever made the mistake of having a roommate.</p>
<p>It would’ve been totally different if my assigned roommate actually came to school this semester…but she didn’t so I spent my first two weeks in college in a “single” room with an empty bed.
I was really lonely for the first weekend, then I got over it and lived like that for a few days, and then I started hanging out with people more. So it really wasn’t that bad, thinking about it.</p>
<p>Now that I got used to it and started liking living alone, someone else is moving in and I’m really nervous. She seems really nice and she’s international, so I’m afraid of offending her from both a social and cultural perspective, but yeah.
Especially because I was set on living with the first person I was assigned for a month before school started. But that’s a whole different (long) story.</p>
<p>But it’s definitely more relaxed living in a single, especially if you already have friends around. But I think everyone else already established this. =P
I just really wish I had my roommate during orientation weekend and the first week. But it really doesn’t apply if you’re an upperclassman anyway, I guess.</p>
<p>I lived in a single last year as a freshman and mainly enjoyed it. It didn’t cost much more than a double and it was quiet to study in and nice to be able to sleep whenever I wanted. I can see how having a roommate would help you find friends quickly but you’d have to have a good roommate first.</p>
<p>i thought it was super important and i tried to get one but i didnt and now im sooo glad i didnt because having a double means you automatically have a friend and it makes social life so much more conducive. its only been a few weeks and me and my roommate are really good friends</p>
<p>Well for your freshman year, I’d recommend getting a roommate in order to make friends faster and get to meet people through him/her.</p>
<p>For your sophomore year though, I’d get a single. I did that last year and do not regret it at all!! I loved the privacy and having your own personal space. I also didn’t feel ‘lonely’ or any of that because I’ll just have friends over whenever I’m bored or I’ll go to their place. In the end, I just wanted my own personal space that I can come back to at the end of the day.</p>