@twoinanddone she’s bringing her own fridge now so that resolves the money issue. I’m just a little uneasy about it honestly.
How did you ask and how did she respond? If she is friendly and light about sharing with you, tell her thank you and that you will buy the first round of dorm snack. Ask about her favorite cookie/beverage. If she expects you to each have your own, go ahead and rent one for yourself.
would prefer that to my daughter’s school…you can ONLY rent the microfridge from a single company…aren’t allowed to bring your own microwave or fridge or most other appliances at all (or loft your bed, or even put it on risers, or…), but of course they allow you to bring a Keurig…kids need civilization!)
Tell her great, you’ll bring the microwave.
We’re not allowed to have those in our dorm which stinks.
@willowandmoon I’d thank her for supping the refrigerator and ask f there is something else you can bring that you can share in the room (ex. rug, big fan, printer, TV etc.). In my S’s freshman year his roommate brought a refrigerator and he brought a TV and rug and they shared it all for the year.
@NashvilletoTexas our college is pretty strict about appliances in most of the first year dorms. Thank god we’re allowed Keurigs and electric kettles
At this point I’m tempted just to rent my own fridge to avoid any potential drama or misunderstanding, because I’m unclear about whether or not we’re sharing the fridge.
You’ll be fine. If she doesn’t want to share hers, you can get a little one once you get there. Can even have it delivered from Amazon. It’s not a big deal. I lived without one. My daughter had one but could have lived without it.
Agree that roommate stuff is never 50/50. Remember too, they are not necessarily going to be your best friend or even a friend, you just need to get along and respect each other’s space. It’s better to be the bigger person and ifyou want it, just pay for it and hope that other family will bring or pay for something else you all can share.
When my student went to Berkeley 2 paid for the fridge, one brought a rug, another went out and bought dishes for everyone for the kitchen and another mom bought shower curtain. It will all work out in the end, if you focus on wanting to get along.
@NashvilletoTexas Ha, you’re right, I was very blunt. Not my normal personality, but having to talk a freshman through so many situations last year, I think I’ve gotten a little impatient. Kids this age (and, let’s face it, many adults) are so willing to avoid confrontation that they hem and haw and let things fester to the point where relationships suffer horribly when a simple conversation would have done the trick. Now it sounds like the roommate is bringing a fridge. So, the conversation could go something like this, “Would you be willing to share your fridge with me? I’d be happy to pay 1/2 of what it would cost to rent one.” Just. ask. the. question. If the answer is no, you can proceed. You are not being unreasonable by wanting to know.
@willowandmoon Do not rent a fridge without first talking to your roommate. The odds are that he/she means to share it and it is also likely that your room will not comfortably fit 2 refrigerators. Ask him/her if he/she is willing to let you use it and (assuming the answer is yes) talk and figure out something you can bring to help even things out.
My daughter brought a fridge because we already had one. She and her roommate shared it and it was no big deal at all. I agree it’s likely she intends to share it. Don’t just assume that but don’t assume you need to get your own either.
I think everybody is over thinking this. Ask your roommate if she wants you to contribute x amount of money to share the fridge, or would she prefer you brought your own.
I think you should go ahead and buy the fridge and use the whole thing. If she wants to use half of it then charge her $75 plus interest for every day she is being indecisive. Alternatively, you can charge her a flat tax of 1 gallon of your favorite ice cream per month.
But in all seriousness… If she can’t get back to you on a basic text, she probably won’t be cleaning out the mini fridge at all throughout the year. So it’s probably a good thing that you two are doing individual fridges.
Just some food for thought.
^^ Read the replies. The roommate did get back and said she has her own fridge so doesn’t want to rent on or share rent on one.
I would do absolutely nothing at this point.
There’s a fridge in the room. If she doesn’t want to share, you can go onto amazon prime and order one, and have it 2 days later.
Not a big deal either way.
My D and her roommate never spoke about it. My D didn’t really care if she had a fridge or not. Her roommate showed up with one and told D she could use half of one shelf. D was fine with that. I didn’t offer to pay because the girl owned the fridge. For the next year, she became an RA and an outgoing RA gave her a fridge, which she was allowed to store on campus. She then passed that fridge down to middle son who attended the same school.
S17 has not confirmed yet what he and his roommate are going to do. S17 wants to bring a Keurig, which is fine with me if the school allows it. I won one in a raffle 5 years ago and have never used it. He likes very cold water so will need a fridge. D was fine with room temperature. His school allows microwaves. I would prefer to give him a microwave and let his roommate supply the fridge, the reason being that I have a small fridge which we are using while the kitchen is being redone and I don’t want to buy a new one when I know this one will be available soon.
I’m getting the vibe that she isn’t really down to share the fridge–which is totally fine because I rented my own. I want to start off on the good foot and the fridge isn’t the hill I want to die on
completely agree @willowandmoon You should be independent and do your own thing. When you get to school, you can figure out where it makes sense to pool your resources if roommate is a sharer. If they are not, take the hint and go your own way. Again, the most important thing is just to get along not necessarily to be friends. You’ll make friends in your classes and clubs/ECs.