Hey guys, I was looking for some advice on my roommate situation. I am a generally quiet person, and as I am living in a double in Segundo, I have a roommate that isn’t exactly like me. He likes to go to parties listen to loud music, while I am the exact opposite. Now, I don’t actually have a problem with him; he’s pretty respectable to me. However, I am still not comfortable in the situation, and my friend from high school also wanted to switch and dorm with me. We want to dorm in Cuarto, which brings me to my questions:
- Can I request my roommate and where we want to live?
- How likely is a roommate change, given that there needs to be adequate space?
- Most importantly, how should I tell my roommate? We don't hang out much, but he still acts like we're really close, and even makes it seem so each time I return from my home on the weekend. Also, should I tell him now, or after the arrangements are made?
- Probably not. Remember that you're swapping with someone else who requested a switch. So where you end up and who you end up with depends on who's requested a switch.
- Depends on if anyone else coming from a double requests a switch. Which is to say, there's no way to tell.
- How to broach the subject really depends on your roommate. Some people take something like this personally, and other's don't. Regardless of how your roommate is, don't get aggressive about it, don't start suddenly throwing a big list of grievances at him, and generally be polite and civil about the whole thing. You want to avoid burning bridges when it's not necessary to do so.
As for when to tell him, if it were me I would wait until it’s pretty much confirmed that it will happen. You want to give him a heads up, if nothing else so he knows he’s getting a new roommate. But at the same time, what if he reacts badly to you mentioning the switch request, and you don’t end up switching for whatever reason? Even if he doesn’t react badly, I could see awkwardness if you mention requesting a switch and then either don’t end up getting it. or don’t end up getting it for a while. Of course this also depends on you guys and your dynamic.
If you’re still not sure, think about this…would you rather him know that you’re waiting on a switch that may or may not happen? Or would you rather him only know if it’s actually happening? The answer to that depends on you, him, and your guys’ relationship.