<p>Ok so what are the essentials for every double room, and what should I split with the roomie, as in, who should bring what?</p>
<p>So theres:</p>
<p>TV
Microave
Fridge??? Should both people bring their own, or should there only be one?</p>
<p>What else...</p>
<p>Talk with your roommate. It's possible for these things to be settled nicely, as in one of you may have certain things and the other has the rest. That happened with me last year. I brought my own fridge, and my roommate brought his own TV, fridge, and microwave, and he paid for cable. While this is extremely lop-sided, he already had all of these things, so it wouldn't make sense for me to go out and buy a new TV or microwave. He also paid for cable because he was the one who wanted it and was doing all of the television watching... I turned on the TV probably three times all year.</p>
<p>I definitely would recommend that you and your roommate get your own fridges. If you hit it off with your roommate, you could use one for drinks and one for cold foods. If you aren't in such a position that you want to share, you'll have your own fridge for your own food and won't have to worry about whose foodstuffs are whose. Plus it allows for you to not have to worry about the fridge situation in later years.</p>
<p>I think what you have there are the only things you have to worry about bringing. Unless you feel like you want to buy a futon or small sofa or something to give your room extra sitting space. There are some nice futons at Target for 150 bucks (I'm looking around for one for next year as well... though I haven't been doing a thorough search yet).</p>
<p>My roomie and I split the TV and fridge - I brought a big fridge while she brought a tiny TV (heh). If there's something you know you will want to have all fours years at Duke, then I'd recommend bringing it yourself your first year. </p>
<p>It's also worth mentioning that you can rent a fridge if you'd like. Microwaves aren't essential as they will have them in common kitchens, but having one is convenient. Just don't burn popcorn. :p</p>
<p>Let's see. Just to throw in a specific breakdown of the massive amount of stuff my roommate and I split...lol</p>
<p>Me:
Rug
Fridge
Stereo
Cable bill</p>
<p>Her:
Microwave
TV
Coffee Maker
Floor lamp
AC bill</p>
<p>I mean, I don't know how that necessarily adds up, and I doubt everyone needs that much, but just a few things to give specifics.</p>
<p>What should you do about a fridge if you're in Blackwell and want to save as much space as possible? I would imagine that only one fridge would fit, right?</p>
<p>I had friends in Randolph (same setup) who lofted both beds, and then had their own little "living room" area. They had their TV under one bed, and bean bag chairs under the other. I can't remember how many fridges they had, but I do know that there would have been space for two.</p>
<p>I lived in Randolph and didn't loft. We only had one fridge, and I can't think of any way we could have fit another one in without lofting.</p>
<p>Yeah, along the lines of loveduke, here's what my roomie and I did.</p>
<p>Me:
Rug
Comfy Chair
Full-length Mirror
Extra drawers (I brought about...15 extra drawers or decorative boxes that we stacked up around the room and used to hold stuff).
Blender
Posters (I bought the bulk of the posters we hung up)</p>
<p>Her:
Lofts (her dad made them)
Microwave
Fridge
Hot Water Heater
Second Comfy Chair
Floor lamp
Chinese lantern
Some more posters (she brought a couple of things from home)</p>
<p>We didn't have a phone or a TV, so no cable or phone bills. Also, it sort of seems unevenly divided so that she brought more, but throughout the year we both pretty much agreed that things tended to even themselves out. Also, you're probably not going to find a way for both roommates to pay for exactly half of your shared amenities. For example, we originally only planned on having one chair, and one of my contributions was "the chair," but after a couple of months of living together we realized that we really wanted a chair for each of us, and we had the space for it, so she bought a second one. Another important factor is that if, in a roommate pair, one person is driving and the other is flying and/or one person is from NC (or somewhere close), it may make more sense for that person to bring the big things like the microwave or fridge (that's how it was with me & my roomie). So I mean, my point is, some things just work themselves out on their own.</p>
<p>I see. I didn't know there was a telephone bill, I thought that was provided.</p>
<p>A landline isn't really neccessary. You'll be fine with just a cell phone.</p>
<p>If you want a landline, you pay for it yourself.</p>
<p>I honestly wouldn't split the cost of anything other than maybe a futon. If you don't live with each other again, there'll be the debate as to who gets to keep what, etc. At least owning it makes things more easily defined. My roommate bought the fridge and paid for one semester of cable and paid the AC bill, whereas I bought the TV, the microwave, the coffee maker, lamps, etc. (Part of the reason I did was b/c she felt that we didn't need that stuff, and I wanted to... but she also wouldn't use the TV or the coffee maker or whatever)</p>
<p>Yeah, what bluestar7 said is true. Luckily, my roommate and I are best friends and plan on living together for the rest of college, so splitting the cost on things like decorations or having one of us provide something like all of the extra storage space worked out for us -- but I imagine it would be pretty awkward to have to decide what to do with all of the shared things if two roommates decided to stop living together after the 1st year.</p>
<p>So there is a microwave in every dorm in the kitchen? (is it one kitchen per floor or dorm building) And wouldn't there be a fridge in the kitchen too?</p>
<p>There is one kitchen per dorm, and each kitchen has a microwave and a fridge.</p>
<p>Why do people bring their own fridges?</p>
<p>Well, if you want to walk all the way to your kitchen every time you want a snack, then be my guest. Having a fridge is convenient, and you don't have to worry about other people stealing your stuff.</p>
<p>Have to keep the brews cold.</p>
<p>Can you have two fridges in a double room?</p>
<p>Yep. Most of the doubles on my floor did.</p>
<p>Wait, just wanted to make sure...
Every room comes with two desks and two chairs right?</p>