Moving into a new place is always exciting, if not a bit stressful. There are a million things to be done, furniture to buy, decisions to be made. Add in adjusting to a new roommate on top of it all and things can start to feel pretty overwhelming, especially if you’ve never had to share your living space before.
It can be tricky navigating the groundwork of living with someone new, but the key to living with another person is always compromise. Here are a few easy tips to keep in mind when learning to live with a new roommate.
LAY DOWN SOME GROUND RULES
When you move in with a new roommate, it’s incredibly important to know where you both stand with each other. This is true no matter who your roommate is, even if they’re a friend you’ve known for years. You may know each other’s deepest darkest secrets, but that doesn’t mean you know how to live with each other day in and day out.
You’ll find that compromising with each other will be much easier if you set down some ground rules as soon as you can. Talk to each other about your expectations and how you normally live. Remember that it’s better to be honest and up front in the beginning, rather than have a blow up over potential issues later on. Be open about your needs and allow them to do that same.
BE RESPECTFUL OF THEIR SPACE
Even though you may be sharing an apartment with your new roomie, you need to accept the fact that not everything is shared between the two of you. Compromise is a two way street; just like you need your own personal space and your stuff to be yours, so do they. This ties in with the above tip of laying down those initial ground rules: know what your roommate’s expectations are of their own personal space so you can properly respect that and vice versa.
UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS CAN’T ALWATS GO YOUR WAY.
This is, basically ,the definition of compromise. Sometimes, you may find that you need to bend a little in order to keep the peace. This doesn’t mean that you should let them walk all over you, but you should learn when to pick and choose your battles at a certain point.
Understanding that you can’t always get what you want is not only useful when living with a roommate, but a practical life lesson in general. A healthy transition will occur between the two of you once you both realize that things won’t always go how you plan them. Allow for some flexibility when it comes to compromising with your new roommate.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS, TALK IT OUT
To be and have a successful roommate, communication is absolutely key. It’s easy to resort to passive aggressive attitudes and petty arguments when you’re frustrated with problems that unexpectedly arise, but try to avoid this at all costs. Remember, whether you and your roommate wind up enjoying living together or not, you may have the obligation of being signed into a lease, so you may as well learn to get along and enjoy one other’s company.
If you’ve gotten off on the wrong foot or things start to feel tense, be the bigger person and offer to have a conversation about your issues together as roommates. Come up with a new plan; learn to listen to each other and discuss ways you can both compromise and solve whatever issues you’re experiencing in order to make your new living arrangement as comfortable as possible for the both of you.
Do you know what it’s like to move in with a new roommate? Leave your own tips on compromising in the comments!
(Feature image via @lenamirisola)
VINAZINE 