When flat-mates go wrong (the hitchhikers guide to picking your flat-mates….)

So, who are you going to live with next year? Your choice of flat-mate can mean the difference between absolute harmony and 42 weeks with a migraine. The difference between “Friends” and “The Young Ones” (ask your mum). So, what do you need to consider? Keep reading and I’ll aim to give you the dummies guide to forming a group.

Step one: Sex

Do you want to live with members of the opposite sex? Boys/Girls have their advantages but also their disadvantages; the toilet seat, hogging the bathroom, borrowing of your favourite top. Important points to consider because if you’ve never shared a flat with the opposite sex, you may want to have a look at their bathroom first! A house with two bathrooms could be a way round this.

Step two: Size does matter

How many people do you want to share with? Small groups can be good (less washing up, less mess, less toilet roll etc) but larger groups mean there’s more likely to be someone around (or at least in bed). You’ll find more houses of 4 & 5 beds, with very few for 10.

Step three: Rock & Roll

So you get on well with Bob at Uni, what’s he like to live with? Does he have a similar lifestyle, a compatible social life? Does he prefer to study on a weekend or have all his mates over for a drinking session? Consider how you live & all the group that you want to live with. You don’t need to be the best of friends but groups can go “bad” over lifestyle differences. Discuss and iron out your expectations before you consider your flat –shares, if you cannot communicate now, you will have problems later.

Step Four: Chores

How high (or low) are your standards? Does a filthy kitchen annoy you? Do you care if there are 15 pizza boxes and 45 beer cans stacked up on your window ledge? Everyone has different levels of cleanliness, different views about how a place should look. If you’ve never visited the others houses yet, check it out and avoid the frustration later on. Talk about sharing the chores before you move in; be prepared to do your fair share as lovers of cleaning are rare.

Step Five: Couples

What about sharing with couples? Could the household cope and survive with a fall-out? Sharing with a couple can be great if they are talking to each other. Do you really want to be the piggy in the middle when they don’t?

Ask yourself the questions below (then ask your prospective flatmates too).Do you make a lot of noise when you return home?

• Would it make you angry if you were woken up each night by loud flat-mates?
• What’s your choice of music, are they compatible?
• Does loud music send you up the wall?
• Do you play musical instruments? There’s a difference between a drum kit and a flute!
• Are you prepared to muck in with the household chores, the shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing up?
• Are you fair? Will you put your hand in your pocket and contribute to the bills, the toilet roll?

And finally, all households will suffer the normal stresses & strains of its busy occupants at some point. If you are a good communicator and are willing to listen, you have the chance that it will be a happy house for all concerned. Good luck…..