When you are a University or College student, finding a roommate can sometimes be stressful, but there are some steps you can take to make finding and moving in with a roommate run smoothly.

Here are 8 things to nail down before moving in with your roommates:

1. Know yourself

First, make sure you know yourself:

• What are you aiming for while away at school?
• How do you work best?
• What time do you usually go to bed? Wake up? Go to class? Eat?

Before finding a roommate, it is important to know yourself so you can be yourself. Don’t try to alter your goals and way of life because you are moving in with someone who does things differently than you. If you know you can’t get up for that 8:30 a.m. class if you go to bed past midnight the night before, don’t stay awake extra late just because your roommate is a night owl. Everyone functions differently, but it is important to match your habits with any potential roommates.

2. Know what you want in a roommate

When looking for a roommate, consider what you are really looking for because what you are looking for may not be the same as what your potential roommates are looking for. Ask yourself these questions about what you want in a roommate:

• Do you want a good friend; someone to hang out with all of the time?
• Do you want someone who is in the same program as you so you can study together?
• Do you just want roommates for some company but enjoy being alone in your room.

There are so many different things people may want in a roommate situation. You need to know what you want in a roommate so that you can have an enjoyable living experience.

3. Find people that have things in common with you

It is much easier to get along with people you have things in common with. Wouldn’t it be easier to go to bed at 10:30 p.m. and have your roommates go to bed around the same time so the house/apartment can be quiet and everyone can sleep well? Alternately, if you like to go to bed early and you have roommates who plan to have classmates over to do group work at 11:00 p.m. when you are trying to sleep, that wouldn’t be the best situation for anybody.

Having roommates who enjoy the same things as you can also help form a bond and friendship. Some great activities to bond with your roommates: going to the gym, studying in the library and being involved with clubs/associations at school. This allows you to easily walk to these places together which gives you people to walk home with at night which makes for a safer experience for you both. You can also coordinate your schedules so that you can do some things together, such as having a gym buddy, study buddy, etc.

Other things you might want to have in common that might make for a great roommate match:
• favourite tv shows
• favourite authors or book series
• favourite movie genres
• favourite activities: sports, volunteering, hiking, etc.

4. Find people who have the same goals in school

If you want to do well in school and put your studies first, having roommates that cares more about socializing than school can create problems. When you are trying to study, your roommate could have friends over, interrupting your studying. On the other hand, if you like to socialize and host get-togethers and parties, having a studious roommate is not going to suit your lifestyle. So, know your priorities and compare them to your potential roommates. Having similar goals can make things run a lot smoother.

5. Find out what people are bringing for the house/apartment and divide items equally

Before moving in, it is a good idea to contact your roommates so you can get organized. A good way to do this is to make a list of all the things you will need for your house/apartment: kitchen appliances, entertainment devices, cleaning supplies, décor, etc.). Then, you can work together to decide who is bringing what and divide the items as equally as possible so that everyone has a fair share in contributing to your house/apartment. It is also wise to keep this list handy so that a year or two later, everyone knows what is theirs to take home.

6. Plan how food and meals will be dealt with

A major component of living with roommates is figuring out how food sharing will work. Will you be all sharing groceries or buying them independently for yourselves? Will you be sharing items that might be considered communal items like condiments, milk, and toilet paper? Or will everyone buy their own?

Something to consider when planning food sharing is any allergies, intolerances, specialty diets or just plain dislikes. If you have a roommate that is vegan and vegetarian, then have another roommate who is gluten free, then have another roommate who does not like spices and etc., it is easiest to buy groceries independently so that everyone can be happy with their food.

If you do plan to share grocery shopping, then you should have a plan in place for how this with be done so that everybody feels that it is fair.

7. Know when you are all moving in

By knowing when all of your roommates plan to move in, you can organize where everyone plans to put things so that you can all stay organized. It can be a good idea to plan to all move in around the same time so that you can work together in figuring out where things should go and how to set up your new place.

8. Find the right student accommodation for your group

As important as finding the right roommate is, it is equally important to find the right place to live. Look for a place that has the right amount of bedrooms for your group (3, 4 or 5 bedroom suites). You should also make sure that the place you choose has generous bedroom sizes and shared common spaces, like kitchen and living room, so you can comfortably have both “me time” and social time you’re your roommates. It is also a good idea to find a place that is fully-furnished so you can avoid any stress by you and your roommates have to move different pieces of furniture. Fully furnished also means no problems when deciding who has to bring what!

You can also do well by find a place that offers group leases. Rez-One is an excellent student apartment option for you and your roommates. Subscribe to our e-newsletter or contact us to inquire about our limited-time lease promotions.

How Rez-One Makes Roommate Matching Part of the Process

What happens if you are unable to find a roommate or a group to live with? Have no fear! At Rez-One, we want you to have a great roommate experience so we have created a personality surveyfor all of our tenants to fill out so that we can match roommates to the best of our ability. The questions on the personality survey are student lifestyle based which allows us to match people up with suitable roommates so that everyone has the best chance of a wonderful living experience with their new roommates at Rez-One!