Everything You Need To Know About Moving Into An Apartment With A Friend

1. Establish Basic Living Styles Before You Move
2. Recognize Your Need For Time Apart

So, you have made the decisions in a progressive manner to move into an apartment and get a roommate to help you offset the costs of living there, or to provide security and companionship. Fortunately, one of your friends needs to move to the area as well, so you two decide to become roommates and move in together. After all, knowing your roommate ahead of time saves you the time and energy of trying to find and screen a relative stranger’s ads online or in the paper, and a friend’s habits are certainly more predictable than someone you don’t know too well. However exciting this decision may be at the moment, it is important to remember that any roommate living situation will provide unique challenges that may extend way past move in day. Many people tend to overlook the crucial fact that spending time with a friend is much different and much less complicated than living with a friend. Follow the tips in this guide to ensure that the friendship doesn’t turn sour once the lease agreements are signed and you both have already moved into the apartment.

Establish Basic Living Styles Before You Move

It is important to interview any potential roommate regarding their lifestyle and habits before you decide to move in with them, and moving in with a friend is no exception. While you can probably get the information in a much more casual manner with a friend, here are the important points you really need to touch upon with your future roommate:

• What are the hours of your work? This will help you establish when your friend will be in and out of the apartment, so you can in turn better plan the time on your day as well.
• What are your cleaning habits? Is your friend a neat freak? Do they drop everything they are carrying and let those items stay on the floor for a week? Maybe they are somewhere in between these extremes? It is also important to know if there are any messy situations that they absolutely will not be able to handle, such as an overflow of dirty dishes or a windowsill full of dying plants.
• Will your significant other be visiting? If so, how often? You might be fine with seeing your friend’s significant other every once and a while, but once you move in, your friend might have him or her over a lot more than you would like.

Recognize Your Need For Time Apart

One of the most significant aspects of a friend turned roommate type of relationship that becomes changed once friends move in together is that they become inundated with a feeling of needing space away from their friend, no matter how well they get along. Try to establish some time where you can go outside on your own or with other non-mutual friends, and if you need to close your door occasionally, ensure your friend that it is not a sign of any ill feelings, but just a sign that you need privacy.