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Living with strangers is always a bit tough at first, but it can be particularly difficult when you’re also dealing with all the other adjustments that come with transitioning to college life. Having a great relationship with your roommates will make your life much easier — you may even become close friends and confidants. At the very least, it will mean your living situation is more comfortable. Here are several things you can do to ensure you get along well.

1. Spend Time Together

When you move in, put in the effort to spend time with your roommates to find out more about them. You may find you have interests in common, such as the same hobbies, taste in music, or TV shows you like to watch.

2. Learn Each Other’s Schedules

Know what days your roommates need to get up early and make sure you keep the noise down the night before to let them sleep. You may also like to coordinate when you’ll have meals — either to eat together or to give each other space in the kitchen.

3. Use Headphones

Wearing headphones can be a huge help for avoiding noise. This is useful if you want to listen to music or watch something even during the daytime, as there’s always a chance one of your roommates is studying or sleeping.

4. Decide on Boundaries

You’ll all come to the apartment with different ideas about how you want to live. Discuss between you what boundaries you each have to establish a set of rules. You’ll need to come to decisions about things like sharing food, using each other’s appliances, and leaving belongings in common areas. You may also need to set rules for having guests over, especially if you expect to entertain in the living room rather than in your bedroom.

5. Divide Chores Between You

Whereas you are responsible for keeping your own bedroom clean (and your bathroom, if you don’t share it with anyone else), there’s still the kitchen and living room to think about. Split chores between you, either by rotating with a chore chart or assigning each person a set of chores.

6. Clear the Air

If you do run into problems, communicate with your roommates. For instance, if someone is not doing a fair share of cleaning or is breaking the rules you set at the beginning, talk about it. This will prevent a small issue from turning into a major conflict.

Nonetheless, it is important to decide what issues to bring up. Bear in mind that your roommates all come from different backgrounds and may have habits you find unusual. If these habits are not causing any real problems, it’s best not to say anything.

7. Live Your Own Lives

Even if you become good friends with your roommates, it’s important to follow your own path at college. Make other friends, join clubs based on your own interests, and avoid spending too much time together when you’re at home. Remember, though, you don’t even need to be friends to have a good relationship with your roommates — if you never become more than acquaintances, you can still be friendly and make small talk.

It’s much more challenging to have a great relationship with your roommate if you’re sharing a room rather than an apartment. New students may think that living on campus is their only option because they don’t know anyone at college yet. In fact, you can find a room for rent in Barrie near Georgian College at Arcadian Students. We’ll match you with roommates with whom you’ll share a five-bedroom apartment or townhouse. Contact us for details about how to pay us a visit.