Room-mate

[CityGal]

Hey Guys!

Since you all were wonderful at giving me credit card advice, I figured I could maybe bother you one more time. So...I live in New York and if you don't know by now rent here is UBER expensive especially considering what neighborhood you want to live in. I live in a somewhat posh hood with tons of shops (Vuiton, Prada, Movada, etc---none of which I can afford). Anyhow...anywhere I move I'm looking at a 4 figure rent price tag for extra small quarters. My current place is somewhat big considering NY standards—which means I have windows, doors, and can fit a queen size bed in my room and still have enough room to do yoga- ha. Might I add how expensive and annoying it is to move. My roommate said that if I would be OK with her friend crashing in my room (like we would be sharing the SAME room) my rent would drastically drop 300 dollars while she's here. I know this girl and I think she is so cool so it won't be that much of a pain. The girl is in grad school so she'll be super busy with lots of things and moving in would surely help her out. She applied to housing at school and is just waiting to see if she gets in or not. The living situation would only be for six months. I am back and forth on it. I haven't had a ROOMmate since I lived at home over 5 years ago. Considering my CC debt situation I would also be saving loads more money (and if you have seen my other posts, I would quickly regain my savings). So, should I let her bunk in?

Cons:
A) Hardly any privacy
B) It is a big enough room for two but I would have to put my bed in storage while she's here
C) It is six months or maybe longer (although my roommate is buying her own place next year so it definitely won't be longer)
D) Our apartment isn't that big but we have made it work with three before
E) I haven't shared a room since I was 17


Pros:
A) I would be saving tons of money and finally be able to afford REAL cable with movie channels
B) We both don't have boyfriends so no one would be really sleeping over
C) On those occasional times, when ties need to be placed on the door to indicate -wink 'something' wink-, we all agreed we could crash with the other roomie in the other room
D) It will only be temporarily
E) She will be in grad school and will hardly be home

Guys, please help me decide.

[sundaycomics]

I say go for it. I shared my bedroom with another girl for 4 months once (and we both had boyfriends). It wasn't bad at all and we got along great.

[Chameleon]

I'm curious - why can't the new girl share a room with your roommate? Do you know what her habits are? How much will storage cost and what will the new bed/closet situation be? Make sure you figure out all the room/house rules and can communicate with her when/if things get wierd.

[GreenFolder]

Good questions to be asked, thats for sure.

Once you have those established and if they work in your favour, I'd go right along with it! Sounds like a great way to save some cash..and maybe make a new friend?!

[Krishna]

Once I left the dorms I vowed never again to share a bedroom with a roommate. Dont get me wrong- my roommates were great, but the conflicting schedules, interests, tv shows, computer habits, phone calls, etc, got to me. Heck, I still cringe sometimes when I stay with my boyfriend for more than 2 days in a row--for some of the same reasons! I'd think very carefully about whether the loss of some (or all) of your sanity is worth the rent savings. :neutral:

[KeepRockin]

Stay focused on the pros of the situation...the cons actually don't sound so bad to me. I say do it- save money, share your space.

[CityGal]

Well...I know the girl and I think she is so much fun. My roomie and her are best friends and she is afraid this will impact their relationship somehow. The roomie shared the room for a while and doesn't want to do it anymore. My concerns are definitley conflicting schedules, tv interests, etc. I was figuring if this situation works then I would be motivated to do more things outside like go to museums, broadway shows, etc. We definitely agreed to revisit the living situation a few weeks after the move to see if it is working or not. I am pretty sure I'll be flexible with alot of things...considering I am young and almost have no care in the world--almost. ha. The pros are definitely motivating me. I also figure that seeing her in school will also push me to try harder to get into grad school. As for her habits, she did inform me of a few which I could totally live with. The storage space I am looking into. The storage building is actually down the block so I can visit my furniture whenever I want.

[spokes]

to me giving up the privacy on my sleeping quaters would not be worth it.

[winneythepooh7]

I personally wouldn't do this. I would worry that I would lose MY room out of the deal, but again, that's just me. How long is this "arrangement" for?

[wordsmith]

If you're not really big on privacy, I don't see the problem.

I shared a room, whether with family or a roommate for all but the last six years of my life. I'm not a private person, and it's no big thing to me.

[CityGal]

I am not all too worried about privacy. When the roomie's friend comes over we all have fun together and most of the time we spend it in my room. The arrangement would only be for about 6 months. She applied for student housing and is hoping to get into one of those.

[spiritedaway]

Personally, I would not share my sleeping quarter because I need my "me" quiet time. And having someone living in the same room with me, while it can be fun, just doesn't give me that time and space I need.

:) It seems like you're enthusiastic about the idea, and the issue of privacy isn't a big problem, so go ahead and have fun with the new roommate!

[CuranderaC]

I wouldn't do it. There must be a reason why your friend thinks that sharing the room with this other girl would impact her relationship with her. There is something that she probably hasn't told you.
Also you make the point that neither of you have significant others currently. That can change very quickly.

[sundaycomics]

Just curious - why would different TV show interests and sleep schedules be a problem? I can see that in a dorm situation where you do EVERYTHING in one room, but at least when I shared a bedroom in an apartment, all we did in there was sleep and change clothes.

[CityGal]

Guess the tv thing isn't much of a problem. I do think that my sleeping habits/schedule will. I do like to go out alot during the week and often come home at around 1 or 2. During stressful times, I do have periods of insomnia or periods where I just cannot seem to stay up for the life of me.

[wordsmith]

I never minded roommates' sleeping patterns at all (I sleep through anything, and if something does wake me up, I quickly fall back asleep, not a light sleeper). But I did have a college roommate once who had a hard time dealing with the fact that I'm a very late to bed person. I'd say that depending on the person, incompatible sleep schedules CAN matter. It just doesn't for me.

[cheshrcarol]

I personally could never go back to sharing a room. I only did it for 3 semesters in college and never before or after. I am very much a private space person and being able to have a sanctuary of my own is priceless.

But hey, if you're cool with it then go for it.

[MetFanL]

Do you guys have a living room or something where one or both of you can escape to to get out of the other persons hair? As long as there is SOMEWHERE to go when you can't sleep or something, I think you'll be ok. It is only temporary...