Housing/room mate poll Forum

[texaspecial88]

what are your plans finding housing before 1L?

[DallasCowboy]

finding a roommate on facebook group

[MC Southstar]

Find a roommate at ASW, through facebook, or via campus services if available.

[lawduder]

I'm currently mulling over whether or not to have a roommate. I'm a very meticulous person when it comes to having a clean apartment. Part of me would like to save some money, but then there's that voice in the back of my mind telling me that a bad roommate is a lot more trouble than bills.

[UF Gators]

I will be living alone. I dont want to risk getting a loud, annoying roommate. I have lived with over 20 different people but I only really enjoyed maybe 4 of them.

[koehn2]

Roommate.. I will hopefully find them through school housing list. I am going to have an initial "interview" not an actual interview but the best word i could think of to see if personalities will mesh well before I commit to any roommate. I have heard not live with other 1L's but I don't see how someone who understands that I need lots of quiet time is a bad thing?

[CMDantes]

I've found room mates to be more of a potential risk and thus less beneficial overall than the amount of money you would save by having one.

The obvious exception is someone who you have already lived with and know well.

Otherwise, you will likely get someone you're not compatible with. I.E. if you're a slob you'll get a clean freak, socialite will get a recluse, etc. I've lived with a ton of people and I've only liked 2 room mates. Even then, I probably wouldn't live with them again. Living by yourself (haven't done it yet) seems like a major benefit in that you can maintain your place exactly the way you want it and do whatever the hell you want, and you have more of an incentive to go out and socialize.

The last point seems contradictory, but in my experiences having room mates who are always going out or have people over decreases the probability that I'll go out myself. When you're alone it seems like you have to go out and socialize on your terms instead of having the potential morons that they bring over as your social circle.

[HeelsforHoos]

finding a roommate on facebook group

+1

[Dany]

I won't be entering law school until fall of 2011, but I plan on living alone 1L year then rooming with someone I meet in law school as a 2L/3L, so that I'll know I won't have problems with them. I get really stressed out and annoyed with people quite often (I'm really introverted) so I need to know a person very well before living with them. I think a year of spending a little bit more on a place is worth my 1L sanity.

[romothesavior]

I won't be entering law school until fall of 2011, but I plan on living alone 1L year then rooming with someone I meet in law school as a 2L/3L, so that I'll know I won't have problems with them. I get really stressed out and annoyed with people quite often (I'm really introverted) so I need to know a person very well before living with them. I think a year of spending a little bit more on a place is worth my 1L sanity.

This is not always the case, trust me. Nothing can ruin a great friendship quicker than rooming together (well, aside from maybe sleeping with their girlfriend or something). One of my best friends roomed with me this year, and our friendship has cooled considerably since we moved in together. Everything we do pisses each other off, and we fight a lot about stupid little shit.

Not saying that testing the waters and becoming friends before rooming is a bad idea, but it certainly isn't foolproof.

[Dany]

Oh, I didn't mean rooming with my new law school 'best friend.' I just mean I'd have to know a lot about their living/social habits before committing to living with someone (which I probably won't be able to sleuth out before 1L). The roommates I get along with best are ones with similar living habits and completely separate social circles.

[zeth006]

For those of you planning to live alone, are you guys renting out studios???


EDIT: Briefly looked up studios at my safety school. After giving it some careful thought, I figured you guys are probably right. It's not worth saving a few extra $ when my 1L performance could be riding on my peace of mind. I've only lived off-campus for one year during college and it didn't turn out well with one of my roomies who turned out to be a complete douchebag with gambling problems and a serious temper tantrum. I don't wanna risk getting myself into that situation again. If it means I'll have to foot over some $ to use a a studio for a year, so be it! I've seen quite a few nicely priced studios in my area and based on some rough math, I'd be spending $3,000 more for a studio over living in a single with a few other roomies.

Guess that means I'll just have to make friends for 2L apartment?

[BigA]

parents not an option??

[17ShortFuse]

I'll be living with my baby sister. She will be starting undergrad at the same time I start law school.

[HBK]

I've lived on my own since 2007. I could not fathom having a roommate that isn't my SO.

Coming home to loud music, strangers touching your stuff, no beer in the fridge (even though you bought a case the night before), etc. just does not sound at all appealing to me. I like to know that when I come home, all my stuff will be where I left it.

On the flip side, if I want to jam out on some guitar hero with some friends, I don't want to have to worry about pissing off a roommate. If I don't feel like cleaning up after myself, I can take a night off.

Plus, if you're a single male, most adult women I've met prefer not to date someone with a roommate.

[j.wellington]

Living with my SO. The trouble is going to be actually finding a place from afar. I'll be moving thousands of miles away, so I can't just go apartment hinting on the weekends. How are other people managing this?

[arhmcpo]

Live alone so you don't have to worry about roommate drama WHILE going to law school.

[tintin]

i am really looking forward to living by myself (with my cat) for the first time ever. i will probably get lonely though, but its better than dealing with crazy roommates....

[blue5385]

My options are CLS & Chicago. If I choose CLS, I will be living with roomies thru the law school. I really hope people paying so much money to come to CLS will be too busy studying to rage on random weeknights. I would get lonely/claustrophobic in a studio in a city where I don't know too many people, and the 2/3-br law school apartments are relatively spacious and provide a good way to meet people. If I choose Chicago, I have a good situation thru family where I would live alone in a really nice condo for cheap.

[oberlin08]

Partially depends on where I end up going, but my preference would be this:

Spend more to live alone 1L year. Then for 2L/3L once i establish a new social network within the city etc find roommates that I trust

[nealric]

Shocked by how many people are living alone. Have people done the math on how much that costs over the course of 3 years?

IMO, if you are prone to roommate drama, the problem is probably you. I've lived with 15 different people during 7 years school, and never had a roommate that caused so much drama that it interfered with my studies. Some of them weren't necessarily my best friends, but there wasn't a single fight. The number of people who are really so disagreeable that you can't just ignore them and keep to yourself is really small. Those that are that disagreeable can almost always be flagged with even a quick meeting prior to moving in.

[gator08]

I'm on the prowl for a roommate, the difference for me between living alone and having a roomie comes down to the fact that having a roomamte will save me approx. ~ $18,000 to 20,000 over 3 years.

In Miami a 1 bedroom is typically 1,200 not including utilities. I figure I will save + - $500 a month with a roomie, so do the math. I don't see the point of having to pay all that money back just to live alone.

[oberlin08]

Shocked by how many people are living alone. Have people done the math on how much that costs over the course of 3 years?

IMO, if you are prone to roommate drama, the problem is probably you.

Im not planning to do all three years, but if I were, i'd probably think that personally the benefit outweighs the cost. I doubt anyone planning to do that has ingored the cost completely..

[nealric]

I doubt anyone planning to do that has ingored the cost completely..

I don't know. A lot of people I've talked to in persona bout the matter seem to think "oh, it's just another $400 per month". They forget to multiply $400 by 36. It's the cost of a decently nice car.

[oberlin08]

I doubt anyone planning to do that has ingored the cost completely..

I don't know. A lot of people I've talked to in persona bout the matter seem to think "oh, it's just another $400 per month". They forget to multiply $400 by 36. It's the cost of a decently nice car.

I understand and agree that the price is staggering - but the this is personal space, a place where you want to feel comfortable and safe regardless of whats going on outside of that space and some people value the idea of that more than money.