The flatmates you are assigned for your first year of university can make or break your experience. They’ll be around you constantly for an entire academic year – you’ll see them early in the mornings and late at night. You’ll be firmly acquainted with their deepest flaws. But in some cases, amazing friendships can blossom. Here are the best and worst parts about your university flatmates.
University gossip is often ridiculously titulating – ‘can you believe so-and-so finally took the bins out?’, ‘did you hear that so-and-so left their knickers in the laundry room?’, ‘can you believe the state of the microwave?!’. One of the best parts of university life is having someone there 24/7 for a gossip session for whatever juicy information you have.
Safety after a night out should always be your ultimate priority. That’s why living with flatmates at university is brilliant for always having someone to end the night with and make sure you get home safe. Share the cost of Ubers or taxis, and even split a kebab after the club closes! Another bonus: if you forget your keys, you won’t have to go banging on doors or calling people up at all hours!
Is there anything worse than going to make yourself a morning coffee and realising you’re all out of milk? Or wanting some toast and noticing that you’re out of bread? Living with flatmates gives your access (with their permission permitting) to some food necessities if you’re all out. You’ll avoid having to leave the house for those tiny essentials which is always a pain – especially in winter! If you let your flatmates know from the get go that you’re willing to share food if they ever need it, they’ll hopefully repay the favour!
You can’t choose the personalities of your flatmates, and if you get put with a party animal, the chances are you won’t be getting much sleep that year. Be prepared for loud music, banging, singing and shouting that goes well into the night and will definitely leave you grumpy and sleep deprived the following morning. You might even have them drunkenly banging on your door if they’re feeling chatty. Good luck if you’ve got a 9am!
If you’re friends with your flatmate and are equally giving in terms of sharing food, it can be a great help. If you’re not, though, it can be hell. Having a flatmate that steals food will make you paranoid: you’ll be measuring your milk, checking your butter daily and weighing your pasta. It can make you super suspicious, cause major tensions within the flat and establish a terribly passive aggressive atmosphere amongst everyone.
As any relatively clean human will know, living with messy flatmates can be a real trial. Crumbs on the counter, an un-vacuumed floor and dirty shower become the reality – and it isn’t pretty. You can try a cleaning rota but your messy flatmates might clean to your standard, or might not even respond to your request! You can try leaving passive aggressive notes or cleaning up after them, but either way, it’s going to drive you crazy. Messy flatmates are definitely a difficulty to face during university living!
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