(no subject)
On the road to adulthood, nothing signifies “making it” like getting your first apartment or house. Now, due to the nature of growing up, most of us are not fortunate enough to be financially stable enough to afford this hallmark on our own. We therefore seek the assistance of the roommate. There are several classifications of roommates, ranging from friend, classmate, stranger, family member, etc, but all of these can be grouped into three types of personalities that one will be forced to live with on a day to day basis. These personalities are the mother, the slob, and the absentee.
Having moved out of your parents house, one would think that the never ending deluge of curfews and chores had ended, but the “mothering” roommate can bring them all back home. This is the subset of roommate that makes breakfast in the morning, writes to do lists on a community white board, and makes sure, through their endless nagging, that all the household chores will be completed in a timely, efficient, and equally physically demanding manner. This type of roommate does have its upside, in that all the bills will be paid on time and in full, the house will always be spotless, there will almost never be any confrontation, and the non stop party scene is likely to pass over your apartment. If you can deal with the mothering and the replacement of faux parenting for real “friendship,” then this is the roommate for you.
Opposite the parent sits the most annoying of all roommate types: the slob. The slob is one who not only destroys his or her own room, but also spills their filth out into the common areas. Dishes will never be washed, laundry never done, and an odd smell will start to eek out from under their door, sometimes accompanied by an auspicious greenish yellow gas. The are most likely unemployed and usually have trouble paying the bills. They will always mooch off of your if you are employed and they will most likely try and hang out with your and your friends since they are usually loners (who would want to share a bed or hang out with someone who sleeps on piles of used underwear and beer stained tee-shirts?) This is most likely the kind of roommate you will end up with at first because they are inevitably, your best friend. You just didn’t know they were like this until you were forced to live with them on a day to day basis.
The final set of roommate is the absentee. There is not much to be said about this roommate because they are largely, as the name implies, absent. You may never see them at the house except once or twice a week. Who knows what it is they are doing? They could be working, they could have a significant other who they spend more time with. All that really matters is that most times, these people will pay the bills. You wont know how they pay the bills, but come the first of the month, their share of the rent will have been paid by the due date. If you are looking for life long friends, this is not the way to go, but a quiet coexistence is what this roommate will have to offer you.
After you have gone through all three of these personality sets you will find which one fits you best. I am more of the absentee roommate myself. What should hopefully happen is that as you progress through the roommates you also progress professionally leading to the best roommate type of all. A one bedroom apartment with only you.
Having moved out of your parents house, one would think that the never ending deluge of curfews and chores had ended, but the “mothering” roommate can bring them all back home. This is the subset of roommate that makes breakfast in the morning, writes to do lists on a community white board, and makes sure, through their endless nagging, that all the household chores will be completed in a timely, efficient, and equally physically demanding manner. This type of roommate does have its upside, in that all the bills will be paid on time and in full, the house will always be spotless, there will almost never be any confrontation, and the non stop party scene is likely to pass over your apartment. If you can deal with the mothering and the replacement of faux parenting for real “friendship,” then this is the roommate for you.
Opposite the parent sits the most annoying of all roommate types: the slob. The slob is one who not only destroys his or her own room, but also spills their filth out into the common areas. Dishes will never be washed, laundry never done, and an odd smell will start to eek out from under their door, sometimes accompanied by an auspicious greenish yellow gas. The are most likely unemployed and usually have trouble paying the bills. They will always mooch off of your if you are employed and they will most likely try and hang out with your and your friends since they are usually loners (who would want to share a bed or hang out with someone who sleeps on piles of used underwear and beer stained tee-shirts?) This is most likely the kind of roommate you will end up with at first because they are inevitably, your best friend. You just didn’t know they were like this until you were forced to live with them on a day to day basis.
The final set of roommate is the absentee. There is not much to be said about this roommate because they are largely, as the name implies, absent. You may never see them at the house except once or twice a week. Who knows what it is they are doing? They could be working, they could have a significant other who they spend more time with. All that really matters is that most times, these people will pay the bills. You wont know how they pay the bills, but come the first of the month, their share of the rent will have been paid by the due date. If you are looking for life long friends, this is not the way to go, but a quiet coexistence is what this roommate will have to offer you.
After you have gone through all three of these personality sets you will find which one fits you best. I am more of the absentee roommate myself. What should hopefully happen is that as you progress through the roommates you also progress professionally leading to the best roommate type of all. A one bedroom apartment with only you.