30 Questions to Ask Roommates Before Moving in Together

You could already know the solutions to all the fundamental roommate questions, however taking your evaluation to the subsequent stage may also help decide if you’re really suitable.

As somebody who has efficiently nailed the ever-so-choppy waters of cohabitating with a pal, I can proudly say I understand how to select a roommate. Before shifting in collectively, we sat down for what we affectionately referred to as a way of life audit. Though we had been mates and neighbors for years, dwelling with somebody is a horse of a unique colour.

Of all of the locations in life the place you may’t get your means, you don’t need your property to be one in every of them. Ask a ton of questions and pay cautious consideration to the solutions. Due diligence is a should earlier than agreeing to reside collectively, which is why I made an inventory of 30 roommate inquiries to go over collectively earlier than you set a move-in date (or signal a lease, if it isn’t too late). Here are all of the bases to cowl with a possible roomie.

Questions to Ask Potential Roommates

1. What’s your day by day routine? This line of questioning might be a gradual burn. Start small by strolling them by your typical day. The objective is to get a really feel for what day by day life is for every of you, sans drama or exterior stressors (we’ll get to these).

2. How would you prioritize the next actions: work, play, clear, and relaxation? The precedence positioned on values themselves is extra necessary than really sharing values. For instance, hyper-organized and messy people can fortunately cohabitate below the identical roof in the event that they each rank the precedence of cleanliness on the identical stage.

3. Do you imagine in previous lives? If so, who have been you in your final lifetime? This method is what Tony Robbins calls a sample interrupt. Things are going to get private, so soar in with a whimsical, enjoyable line of dialogue. Disrupting critical conversations with off-kilter, provocative questions will get you out of your shell. This will not be a job interview. Odds are that this human goes to stroll in on you within the bathe throughout the subsequent few weeks, so do not be afraid to interrupt the ice.

4. What time do you typically get up and go to mattress? Early to mattress and early to rise, or evening owl? An necessary follow-up to this: Are you a light-weight or heavy sleeper? The reply to this one will set up your property’s nightly sound boundaries.

5. What situations do you require to sleep? If you are persistently up late and your roomie leaves for work at 5 a.m. (as is the case with my dwelling scenario), it’s essential set floor guidelines. Agree to solely hearken to music with headphones after a sure hour, or promise to show the lights off by a sure time.

6. What is one of the best technique of method to make a request? Does your potential roommate desire to hash issues out nose to nose, or is textual content acceptable? When I moved in with my roommate, we established a system. All complaints and requests have been to be made in writing through textual content.

7. What do you utilize your property area for? Do you earn a living from home? Some people could merely use their house base as a launching pad for the day. Others may view their private area as a sanctuary to regain their psychological energy or a spot to entertain mates.

8. How neat or messy are you? Some folks might want each ounce of litter faraway from the premises. Others could also be cool with holding frequent areas spotless and permitting a contained explosion to happen of their closet. Discuss what your coverage is in relation to cleansing up, after which work out if the answer is hiring a housekeeper or DIY.

9. If you may identify one place that will sum up the vibe of your property, what would it not be? This could be a metaphorical or a bodily place, however the level of the query is similar. There is a giant distinction between NYC and Tahiti. If your thought of a homestead is an after-hours membership and your roommate has extra of an low season resort power in thoughts, perhaps work that out earlier than you invite strangers to come back dancing round your condominium at 4 a.m.

10. What’s your pet coverage? I rescued a canine inside two months of shifting in, and my roommate inspired it. Inquire after any short- and long-term pet targets. Maybe it is a lifelong dream to personal a Bengal cat, and they’re ready for the appropriate second. The last item you need is to have to maneuver out as a consequence of an allergy or aversion to alter.

11. What are your greatest stressors in life? It’s useful to know in case you’ll be dwelling with somebody who ranks their private relationships on the prime of their precedence checklist. If work is primary, nice. Life will deliver the drama. Knowing the place the minefields are will allow you to compassionately maneuver round crimson flags. Maybe reduce them some slack in the course of the busy season at work, and many others.

12. How do you decompress day by day? I’m satisfied that my roomie is aware of many of the secrets and techniques to life. One of these secrets and techniques is that he watches the Puppy Channel daily after work for a half-hour to decompress. I do know he wants that half-hour; it’s a sacred time. Love bubble baths? Host a weekly TV viewing social gathering? Stake out your rituals early.

13. What’s your relationship like together with your mother and father? This could initially appear intimate and off-track, however the implications are far-reaching and contact all the pieces.

14. What are your emotions about in a single day friends? Make certain there are not any steadfast guidelines or that you just each agree if there are.

15. What’s your worst behavior? Pat your self on the again if what it’s. If you do not, ask your earlier roomie or your finest pal. This is a development alternative for you, and it is a heads-up in your new roommate.

16. If you have been prepared to go to jail for 15 years for a single crime, what would that crime be? See, sample interruptions are each humorous and telling. Discuss. You’ve earned a breather.

17. What chore do you least like doing round the home? I’m a powerful advocate for divisions of labor. If you hate doing dishes and your roomie hates cleansing the lavatory, why not decide on a quid professional quo? At the very least, in the event that they know you hate doing one thing, you will in all probability get a giant thanks each time it will get completed.

18. What is your favourite method to spend a Sunday evening? Odds are that essentially the most vital time you’ll spend at house might be in your free time (except you may have a house workplace). Get a way of what their weekends sometimes seem like. Do your social circles mesh?

19. What are essentially the most and least anxious days of the week? Everybody has them, and it isn’t all the time Monday and Friday. Know which day hassle is almost definitely to brew, and be further pleasant and type on these days. If Thursday is social gathering day, perhaps comply with hold the frequent areas clear and the fridge stocked each Wednesday evening.

20. How usually do you journey? Translation: How usually will you be house?

21. How usually do you cook dinner at house? If you are in search of an condominium collectively, the kitchen setup could make or break a spot for foodies.

22. How necessary is it to know your neighbors? This provides a way of the form of neighborhood you might be each anticipating out of your dwelling scenario. Communicate your expectations for a way social your property is about to get.

23. When you have had a nasty day, what do you want? You’re going to see one another at your finest and at your worst. Get a really feel for problem-solving.

24. Would you self-identify as introverted or extroverted? Introverts cost their batteries with alone time. Extroverts want exterior stimulus to maintain their mojo intact. The two can coexist seamlessly. Just know what to anticipate from each other, and do not take it personally in case your roommate wants a break from social interplay.

25. On a scale of 1 to 10, how modest are you? Good to know, proper?

26. What are your deal breakers? List them out. Are you a neat freak? Are you going to name them at work each time they go away a dish within the sink? Do you endure from a paralyzing worry of canine? Be actual. There’s no judgment. Own your quirks, and set up clear boundaries upfront.

27. Sharing is caring, or each individual for themselves? When it involves sharing something from garments to cookware with a roommate, work out in case you’re taking part in a one-on-one or zone protection. Some folks merely prefer to hold their belongings to themselves. Ask earlier than you utilize their iron skillet.

28. Have any pet peeves? Don’t be shy, and do not maintain again. Maybe you hate the scent of cologne, otherwise you’re tremendous eco-friendly and preserve a strict bathe time restrict. Be brutally sincere.

29. What’s your confrontation model? Establishing an efficient method to resolve conflicts is essential to any relationship. Figure out how you can finest handle points collectively so you may transfer previous them.

30. Ask your self what sort of roommate you assume you might be. This could also be a very powerful roommate query of all. Need slightly assist? Ask your earlier roomies what it was prefer to reside with you. You do not should internalize each criticism or take each observe. Just get a really feel for what it is prefer to not be you. You could be stunned and even uncover some areas of enchancment for your self you by no means knew existed.