Moving-In with a Roommate: What Questions to Ask?

Congratulations on your decision to move! When moving, choosing the correct roommate is a very important task that will affect your happiness in your new apartment of house. There are a number of things that you need to know about your roommate before you can make a decision on whether to share accommodation with him or not. Do not be shy of asking, it is best for both of you to sit down and get to know if sharing would be comfortable.

Listed below are the most important answers you need to get.

1. How will the bills be split?
The usual practice is to split utility and telephone bills equally. However, your roommate may want to keep a separate telephone, or not use it at all if he has a cell phone. Ask before moving day in order to avoid confusion.

2. Smoking, drinking and drug use.
Ask your roommate about his position on the use of these substances. Usually if both or neither one of you smokes or drinks, there won’t be a problem. But if only one of you does, then you may not be comfortable with each other as well as the people that they invite over.

3. Visitors, girlfriends and boyfriends.
If you get irritated by having a lot of visitors, it may be very hard to live with a roommate who invites a dozen friends over for a get together or group activity. You may want to set visiting rules such as certain hours to solve the problem.

4. Work hours.
Choose your roommate according to your work hour preference. You may want a roommate that has the same schedule as you, or you two may want to stay out of each other’s way by having alternate timings. It usually depends on how much you like your roommate.

5. Pets.
Inform your roommate if you have a pet and if he is OK with it or not. Also ask him if he would keep a pet or not. A surprising amount of disagreements later arise because of pets.

6. Diseases, allergies and emotional control.
It’s very important that you know of your roommate’s medical profile and emotional stability. You may not feel comfortable living with a person who gets diseases frequently. If your roommate has allergies, you both will have to take precautions and live more carefully. Information on your roommate’s emotional stability is also important. It is virtually impossible to live with someone with a sharp temper or who spends most of his time depressed.

7. Personal beliefs.
Personal topics like religion, sexuality and other such sensitive issues are also important to discuss. You won’t live with someone who objects or conflicts with your practices and actions.

8. Annoying habits.
Both of you should know the things that annoy the other person, and determine whether you can avoid them. Your roommate may not like loud music, and you may not like him watching TV at a full volume. Make a list of things that annoys both of you and whether you are willing to give up the habits.

If your future roommate and you are happy with the answers to these important questions, then it's time to start locating a moving company. After that both of you will likely have a comfortable and enjoyable sharing accommodation.