Dishes piled high in the sink. Drunken visitors stumbling in at three in the morning. Valuable items mysteriously vanishing, despite your roommate swearing that she’s never seen them. Oh the joys of sharing a living space!
College is a transformative time for many people, and students are expected to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world, in addition to what they’re learning in the classroom. But it’s also the first time many people move away from home, and apparently, lots of students could use a lesson on how to coexist peacefully.
Redditors have recently been sharing their “roommate from hell” stories, so we’ve gathered some of the most shocking ones below. Keep reading to also find conversations with the Reddit user who started this thread, Kylie McConville, Editor-in-Chief of Apartment Therapy, and Mary Dell Harrington, co-founder of Grown and Flown. And be sure to upvote the stories that sound like your nightmare!
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“The reason why I started the conversation in the first place was because I was hoping that I could get some hype being one of those popular Reddit posts,” the author shared. “I’ve always seen people get their question popularized on different platforms and what not and was hoping that I could join in on that craze. And so I had chosen a topic that might be relatable to people.”
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“Others were pretty much people who thought they were the best of friends, but once living together, they realized that they didn’t have the chemistry that they thought they had. And so one of them had to move to a different dorm. And even some of them have felt that they were better off just having a dorm to themselves rather than living with someone,” One_n_0nly_throwaway continued.
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“And other times, it could be friends who have never lived together and are not aware of some of their other friend’s habits, because they may have only seen them at school and never had a sleepover or something,” One_n_0nly_throwaway continued. “Thus, they are oblivious to how their friend is behind closed doors. On top of that, many of them, regardless if they are friends or not, are living in a space that is not their home anymore. So it’s a new playing field for how they are going to take care of themselves without having their parents’ help.”
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“And then there’s others where you hear about people living with others that have never been taught human decency. Like changing or cleaning their clothes, having food on the floor,” the author continued, noting that they have an ex friend who did something similar. “It was so gross.”
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“Finding a college roommate is hard and overwhelming, especially when you’re entering your first semester and trying to make new friends and get familiar in a completely new place. But we know the best way to get to know the person you’re living with is to make a dedicated effort to spend time together and ask questions that’ll help you get to know them (and vice versa),” Kylie shared.
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“When you’re agreeing to live with someone, be honest with them and with yourself on your living habits and most importantly, your deal breakers. Are you someone who values cleanliness and organization? If so, you should share that with your roommate and find ways to compromise on what will make you both comfortable and happy,” she told Bored Panda. “Open communication and respecting each other’s boundaries will prevent anyone from feeling like their needs aren’t being met.
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“It’s surprising if roommates don’t have conflicts,” she told Bored Panda. “We hear from parents in our community quite often who say their first-year college students are having trouble with their roommates, especially early in the fall semester.”
“If students attend a college where roommates can choose each other, they might have prioritized an ‘Instagram view’ of their future roommate or common interests or majors. What’s more important for compatibility are lifestyle habits (sleep needs, importance of keeping the space organized and clean, noise or quiet while studying, having friends or romantic partners in the room),” the expert noted.
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“While it’s easy to agree on when to turn off lights and loud music, it’s uncomfortable to address conflicts around hygiene, intimate relationships in the room, abusing the college’s policies around drinking and drug use,” she noted. “These last three things are the things that the many, many parents of college students tell us that their teens are having conflicts with. If there are problems - big issues - that roommates don’t address early on, the living situation can become even more tense, and problems can snowball.”
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“Try to resolve conflicts with the roommate on your own. Focus on significant issues and learn to compromise, be flexible and adapt. If there are still big conflicts, enlist the advice and help of the RA,” she added.
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