Choosing a roommate is like choosing a spouse. Interviewing roommates can make you crazy. What do I ask? What information you need get from them and how? You need to know what you are getting into in this relationship. Do you want to live with this person? The best way to know is by finding compatibility between you and your roommates. You need to be careful on questions posing on them and the way you ask them. I would like to share some questions I faced when I am finding my roommate in one of the Apartments in Philadelphia. I believe these questions give you some idea on how and what to ask to select your roommate.
- What is your schedule like? Schedules that are different in the house are good. Roommates need time apart and time alone. The other side of the coin is different schedule annoyances. If you’re roomy is getting around, showering, shaving, and on the phone just when you’re winding down and trying to sleep, that is going to irritate anyone.
- Where do you work? Watch for flags. Unemployed, hardly working, or anything else that sounds fishy. If your roomy is secretive about his sales job, the roommate may be in to something illegal.
- Do you need room for a pet? Does your pet need special care? You need to know if pet hair needs vacuuming, cages cleaned, walking, feeding, etc. Will your pet annoy neighbors or annoy you. If you do not want a pet in the apartment, even if you are strapped for money, do not bring a pet owner into the apartment as a roommate. Find a way to pay the bills and wait for a roommate who is compatible.
- Do you require special diet restrictions? Are each roommate’s eating habits going to be okay for everyone in the house? No one should feel guilty or judged for eating something that might be offensive to the other roommate.
- Are you a drinker? Are you a drug user? Renters should be comfortable with each other’s current life style. You need to talk about smoking with a potential roommate. You might say “Do you care if I smoke?” Do you smoke? Will you allow others to smoke in the apartment? I do not recommend smoking inside. You may smoke, but inside smoking is gross. It stinks and leaves a thin residue of soot on clothes, furniture, walls, and all over the apartment.
- How clean is clean enough for the apartment? How often should the house be cleaned? Everyone has different styles and comfort zones for living. If you’re a slob, it probably will not be a good idea to bring a super starched pants neat freak into the home.