5 Rules To Follow If You Want To Avoid Hating Your Roommate

One of the worst parts about living in a big city is the fact that EVERYTHING, literally everything is more expensive. When I decided to move to Los Angeles, my only option was to have not one, but two roommates. What started out as three best friends staying up late drinking cocktails and talking about boys, quickly turned into the worst experience of my life. And by the worst experience of my life, I mean I found myself pulled over on the side of the road ugly crying on the phone with my mom at 5:30am. Instead of going into detail about how my ex-roommates are two of the most horrible people you will ever meet, here are five ways to avoid hating your roommate.

Don’t live with your best friend.


Too much of a good thing can lead to lots of problems: like alcoholism, obesity, or in my case couch hopping for the last two months of my lease. Yes, it is nice to have someone that you can always hang out with. But, if your best friend is anything like mine was, they will NOT understand personal boundaries.

Don’t live in a place with an odd number of people.


When there are an odd number of people living in the same space, somebody always feels ganged up on. Stick to sharing your home with one other person, or three if you find a large enough space.

Don’t share money.


When my ex-roommates and I first moved to LA, all we had was what we could fit in our cars. So, we decided to furnish an apartment on one credit card. We agreed to split the payments, and likewise the furniture. While in theory this was a good idea, when it came to move out those greedy little trolls stole almost everything except a couch, two crappy end tables, and a few picture frames. According to them, “it was an even split.” I’m still praying karma’s real.

Don’t look for the good in people.


If you know someone who has a tendency to get drunk and throw wine bottles or has a knack for stealing things likes Christmas trees (yes, that really happened), that makes them a bad person. Do they need help? Clearly. Should you live with them? Absolutely not.

Don’t be afraid to move out.


I should have broken my lease several months before it was up. But, I told myself I needed to suck it up. There was absolutely no point; my ex-roommates were the worst and I would have saved myself several hundred dollars in therapy had I simply said buh-bye.