What Makes a Great Student House Mate?

Introduction

The people you live with at the University play an important role in either making your student accommodation a home away from home or an awful experience. It is therefore important to know what makes a good student housemate so that you can be prepared when choosing housemates and also prepare yourself to be a great housemate to others.

A great student housemate does the following or has the following characteristics

Respects boundaries– Whether you are sharing a bedroom or only common areas in your Southampton student accommodation, respecting boundaries is a big part of being a great student housemate. Under no circumstances should you use things that belong to other people without their permission. This is a very important aspect of co-living, always seek permission. Believe it or not, people take stock of the things they own and they often make plans around that. How would you feel if you have plans to use something you kept in your section of the cupboard but when you get there you discover someone has used it and didn’t bother to inform you? 

Openminded – If you find it difficult to embrace new ideas and a new approach to doing things, then you might want to reconsider living in shared student houses in Southampton. The truth is living with others will expose you to a whole new world and a good housemate is someone sensitive and sensible enough not to be too critical of new things even when they don’t understand the process or rationale. As long as a person’s way of life is not directly hurting you or causing any harm, you shouldn’t have a problem with it.

Resolve issues immediately– Leaving issues and disagreements unresolved for long creates a toxic environment in the home. Nobody wants to be walking on eggshells in their home, so this is why all disagreements should be resolved as soon as possible.

Humble and respectful – If you respect others,don’t think low of others and you don’t think anybody is beneath you, you will make a great housemate. It is easy to live in harmony when you respect your housemates. You will not turn up the volume of your music player if you respect your housemate and their right to a peaceful environment.

Take responsibility and apologize – nobody is always right and good housemates know this. Regardless of how careful you are in your dealings with others in a shared space you are bound to offend someone one way or the other. The most important thing is what happens when you realize you’ve hurt someone’s feelings. A good housemate will make no excuses for their action, apologize quickly and mean it.

Communicates clearly – Most problems in shared student houses in Southampton or anywhere else originates from lack of communication or poor communication. Effective communication is not merely you conveying an idea or passing your position on a subject across, it also involves listening. To avoid misunderstandings and needless frictions, a great student housemate should be a good listener as much as a good speaker.

Activeon the house groups–House groups on instant messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp are great channels to promote easy communication. Discussions on issues affecting the house and ideas to be implemented to improve the living experience of all housemates are often discussed here. A good student housemate should be active in this group and contribute regularly to all the issues discussed. Nobody wants a housemate that always comes to agree with all the decisions made after the fact and never contributes to the brainstorming discussion.

Socialize and hangout with other housemates – You need to bond with your housemates and a good way of doing that is by socializing together. Group activities like group dinners when different housemates cook their favorite meals are usually a good opportunity for bonding and relaxation. Socializing together also helps to smoothen any awkwardness that might be present in the initial stages of co-living and there are several suggestions on socializing as a group on Studyhomes.

Have conversations but avoid arguments – It is often good if you can discuss certain topics that interest you with your housemates. However, you need to be careful so that such discussions do not evolve into arguments. Conversations around issues like religion, sexuality, and political affiliations are great but can easily devolve into ugly arguments.

Friendly and welcoming – if you are just going to sit in your room all day without making any effort or extending a branch to others then you will most likely not be a great student housemate. Be friendly, wear a smile, and treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Respect the house rules – Every house has rules and they must be followed. Breaking rules that apply to pets, smoking having guests will not make you a great housemate. You might trigger your fellow housemates to report you to the landlord or responsible agencies like Studyhomes. When you break rules, you’re taking the other people for granted and no one, including you, likes to be taken for granted.

Pull your weight – communal living works best when everybody is contributing in the same proportion. If there is a slacker, there will be somebody taking up more responsibility than they like and this will breed resentment. Following through with things like the roster for shared chores, payments for shared expenses are important aspects where a housemate needs to pull their weight and show up.

Clean up Immediately– Nobody likes entering the kitchen or bathroom and seeing a huge mess of dirt. Do not make a mess of common areas. Whenever you use the common areas of the apartment, it is important to clean up immediately before leaving the site.

Conclusion

All the above are key tips on what makes a great student housemate, so remember them when you enter your Southampton student accommodation. University life can be stressful, so it is important to do all you can to ensure that your shared accommodation in Southampton is not another source of stress for you.