House sharing?

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Ever lived in a house-share situation? What is your criteria for living with a complete stranger?
e.g. male/female, max number of occupants, clean, quiet, owner-occupied etc.
Next week I plan to rent a room in a house-share agreement, this will be my first time to live with people that I don't already know and I am feeling a bit nervous about it.

I can understand you being nervous about it, Amity.

It's a whole new world for you.

I would try to live with "established" people. It would be great if you happened to live with a married couple who are both librarians, and live near a park.

I know it would also be lovely if your roommate happens to be a noise-sensitive Aspie who is also very smart and conversant in many things.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you!

Thanks, lol I hope it works out too!

I'm moving for a part time job, for now its not practical to rent my own place, though I hope it will be possible in the near future.

I have shared housing before when I first got out of college. I lived with people who were not yet established in any careers at all, and it was a fiasco. However, I shared a common space with established people later on ( we all had our own cottages and had a covered patio in the middle) and it was great. This could be a good experience for you with the right people!

This is what I need to avoid, its a town with a large student population...


Wow that sounds lovely. I think the closest I will get to that is a 'professionals only' house with a garden.

I found one ad that seemed instantly perfect, a shared kitchen, private living room, bathroom and bedroom, bills included, reasonable rent, a garden, but, when I looked at the images there was a picture of the kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom and one of a man! (I am assuming the other tenant)

I have, and I f*****g hate it. That's what it was like the last place I lived, where I lived with my landlord and two roommates. The roommates weren't so bad, but my landlord, ugh, he was the most annoying, condescending, anal-retentive guy EVER.

I am beginning to think that living by myself could be a better option, the rent for a one/two bed would be 25-30% of my wages, by comparison to 15-20% for a room.

The noises made by other people can really irritate me, loud TV, music I don't like etc. I won't be living there full time, the extra cost seems like an unreasonable expenditure as I have other priorities for that cash, its hard to find a balance.

In that regard, you certainly would be safer emphasizing privacy over facilities. In the long run, you have to go with what you feel most comfortable with.

Two years ago I rented a garage that had been converted into an efficiency apartment from a loud family. I could hear them through the wall, but I assume they couldn't hear me since I was alone and quiet. I felt I had adequate privacy but increased security since if I needed help I could just yell for help and they would be able to hear me. They never bothered me or tried to get me to hang out with them, which I appreciated.

I've also had the opposite, with a boarder in my house and I would never, ever do that again. It was like always having company over, except he stank. So we were always on edge. And he'd have his own company over and they'd be sitting on our furniture, in our kitchen, bathroom, etc. We had to bleach the room after he moved out to get the stink out of it.

I would advise you to make sure you have your own space so you can get away from the others and make sure there are clear rules about cleanliness and ownership/timing of shared spaces like the kitchen and bathroom.

^I decided to rent a room from an owner occupier, its a nice area, a newly built energy efficient house, a large bedroom with a view, a large private bathroom and shared communal areas.

She needed a quiet mature person, so it seems to be a good match, I can leave with one months notice if it doesn't work out.