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Renting your own apartment and furnishing it may be very expensive especially if you’re a student. Most college and university students prefer to stay with a roommate to cost-share rent and other bills. Living with a roommate can have its own advantages and disadvantages.

Pros:

1. Increases your social skills: Having a roommate will help in making new friends especially if you’re new to the area. It will also improve your social skills on how you get along with others.

2. More responsible: Living with someone will prevent you from becoming a bridge troll. When we live, alone we sometimes become gross, keep more dirty items in the kitchen but having a roommate will make you more responsible.

3. Request favors: Living with a roommate gives you an opportunity to request personal errand favors or even car rides.

4. Establish a good friendship: Having a roommate not only enables you to create a friendship but also gives you a chance to establish a long-lasting relationship with the roommate. You will not feel alone or bored.

5. Split cost: Having a roommate allows you to share expenses like rent and shopping among others making life more affordable

6. Get help: You can get advice, share ideas, study with each other and even help each other.

7. Sharing duties: Living with a roommate enables you to divide some chores among yourself like washing the dishes, cooking, and even cleaning the room. You don’t have to do all the work by yourself.

8. Keeps you company: Living alone can sometimes be lonesome but having a roommate will keep you company, share stories, do other stuff together, or even watch movies together.

9. Motivate each other: Your roommate can offer extra motivation you need when you feel down and boost your confidence.

10. Share furnishings: When you rent an apartment, buy all the furniture and kitchen supplies needed. Having a roommate will make it easier since you can pool all the resources together to furnish the apartment.

Cons:

1. No privacy: Living with your friend you may not have total privacy or personal space as compared to if you’re alone. Your roommate can invite his/her friends into the room affecting your schedule.

2. Messy Partner: When you find yourself with a messy roommate is sometimes frustrating because sometimes you have to clean up after them.

3. Ignore boundaries: Although you may set the house rules or some boundaries for each person, sometimes they may choose to ignore the rules and do what they want.

4. Not accommodating: Sometimes it is difficult to adjust your routine so as to please others

5. Different schedules: You may all have different schedules. You may have an 8 o’clock class while your roommate has a 10 am class or even he likes to sleep too late while you like to sleep early.

6. Sharing everything: Although you may put some boundaries sometimes, you end up sharing something with the roommate. For example, if you bought your shampoo to wash your hair then your roommate can use it anytime their soap runs out.

7. Unreliable roommate: When you split rent and other expenses, it means they must be paid on time and sometimes your roommate may be unreliable when it comes to payments of the shared costs and this can cost you a lot.

8. May become enemies: Sometimes if you don’t get along with your roommate, you may not feel comfortable living with them or even end up as enemies.

9. Less Space: Sharing a room means less space for yourself and your partner will always be there.

10. Extra baggage: Your partner may become extra baggage to you. If your roommate is not responsible and doesn’t understand the gravity of having divided duties and you have to remind them every time, you end up being stressed.