NEWS
EVENTS
The Shared House Experience
Other | Friday 24th August 2012 | Osh
We all reach that inevitable age where we have to fly the coop, escape the nest etc. Leaving our parents with empty nest syndrome and ourselves with the daunting task of being independent and paying rent.
But with the joys of being beholden to only ourselves comes certain irritating aspects like sharing a bathroom with strangers, keeping communal spaces clean and watching out for the pair of boots outside the door that heralds a house guest. So how do we navigate these little gems that one will eventually have to endure and what are the positives of sharing our existences with others.
Obviously there are the immediate benefits like sharing the cost of rent and utilities and always having someone to come home to, whether you like it or not. On the other hand, unpleasant house mates, rostered house cleaning systems and midnight love making, all make it a new minefield to negotiate. Personally I figure learning from other peoples experiences is always a great way to get a head start in this strange new environment.
Tip One
In my first house share in Sydney, I had a hard time to begin with. I consider myself a really easy going personand expecting the people around me to be the same saw me in a whole lot of trouble for the first few months. I had my mother stay with me in my room for a few nights which unbeknownst to me managed to piss my housemates off. I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t her presence so much as my not asking permission. Secondly I locked myself out in the wee hours of the morning and stupidly had my sister and a friend of mine with me who, thinking the whole situation was very funny, proceeded to giggle and laugh outside my roommates front window. Well boy did I get a bollocking. The next morning having spent the night in a cheap hotel in a rather dodgy part of Sydney I had a long and rather intimidating text about my behaviour not being acceptable. Fuck! I apologised profusely and came home with my tail between my legs. What I learned from this? Don’t expect people to be as easy going as you, in fact don’t make any assumptions at all. If you are unsure, ask. Better that then getting a poisonous text from your housemates and feeling like you have to walk on eggshells for months.
Tip Two
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Nothing pisses people off more than a dirty house and certain members not pulling their weight in the hygiene stakes. A roster is a great idea. If it gets split up evenly and each task is spelt out then nobody can say they didn’t know or not complete the job properly. I actually enjoyed the process in my share house, Jenna my housemate and I would always share each task and do them together, often with music and lots of chitchat before we knew it, it was all done and it didn’t feel like purgatory.
Tip Three
Ensure you have that discussion about money ASAP. Nothing ruins burgeoning friendships like fights about money. Rent, bills, food, whatever it is that you all split have a chat make sure you all agree and often designating one responsible person to pay over the big things makes life a little easier. But most important be sociable. Repour and friendships just can’t happen if you spend the whole time in your room, on the phone or watching TV. Something as simple as sitting in the communal space like the lounge room or garden together without TV or whatever else there is around to distract you means that you are forced to talk to each other. House dinners are also a great idea and if you throw in some beers or a bottle of wine, everything should go swimmingly.
Essentially moving into a share house is what most of us are forced to do at one point or another and it need not be an arduous experience. I have heard a number of horror stories and every now and then you are going to get stuck with a dickhead but fingers-crossed that isn’t you and if it is, these tips should help...or hiding in your room is good too!
By Saabeah Aforo-Addo
