How to not get scammed moving into a place you’ve never seen before
I’m an engineering student, and as such have moved quite a bit between co-ops, internships, and school. Because my moves happen three times a year and my moves are typically over 400 miles, I have never actually moved into an apartment that I’ve seen beforehand — and I’ve lived in seven different apartments/shared houses. I’ll admit, I went through some pretty crappy living arrangements because of this, but I have gradually learned how to make this experience better.
Here are some things I’ve learned to do when moving in blind…
Living with my partner isn’t like living with a roommate
The other day when my boyfriend was at work, I texted him to say “I’m exhausted and I just want to warn you that the dishes aren’t done. I’ll get to them tomorrow first thing.”
His response: “I hate to tell you this, love, but you’re an adult now. You can do the dishes whenever you want!”
My reaction in my mind: “Not true. I have a responsibility to my roommate to maintain this house in the way that I would want to live in it.” Then I caught myself and thought for a minute. Does living with your partner mean that maybe, just maybe, the entire home is now under our shared dominion? And that, within reason, I can decide what gets done when, just like he can? I still wasn’t sure.
10 life lessons learned from my first apartment
Attention young Offbeat Homies: At some point, you will cease to live with your parents or in a dorm room, and will very likely live in a cheap apartment, quite possibly with roommates. I hit this particular milestone my Junior year of college, and here’s what it taught me…
4 common sense tips for not killing your roommate in a double-occupancy dorm
There are a lot of posts on Offbeat Home about cohabiting in an apartment or house; however, I don’t think I’ve seen anything covering living and sleeping in the same room as a roommate you didn’t know until a week prior to moving in! Here are the four rules my roommate and I follow to keep the peace.
How to split costs with roommates
We’re buying our first home and have offered to let a friend and her son move in with us and “pay rent” (part of the mortage + utilities). He thinks our friend should be paying more than half because she’s taking more space, my suggestion was that all of the adults pay an equal amount. So, homies, how have you worked out splitting the costs between roommates in such a situation before?
You owe me a dollar! A self-improving way to save for big goals.
My beloved and I are not the neatest people on earth. We try, and we spend quite a bit of time each week cleaning up our humble little home, but ultimately the place is usually a little messy.
That being said, he has a habit of leaving his shoes smack in the middle of the front door, and I trip over them every day when I get home from work. This shit drives me INSANE.
One day I snapped. I told him every time he leaves his shoes in front of the door he owes me a dollar. The habit persisted, and every dollar he gives me goes straight into our wedding bank.
I love you but leave: evicting a good roommate
I’m a grad student, and I currently live in a flat with another grad student, who’s been living here over a year.
The problem is, my boyfriend will be coming back into the country in a few months and would really like to move in with me. I’m trying to find a supportive, non-pressuring way to ask my flatmate if she can commit to moving out on a particular date so he can move in…How do I work this?
Five ideas to soundproof so you can turn video games up to 11 without waking the dead
Everyone needs a little soundproofing knowledge now and then, but nerds more than most. Here are our solutions for soundproofing your space.