[Mastrap]

Now.


I have lived in shared houses myself. Student life meant shared life. Which was, mostly, great. One long party.

But, I have always had my own room. When you guys talk about room mate, do you mean you actually share a room?

What do you do for privacy? I mean a lie-in on a Sunday with your significant other just doesn't have the same romance potential when there's somebody snoring in the bed across the room. Right? Or is this a specific ploy to stop people from getting it on?

[ShotgunEd]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Now.


I have lived in shared houses myself. Student life meant shared life. Which was, mostly, great. One long party.

But, I have always had my own room. When you guys talk about room mate, do you mean you actually share a room?

What do you do for privacy? I mean a lie-in on a Sunday with your significant other just doesn't have the same romance potential when there's somebody snoring in the bed across the room. Right? Or is this a specific ploy to stop people from getting it on?

In my first year of college I had an actual roommate. It wasn't so bad, I didn't spend much time in my room and I didn't have a steady girlfriend. If i had female company I just crashed at hers. Last year and this year I've lived in a shared house. Last year I shared with 5 others, 4 girls and 1 boy. Now I'm going out with one of the girls that I lived with and we ended up moving into our own place this year.

[Usama's Carcase]

roommate is sharing a room. two beds or the like.

housemate is sharing a house with one or more people, and no roommate is assumed until stated otherwise.

[G4ME]

this is my first year as a college student and I am in a Dorm, I have a roomate but right now its not that bad, he is pledgeing Beta (a local Frat) and he is rarly in the room, as in I see him maby 3 times a day, and the longest time is when he comes back to go to sleep, he doesn't bother me and i don't bother him, (I think), he is planing to move out next semester into the house, and I have a friend down the hall that wants to get out of his roomate situation so he might move in, dunnno.

[Millennium]

I did a five-year CS program, and had roommates for four of those.

Privacy is near-nonexistent in a roommate situation like that. Unless you're in an apartment rather than a dorm; then typically you can go to another room at least some of the time.

As for that nice Sunday-morning lie-in: boot the roommate out. If you really need privacy for something like that, you have the right to at least ask for it, but if you do, then don't be surprised if the roommate boots you out for a while on some other occasion. Turnabout being fair play, and all that.

And, oh yeah. There's nothing in this world worse than a bad roommate. Trust me on this. If something comes up, don't hesitate to seek mediation if need be (though try to work it out between yourselves first). The last thing you need is for you both to be making each other miserable for the whole year.

[OldManMac]

There's nothing good about a bad housemate, either!

[daimoni]

.

[G4ME]

now that right there is a true mac user!!!!!!!

[::maroma::]

The dorms at the University of Oregon are like prison cells. They are made completely of concrete. One square room with 2 tiny beds, 2 tiny desks and 2 tiny closets. The room was probably the size of most bedrooms in a decent house. It was cozy to say the least. I got out of that quickly by getting my own room. I paid more, but it was well worth it. I am not the type of guy to share my living space with someone I'm not sleeping with. So far, UofO has the worst dorm rooms I have ever witnessed at a University. I've seen cardboard boxes that are more liveable than those death traps.

[daimoni]

.

[Secret Vampire]

In the UK, I'm not aware of any university with shared rooms, at the wonderful aston University you get the choice of a small room with shared bathroom (between 6-12 people, I think, depending which block/tower you're in) and shared kitchen (between 3-12 people) the room contains a bed, beat up wardrobe, beat up desk, beat up bedside unit, 1 13Amp socket, 2 2Amp sockets (throwback to the 1950s) and a fluorescent light. alternatively you can pay significantly more for a much larger room with en-suite facilities, somewhere approaching enough sockets to keep a geek happy, nice fitted furniture, internet connection (not lan, dialup at 2p per minute, they didn't say that in the brochure ) and a huge shared kitchen.
The downside is that the good block is surrounded by a steel fence, only residents can open the gates (it's all smartcard controlled) great for security, crap if your friends who live in the other blocks want to come over and chill.

I lived in both, the most obvious difference was the people who lived in the 2 blocks, in the cheap rooms everyone on our floor would pile into someones room to watch TV or eat, or we'd hang in the kitchen trying to explode capacitors by heating them with a micro blowtorch and stuff. People were less like that in the expensive block, most of my flatmates came across as more, um, shallow (there were exceptions) which didn't sit well with me, being the type to wear clothes till they fall apart, and get my hair cut at home to save �3. Why the hell am I using a Mac?

[DaKiwi2788]

When I say roommate, I mean we share a 8x9 cell with no carpet and concrete walls. Our beds are no more than 2 feet apart. And yes, this isn't so great for when Justin is here. I have planned around it very well, though. Jus and I have a good looking friend who my roommate is really into. When we want alone time, we wait until 9 pm (when he is already drunk) and call him. I get on the phone and sound as charming as possible and as him if he will please take Lauren out for a few hours. Inevitably, they both get ********d and end up spending the night at his apartment, and then we have the room to ourselves.

Sometimes it sucks to not have a room to myself, but then again I adore my roomie, and we have a lot of fun together. That makes up for the inconviences.

[Secret Vampire]

I must learn to finish posts before I post them...

After one year on campus you get sent out into the real world (unless you lie, cheat, have a minor disability to play on and get a disabled room, or whatever), where you get a house with friends, and then discover than one who was ok, if a little abrasive at the start of the first year, is a complete freak by the start of the second (not my experience), and/or get a landlord who thinks replacing a gas cooker that failed the gas safety test with a condemned unit that had been put back on the market after a bit of a clean is an acceptable thing to do (also not mine thank god).

Of course some people get nice houses, with landlords that generally operate in a pleasant, and legal manner, or lodging with an 80 something year old irish woman who's a fanatical Villa fan and does all your washing, and irons it!

[kovacs]

I've got a pretty cool dorm, ten people share one kitchen, toilet and bathroom, but we have our own seperate rooms. I live next to the kitchen so I am always awake pretty early. My room is 2 meter by 4 and I have got plenty of room for all my stuff. I have a super fast internet connection but I am behind a proxy so no limewire or private server for me Would be cool though... I don't think shared rooms exist here in belgium, I don't think I can live with someone I don't know in one room, I like my privacy... maybe if she is really pretty ...

[wataru]

I've got a tiny shared dorm room with a roommate who's always in it. And I have a girlfriend, whose roommate is also frequently in her room. Not a good situation.

Luckily her roommate almost always goes home for the weekend, so we get the weekend together

Next year we're thinking of getting an apartment together. That should be fun, as long as the relationship holds. I imagine living with one's ex is not a pleasant experience.

[Jansar]

My roommate knows that when the door is locked on a Saturday night, he won't dare open it...he's a good man.

[cheerios]

my roommate learned that lesson... I'm not sure if I was relieved or hurt that she left laughing her guts out. :shrug: She's just odd like that, though. As for lay-in's we used to do that anyway. Leave a t-shirt or boxers on respectively so nothin's poking out from under a blanky, and relax. If she wanted to get up and do whatever, more power to her, so long as she left us sleep!

And I call my "housemates" roommates. There are 4 of us. a 2 bed apt, 1 bath, on VERY small kitchen, and a teeny livingroom. But, sharing my room with JUST John is an AWESOME improvement. Loving the ability to dash off to the bedroom for whatever, whenever.

[Jansar]

Well, I'm on the top bunk anyway, so truthfully, it's not very hard to hide my girlfriend away, and make it look like there's only one person up there. Although nothing gets accomplished, it gives others the feeling that you're in bed and you're trying to sleep, so they'll close the door again.

Guess what happens after that?

[talisker]

Originally posted by Secret Vampire:
In the UK, I'm not aware of any university with shared rooms

I was at St Andrews University in the late 80s/early 90s, and there were halls with shared rooms than, they tended to be in the older, more "interesting" buildings. I opted for the single room option, which meant I was in a 1970s concrete block. It was pretty good though. I know they have built many more single rooms there since then, but I imagine the old buildings still have the shared rooms. Certainly in the UK it's no way as common as it seems to be in the USA, certainly when it comes to modern buildings. And as for this Beta frat thing - that really exists outside John Belushi films?

[mchladek]

Originally posted by ::maroma:::
The dorms at the University of Oregon are like prison cells. They are made completely of concrete. One square room with 2 tiny beds, 2 tiny desks and 2 tiny closets. The room was probably the size of most bedrooms in a decent house. It was cozy to say the least. I got out of that quickly by getting my own room. I paid more, but it was well worth it. I am not the type of guy to share my living space with someone I'm not sleeping with. So far, UofO has the worst dorm rooms I have ever witnessed at a University. I've seen cardboard boxes that are more liveable than those death traps.

That's pretty much what it's like at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Tiny, all concrete (with lovely tile floors). Two beds (bunked). Two small desks (won't hold anything larger than a 17" CRT--Thank God for my FP iMac ). I think total there might be 100 sq. ft. It's a little better this semester since we did a little rearranging and were able to squeeze in a futon.

The sad thing is that this last summer I had a 400 sq. ft. apartment all to myself which cost LESS than the dorm room. Don't ask why I moved back! But oh well. I'm moving to Orlando next semester and get to live in some Disney owned apartments while I'm working there. I'll still have a roommate but looks like the rooms are a lot bigger

[elzinat]

my roommate last year had sex while i was in the room...
...um.... ����yeah......

[nonhuman]

Most peopel seem to be talking about how horrible their roommate experiences have been, so I'll chime in from the other side. I'm on my third year of college and my fourth roommate (because I had one over the summer, not because we had problems and I exchanged him for a newer model). So far I haven't had a bad roommate yet. Prior to this year my roomas have been a little small (especially last year when we actually had less room (by area) per person than an inmate in prison), but this year makes up for it. We have a two room double with our desks and computers in the outer room, and we got rid of the crappy dorm beds and have two queen size futons in the inner room set up to fold into couches when we're entertaining or watching a movie. My roommate and I get along just fine, as have my other roommates and I. My only complaint about having a roommate at all is that you have to have a much lower expectation of privacy. At home I like to be able to lock my bedoom door and not have to deal with other people. Here that doesn't really work, so if I really want to just be alone I take a walk in the 400 acre arboretum and everyone's happy. Basically, it's a pretty good deal all around.

[cheerios]

oh, you want bad roomie stories... I've lived with a nympho, a pathological liar, a frat girl, and now i've got a couple who eat my food and try and make me deaf w/ bad TV. I've been burned out of my dorm, locked out of my room, and otherwise had not fun times. glad I am to be livign almost on my own, now!

[PorscheBunny]

Back in the Dark Ages (spring 1991), I attended Oklahoma Baptist University. I graduated high school in December 1990, and since I was under 18, OBU was the only place my parents would let me attend. They thought I might straighten up and make a good little preacher's wife someday.

Anyway, Kristen had lost her roommate over Winter Break and I was assigned to be her new "roomie". Kristen's father was a Provost at OBU, so she had some special privileges, like a bigger room than most and an RA that willingly looked the other way when she sneaked in alcohol.

My second Friday night at college, I was very drunk when Kristen started making a pass at me. She was a bit surprised when I reciprocated; she thought I was inexperienced with women like her previous roommate had been.

For three months, we gave the "perfect roommates" appearance to the outside world. My folks thought that I was actually changing into what they had wanted of me. We won the campus Spades and Bridge tournaments together and were maintaining the two highest grade-points on our floor.

On the morning of Saturday 27 April 1991, Kristen's father dropped by our room unexpectedly. He wasn't too happy finding his daughter drunk, naked, and asleep on my shoulder. "Daddy's Little Girl" blamed it all on me, I had enticed her with booze and illict sex.

I was ordered out of the dorms by noon Monday, so I packed up my pickup and left for Norman. I couldn't go home, they had already called my folks and said what had happened.

I got to Norman and went to a pawn shop to sell some stuff to try to get enough to live on for a bit. While there, Dan(ometer) walks in delivering a pizza. I followed him back to Domino's, got a job there working with him, and the poor bastard has had to put with me ever since. He let me crash on his (and soon-to-be ex-wife's) couch for 2 weeks until I could get my own place, and introduced me to some people that are still my friends.

As it turns out, Kristen's previous roommate left school because she felt guilty about what their relationship. That summer she tried to file sexual assault charges against Kristen, but at that time in Oklahoma by law a woman could not sexually assault anyone. She killed herself on Christmas Eve 1991. Kristen got to graduate "With Honors" from OBU in 1994, according to the alumni bullsh�t that OBU still sends me.

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by talisker:


And as for this Beta frat thing - that really exists outside John Belushi films?

In a word, yes. In two words, "State University." They are simultaneously frightening for their similarities and hilarious for being a "nail-on-the-head" caricature.

MM
(Proud graduate of a mid-size state university in the Southeast; also a GDI).

[Ozmodiar]

i've had mixed experiences. my first roommate (first semester Frosh) was a terrible excuse for a human. i have a few stories, but in the great cosmic scheme of things they don't really matter.

second semester Frosh me and a friend from the wing moved across campus to one of the upperclassmen buildings, because, well, our dorm sucked. that semester was a decamillion times better than first. wow.

this semester i'm rooming with a friend from the first dorm, and things are going ok. we stay out of each others' way for the most part, and except for the fact that he uses WinXP he's a stand-up guy.

next year i'm living in an apartment with some friends, and i'll have my own room. it will be glorious.

[DaKiwi2788]

Originally posted by talisker:


And as for this Beta frat thing - that really exists outside John Belushi films?

The Beta frat house up here is one of the best ones. They have a great reputation around campus and throw awesome parties. Not too much like the Animal House stuff, but fun regardless.

[daimoni]

.

[DaKiwi2788]

Originally posted by daimoni:


Not that I didn't already before... but my respect for you has only increased with the above post. You rock.

Teach me how to play Bridge someday.

Yea, Bunny, for real. What a story! Way to come out on top.

[PorscheBunny]

You go through life, things happen, and either you fold up or press forward.

As for teaching Bridge, get 3D Bridge Deluxe from Freeverse. It'll get you up-to-speed in little time and for little money.

[ShotgunEd]

PorscheBunny = my new heroine

[Subzero Diesel949]

Nothing beats a single room, especially after having to live with a suicidal electrical engineering roommate, a roommate who was playing CounterStrike 18 hours straight (from when he got up to when he fell asleep at his computer), and roommates who stunk up the apartment with kimchi.


Trust me.

Oh, and absolutely NO privacy from other roommates whenever my girlfriend was over.

[PorscheBunny]

Okay people, there are several in here who have survived worse than I have, they just don't talk about it.

[G4ME]

Porchebunny I think I saw your movie but it had a happier ending.

wink, wink, nudge, nudge, knowqwhatImean knowwhatImean.


Still a side that I never knee of you

[cheerios]

Originally posted by PorscheBunny:
Okay people, there are several in here who have survived worse than I have, they just don't talk about it.

exactly. The props are because you talk about it, i think. Hell, after that story, I'm GLAD the worst I ended up w/ was the mentally unstable spoiled nympho who liked to party, in spite of the meds she was on. Oye 2 weeks, and I was out of there! Plus, she didn't like John.

[Jansar]

Originally posted by Subzero Diesel949:
Nothing beats a single room, especially after having to live with a suicidal electrical engineering roommate, a roommate who was playing CounterStrike 18 hours straight (from when he got up to when he fell asleep at his computer), and roommates who stunk up the apartment with kimchi.


Trust me.

Oh, and absolutely NO privacy from other roommates whenever my girlfriend was over.

Well, that's the worst that it gets. I'm glad you finally got a single room, I couldn't put up with that **** either.

[nonhuman]

Originally posted by Subzero Diesel949:
Nothing beats a single room, especially after having to live with a suicidal electrical engineering roommate, a roommate who was playing CounterStrike 18 hours straight (from when he got up to when he fell asleep at his computer), and roommates who stunk up the apartment with kimchi.


Trust me.

Oh, and absolutely NO privacy from other roommates whenever my girlfriend was over.

Hey man, don't knock the kimchi. Besides, a little 151 takes that smell right out.

[daimoni]

.

[Justin W. Williams]

Originally posted by DaKiwi2788:
When I say roommate, I mean we share a 8x9 cell with no carpet and concrete walls. Our beds are no more than 2 feet apart. And yes, this isn't so great for when Justin is here. I have planned around it very well, though. Jus and I have a good looking friend who my roommate is really into. When we want alone time, we wait until 9 pm (when he is already drunk) and call him. I get on the phone and sound as charming as possible and as him if he will please take Lauren out for a few hours. Inevitably, they both get ********d and end up spending the night at his apartment, and then we have the room to ourselves.

that is so wrong, but oh well.

[DaKiwi2788]

Originally posted by Justin W. Williams:


that is so wrong, but oh well.

Do you complain? No! Only when she comes back early, so stop.

[Oneota]

I've had the same roommate my entire time at college, and we get along really well. We were randomly assigned by Res-Life (well, not completely random, but we didn't know each other before entering college), but you'd never know it to look at us.

Anyway, my roommate's had a girlfriend since High School, and whenever she visited, they would either simply sleep in the same bed if I was there and nothing else, or my roommate would ask me to leave for the night if they wanted to do anything else (she went to a different school, so she only turned up on weekends....plenty of advance notice).

We're housemates now (for the our senior year), so we each have our own room. Which is nice, too. Overall, it's certainly possible to have a good roommate, sharing a single room, and still have your privacy, and...um..."special" time.