Living away from home

Jonny Arson

Hey guys. I have been thinking lately about moving out home for the next college year and living near enough to campus. Its simply just a mooted idea at this stage but I feel I could maybe do with flocking my nest for a period. I do know that if I did move it would be on rented accomodation due to the 1st year/final year and how you live away rule.

This is towards everyone who has lived away from home while studying here, what has been your overall experience living way from home? Do you feel it has helped you grow up? What has it been like living with flatmates? Has it been costly for you? etc.

Mr.Nice Guy

Weird. I've been thinking along similar lines, although nothing too definite at this point. Getting a bit claustrophobic for me here at home lately and the travel to UCD is a b*tch.

Like Zane, I'd love to know the cost of living away from home.

rainbow kirby

I really wish I could afford to live away from home, after 4 years the commute is really starting to be an almighty pain in the ass. Stupid fees.

Scraggs

dont do it!! be grateful that you have central heating, food and electricity!! and cable telly, and internet access and did I mention food?

Ah no its not bad really! I'm paying 85yos a week which is really cheap compared to what some of my other mates are paying. I'm sharing a room with another girl. Its about half an hour walk from UCD on dundrum rd. We are being totally ripped off with electricity -we have to buy elec. cards from the landlady at 15 a pop every 10 days or so. THe landlady controls the heating so were always freezing..and I'm usually really warmblooded. Then theres the cost of food... which is often sacrificed to pay for drink/smokes:D

It can be strange living with strangers [ok duh but ya know what I mean..]
It can be dicey as to whether or not your gonna get on with your housemates [I was really lucky..both mine are equally laid back as me] but I havent heard too many horror stories..Its up to you to make it work kind of thing.

As for growing up...well I'm the wrong person to be answering but I suppose I have in a way. You kind of have to be responsible....
It is absollutely great living away from home though... theres so much freedom and theres nobody nagging you if you come home drunk, bring people round etc....although that can be bad too! I miss being nagged to get up and go to school....
Eh I'm gonna stop now because I'm rambling but if theres anything else just ask...

Dave!

Good reply Scraggs!

So is the average rent about 90-95 yippos? I only earn about 90 How much do you earn in a week, Scraggs, if ya don't mind? Dunno how yis would pay for it!

elmyra

This is my second year living away from home and I have to say I love it. I've been in rental accom both years and don't find it that bad really! The real hassle is finding a landlord who is willing to give you a nine month lease. This year I just couldn't and had to take twelve months so I'll be spending the summer in Dublin! Anyway, once you actually find somewhere decent to live and get settled in it's generally fine. In first year I moved in with eight people I didn't know from Adam which is a bit crazy I know but some of them were second and third years so it was a great way of having people around to show you the ropes and we all got on great for the mostpart, so I'm living with two people from that house this year.

As regards expenses, the biggest one I find is having the deposit and month's rent in advance when you first pick a place, it's a lot to get together at one time, but once you've paid that rent doesn't tend to be too bad (though I admit my mum and dad practically pay mine). As far as bills are concerned, when you're living with other people and they're split evenly between you all they don't cost that much. We have gas, electricity and ntl, it's split between five of us and I don't think I've ever paid more than twenty quid in a month for bills. You might as well be aware though that you could have other charges like bins. We're lucky, ours are free....also, according to our landlord, though we never got to check this out because they were free anyway, students don't have to pay bin charges. We did however have to fork out for a tv licence in the middle of this year....unexpected bills are the biggest pain in the ass, especially when in the UK students get 3 months of a rebate on their tv licences and only have to pay for the academic year!!

Food- raid you mum's presses before you head back every weekend! Otherwise, buy cheap brands, it's generally not that expensive to feed one person. I skip along to Tescos once a week and spend about fifty euro....I'm sure most people would get away spending less, I'm just a horrific foodie!

As regards living with people and house politics and all that- if you're a very finniky person you should probably opt for your own room. I shared last year and it was fine because the other girl and I got along, but there's nothing like your own space. You just have to make an effort really, there's always going to be the odd argument but in general if you're living with people you like who are generally easygoing it's fine. In our house the most scowling is caused by people hogging the tv, leaving dishes in the sink and not emptying the bin- but I'm guessing that's because it's an all-girl house, so I'm sure guys will be fine.

The only strong opinion I have about renting is that you should do your best to move in with people you know and like and could stand to be around a lot, and that you should really pay attention when you're viewing a house and make sure it's all in working order- check exactly what's included in your rent and what other bills you're going to have to pay.

Good luck if you do decide to go for it, just be sure you want to go for it, I missed home a lot in the beginning. I only live an hour from home anyway (and moved because it's about two and half hours of a commute in morning traffic- before the chorus of disapproval) and I'm able to drive back whenever I want to visit the 'rents, I don't know how you guys who move hundreds of miles do it!

elmyra

Scraggs wrote:

dont do it!! be grateful that you have central heating, food and electricity!! and cable telly, and internet access and did I mention food?

Ah no its not bad really! I'm paying 85yos a week which is really cheap compared to what some of my other mates are paying. I'm sharing a room with another girl. Its about half an hour walk from UCD on dundrum rd. We are being totally ripped off with electricity -we have to buy elec. cards from the landlady at 15 a pop every 10 days or so. THe landlady controls the heating so were always freezing..and I'm usually really warmblooded. Then theres the cost of food... which is often sacrificed to pay for drink/smokes:D

It can be strange living with strangers [ok duh but ya know what I mean..]
It can be dicey as to whether or not your gonna get on with your housemates [I was really lucky..both mine are equally laid back as me] but I havent heard too many horror stories..Its up to you to make it work kind of thing.

As for growing up...well I'm the wrong person to be answering but I suppose I have in a way. You kind of have to be responsible....
It is absollutely great living away from home though... theres so much freedom and theres nobody nagging you if you come home drunk, bring people round etc....although that can be bad too! I miss being nagged to get up and go to school....
Eh I'm gonna stop now because I'm rambling but if theres anything else just ask...

sure you're only down the road! I live on dundrum bypass, by the shopping centre

Scraggs

Well my parents pay for my rent thank god!! I've friends paying 110 in Blackrock and Sandymount and they have to pay bus fares etc on top of that..
Sometimes I really wish one of the colleges in CW had a course I was interested in because it would be so much easier and cheaper!

I think in the student diary thingy we got free in sept it has the average cost of student living worked out...or it might be on the website...


EDIT: Elmyras post is way better than mine -read hers first!!!

elmyra

Scraggs wrote:

Well my parents pay for my rent thank god!! I've friends paying 110 in Blackrock and Sandymount and they have to pay bus fares etc on top of that..
Sometimes I really wish one of the colleges in CW had a course I was interested in because it would be so much easier and cheaper!

I think in the student diary thingy we got free in sept it has the average cost of student living worked out...or it might be on the website...


EDIT: Elmyras post is way better than mine -read hers first!!!

God no it isn't, I'm just longwinded about everythin!

Jonny Arson

Cheers guys! Very interesting and fascinating posts indeed!

The main reason I am thinking about this is simply I feel I need a new experience. The thing is I'm very happy at home, I'm treated too well by my parents it's unreal and the commute is bearable (one hour at max) but I feel that moving out for maybe just the college term is something I could well do with. I am too comfortable at home and I feel I could do with more responsibilty in my life.

It would probably be a major culture shock for me suddenly having extra responsibilty and living with new faces but I think it may well do me the world of good in the end and would set me in good stead for whenever I can afford a 500,000 mortgage (which will be never!) Only thing is all that lovely cash going on bills makes me wanna cry.

Thanks a mil anyhow for the food for thought

rain on

one of the main factors with rent is the amount of people you share with - generally, if you share a room with someone, or are living in a house with a lot of people, you'll pay less rent. is how it seems to me anyway. me and my flatmate pay 118 a week each for our a two bedroom place, but it's worth it for me because i'm generally a gigantic pain in the hole when i live with too many people. ideally i'd have my own place but a one-bed flat is out of my price range and bedsits are just evil places to live.
honestly, though having the freedom has been great, i've been living away from home for four years and there's been times when i've hated it with a passion. i think people often underestimate how valuable the support of a family home is, especially for people who have a tough time in college for whatever reason. on the other hand, if your parents are relatively close by, just knowing you still have your home to go to if you need it can be support enough. (my parents live a six-hour bus journey away and when i suffered from depression a few years ago that was totally ****. i moved in with friends of my parents in third year and i think it literally saved my life to not have to deal with flatmate politics on top of depression)
in summary: think hard about it. i don't mean to put a downer on the whole thing - there are tons of people who have a total blast living away from home for the first time, but if you're prone to depression (which i have no idea if zane or MNG are other than i seem to remember zane feeling the pinch of the old isolation in UCD in first year) then i would say.. think hard about yourself and the way you relate to other people and the amount of personal space you need and so on. Know Thyself and all that kinda carry on.
oh and learn to cook! if you haven't already.

Scraggs

Rain on you make an excellent point there!

blondie83

I'm kinda in the same boat Zane - except I'm just thinking about moving out for the remaining 6 months of college that I have left. It takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and 45 minutes to get to DCU, which isn't too bad or anything but at exam time it was terrible cos I had to leave the house by 7 am to be sure I'd be in for my 0930 exams :eek: That and I've been feeling like I need some space for a while (I'm 22 and have never lived away from home!). I haven't had a prob until lately with the freedom thing, probably because my parents are quite laid back and I get on with them. But when I suggested getting a loan and moving out my dad got annoyed saying it would be a waste of my money, and my mum got a bit upset because she didn't want me to go...so now I don't know what to do!

daiixi

oh my gosh!!! I work full time and don't even pay as much rent as some of you are paying!!!!

arbeitsscheuer

As ever I'm too lazy to post anything too substantial myself so I'll just say I second Scraggs' post... As ya know Zane, when I came to college I moved into the flat in the city centre, spent 1st, 2nd and half of 3rd yr there.

And tbh, aside from the handy location thing, it's pretty fcuking overrated.

I never even had to pay rent, but the sheer amount of money that food, drink and, naturlich, smokes drained from the coffers every week had me struggling all the time tbh.

Living at home is just so much cheaper it's unreal. Plus I work it so that I'm as far away from the place for as long as possible each day so as to avoid the general tension and stress of my parents and elder sibling...

Stay at home. Independence is incredibly overrated.

Blush_01

Elmyra covered a lot of it. It's funny, I've lived in the same place since the beginning of second year, but I still miss the place I lived in in first year, despite nearly killing my housemates a number of times.

You never know someone until you've lived with them. Ever. You might think you know your best friend, but (s)he could be a werewolf, a nun, a stripper, a stripping nun - you have to live with them to find out. Strange noises, messiness, never cleaning up, leaving food on the carpet, never cleaning the bathroom, loud sex (usually funny rather than anything else, unless you have an exam the next morning and the orgasms are so fake they're ridiculous), strangers puking in your bathroom and you having to clean it up, parties when you've gone home where your stuff goes missing, people using your laptop to type their essays without asking when it's in your room (I have issues with people going into my room without asking, I'm not unreasonable!!!), people not paying their share of the bills (esp. rent not being paid on time - it's a pain in the ass), all your food being eaten by mysterious invisible people, doors/furniture getting broken... it all happens, and you have to deal with it. None of that's bad, it's just irritating.

Plus, you never know how cold or warm your house is until you get to winter. Heating bills can be a horror.

Realistically, rent around UCD is in the region of €100 to €150 a month. I live 20-25 minutes by bus from UCD (not including 15 minutes walk to the bus stop) and it's much cheaper (€75 weekly, approximately)- but the bills make up for the difference. Obviously the more people you live with, the cheaper it is bill-wise.

Then there's food - €50 a week for groceries, if you like eating fresh meat and dairy products, decent vegetables and bread that doesn't taste like cooked paste (let's just say I was an interesting kid) isn't unreasonable. That doesn't include stuff you buy in UCD, although it's easy to make a lunch if you have the time and leftovers taste surprisingly good most of the time. Cooking for one is really expensive, so if you and a housemate share - you buy the food and they cook it today, reverse order the next day etc. - it actually works out cheaper.

Other expenses vary. TV license is a must these days (god damn!), credit, bus tickets, train/bus eireann tickets home, cleaning products like bin bags, washing liquid, toilet cleaner, disinfectant, floor-wash-stuff etc. (don't have to be bought very often, but still cost money), toilet paper (I HATE people who never buy toilet paper. One of my ex-housemates in the first place I lived, and one that moved out of the current place in September were like that - both guys. A current one is too - a girl. If you wipe your ass, supply paper the odd time. I'm not here to do that for you - sorry, personal bug-bear.) washing powder/tablets for your clothes, all those things you never think of at home just aren't in the press anymore, you have to buy them. If you want a bottle of wine, a DVD, a CD... all those things become luxury luxury items. I don't know how any students can afford to smoke, or drink, but that's a personal thing. Broadband, unless you have your own computer, becomes a college/home visit away.

Zane, if you want to see what living away from home is like, move out for the summer when you have money and don't have to juggle college too. Plenty of students will be looking for people to take their houses/flats/cardboard boxes for three months while they go home to work and save money in order to afford college books at the beginning of next year. It'll give you the easier side to things. I've lived in Dublin for the past two summers because I had 12 month leases and I could get to work in Dublin without having to beg a lift, plus there are jobs in Dublin. It's a lot easier to be in Dublin out of college term. The cinema doesn't seem like a treat because you haven't had to mind someone's kids for 6 hours while one pukes on you and the other is high on skittles in order to afford it, nor does it eat half your week's budget. You can afford to buy clothes or shoes if you need them, and that'll keep you going until christmas with it's overtime and extra earnings which allows you to replace the socks with holes in them and maybe get a warm coat.

Ah, it's not really that bad. But it's bloody close at times. And it teaches you the meaning of broke. As in stoney.

breadmonkey

I've often thought what it would be like to be living away from home. I spent last summer in Canada living with my mates and that was class. I've a feeling I'll be at home til I'm 26 or something!

Can't really justify moving out for college since I live so close. Plus with the hours I "should" be putting into college, I don't know if I'd have a life outside the hours I'd have to work. Ffs, I'm skint at the moment and I have pretty much everything paid for!

I can't wait for the day I can go into a pub get sh!tfaced on pints, knowing that I haven't just blown my budget for the next month!

elmyra

Blush_01 wrote:

Elmyra covered a lot of it. It's funny, I've lived in the same place since the beginning of second year, but I still miss the place I lived in in first year, despite nearly killing my housemates a number of times.

You never know someone until you've lived with them. Ever. You might think you know your best friend, but (s)he could be a werewolf, a nun, a stripper, a stripping nun - you have to live with them to find out. Strange noises, messiness, never cleaning up, leaving food on the carpet, never cleaning the bathroom, loud sex (usually funny rather than anything else, unless you have an exam the next morning and the orgasms are so fake they're ridiculous), strangers puking in your bathroom and you having to clean it up, parties when you've gone home where your stuff goes missing, people using your laptop to type their essays without asking when it's in your room (I have issues with people going into my room without asking, I'm not unreasonable!!!), people not paying their share of the bills (esp. rent not being paid on time - it's a pain in the ass), all your food being eaten by mysterious invisible people, doors/furniture getting broken... it all happens, and you have to deal with it. None of that's bad, it's just irritating.

Plus, you never know how cold or warm your house is until you get to winter. Heating bills can be a horror.

Realistically, rent around UCD is in the region of €100 to €150 a month. I live 20-25 minutes by bus from UCD (not including 15 minutes walk to the bus stop) and it's much cheaper (€75 weekly, approximately)- but the bills make up for the difference. Obviously the more people you live with, the cheaper it is bill-wise.

Then there's food - €50 a week for groceries, if you like eating fresh meat and dairy products, decent vegetables and bread that doesn't taste like cooked paste (let's just say I was an interesting kid) isn't unreasonable. That doesn't include stuff you buy in UCD, although it's easy to make a lunch if you have the time and leftovers taste surprisingly good most of the time. Cooking for one is really expensive, so if you and a housemate share - you buy the food and they cook it today, reverse order the next day etc. - it actually works out cheaper.

Other expenses vary. TV license is a must these days (god damn!), credit, bus tickets, train/bus eireann tickets home, cleaning products like bin bags, washing liquid, toilet cleaner, disinfectant, floor-wash-stuff etc. (don't have to be bought very often, but still cost money), toilet paper (I HATE people who never buy toilet paper. One of my ex-housemates in the first place I lived, and one that moved out of the current place in September were like that - both guys. A current one is too - a girl. If you wipe your ass, supply paper the odd time. I'm not here to do that for you - sorry, personal bug-bear.) washing powder/tablets for your clothes, all those things you never think of at home just aren't in the press anymore, you have to buy them. If you want a bottle of wine, a DVD, a CD... all those things become luxury luxury items. I don't know how any students can afford to smoke, or drink, but that's a personal thing. Broadband, unless you have your own computer, becomes a college/home visit away.

Zane, if you want to see what living away from home is like, move out for the summer when you have money and don't have to juggle college too. Plenty of students will be looking for people to take their houses/flats/cardboard boxes for three months while they go home to work and save money in order to afford college books at the beginning of next year. It'll give you the easier side to things. I've lived in Dublin for the past two summers because I had 12 month leases and I could get to work in Dublin without having to beg a lift, plus there are jobs in Dublin. It's a lot easier to be in Dublin out of college term. The cinema doesn't seem like a treat because you haven't had to mind someone's kids for 6 hours while one pukes on you and the other is high on skittles in order to afford it, nor does it eat half your week's budget. You can afford to buy clothes or shoes if you need them, and that'll keep you going until christmas with it's overtime and extra earnings which allows you to replace the socks with holes in them and maybe get a warm coat.

Ah, it's not really that bad. But it's bloody close at times. And it teaches you the meaning of broke. As in stoney.

oh my god you're practically me!!

cruiserweight

Blush_01 wrote:

Elmyra covered a lot of it. It's funny, I've lived in the same place since the beginning of second year, but I still miss the place I lived in in first year, despite nearly killing my housemates a number of times.

You never know someone until you've lived with them. Ever. You might think you know your best friend, but (s)he could be a werewolf, a nun, a stripper, a stripping nun - you have to live with them to find out. Strange noises, messiness, never cleaning up, leaving food on the carpet, never cleaning the bathroom, loud sex (usually funny rather than anything else, unless you have an exam the next morning and the orgasms are so fake they're ridiculous), strangers puking in your bathroom and you having to clean it up, parties when you've gone home where your stuff goes missing, people using your laptop to type their essays without asking when it's in your room (I have issues with people going into my room without asking, I'm not unreasonable!!!), people not paying their share of the bills (esp. rent not being paid on time - it's a pain in the ass), all your food being eaten by mysterious invisible people, doors/furniture getting broken... it all happens, and you have to deal with it. None of that's bad, it's just irritating.

Plus, you never know how cold or warm your house is until you get to winter. Heating bills can be a horror.

Realistically, rent around UCD is in the region of €100 to €150 a month. I live 20-25 minutes by bus from UCD (not including 15 minutes walk to the bus stop) and it's much cheaper (€75 weekly, approximately)- but the bills make up for the difference. Obviously the more people you live with, the cheaper it is bill-wise.

Then there's food - €50 a week for groceries, if you like eating fresh meat and dairy products, decent vegetables and bread that doesn't taste like cooked paste (let's just say I was an interesting kid) isn't unreasonable. That doesn't include stuff you buy in UCD, although it's easy to make a lunch if you have the time and leftovers taste surprisingly good most of the time. Cooking for one is really expensive, so if you and a housemate share - you buy the food and they cook it today, reverse order the next day etc. - it actually works out cheaper.

Other expenses vary. TV license is a must these days (god damn!), credit, bus tickets, train/bus eireann tickets home, cleaning products like bin bags, washing liquid, toilet cleaner, disinfectant, floor-wash-stuff etc. (don't have to be bought very often, but still cost money), toilet paper (I HATE people who never buy toilet paper. One of my ex-housemates in the first place I lived, and one that moved out of the current place in September were like that - both guys. A current one is too - a girl. If you wipe your ass, supply paper the odd time. I'm not here to do that for you - sorry, personal bug-bear.) washing powder/tablets for your clothes, all those things you never think of at home just aren't in the press anymore, you have to buy them. If you want a bottle of wine, a DVD, a CD... all those things become luxury luxury items. I don't know how any students can afford to smoke, or drink, but that's a personal thing. Broadband, unless you have your own computer, becomes a college/home visit away.

Zane, if you want to see what living away from home is like, move out for the summer when you have money and don't have to juggle college too. Plenty of students will be looking for people to take their houses/flats/cardboard boxes for three months while they go home to work and save money in order to afford college books at the beginning of next year. It'll give you the easier side to things. I've lived in Dublin for the past two summers because I had 12 month leases and I could get to work in Dublin without having to beg a lift, plus there are jobs in Dublin. It's a lot easier to be in Dublin out of college term. The cinema doesn't seem like a treat because you haven't had to mind someone's kids for 6 hours while one pukes on you and the other is high on skittles in order to afford it, nor does it eat half your week's budget. You can afford to buy clothes or shoes if you need them, and that'll keep you going until christmas with it's overtime and extra earnings which allows you to replace the socks with holes in them and maybe get a warm coat.

Ah, it's not really that bad. But it's bloody close at times. And it teaches you the meaning of broke. As in stoney.

You have a lot of the same problems living with people that I do! That is why when my current lease is up I am getting my own place!

As everybody else seems to have said take into consideration hidden costs that you may take for granted when you live at home, and people who live together will not always get on!

scop

Idea: All of you with the same pet peeves move in together next year, problem sorted

pretty*monster

Blush_01 wrote:

toilet paper (I HATE people who never buy toilet paper. One of my ex-housemates in the first place I lived, and one that moved out of the current place in September were like that - both guys. A current one is too - a girl. If you wipe your ass, supply paper the odd time. I'm not here to do that for you - sorry, personal bug-bear.)

Though I live at home, everyone I know who lives away just steals toilet paper from college.

Scraggs

ssshhhh pretty now there'll be none left to rob!!!

boneless

Use both sides of the paper... it lasts longer that way.

I have a room for rent.... Yes Mother!! I have...*no you don't, i'm not letting you take in another of your fast floozies* Mother, I'm 40!! I can run my own life.... (sound of spade on skull).

Any takers??

arbeitsscheuer

boneless wrote:

Use both sides of the paper... it lasts longer that way.

I have a room for rent.... Yes Mother!! I have...*no you don't, i'm not letting you take in another of your fast floozies* Mother, I'm 40!! I can run my own life.... (sound of spade on skull).

Any takers??

How much per week/month?

Blush_01

RIP SebtheBum.

Well, he did have to play Mammies and Daddies with Boneless!

Hermione*

elmyra wrote:

oh my god you're practically me!!

Or me!

Blush, your post was amazing, really comprehensive and covered everything!

Dublin costs, but having said that I've stayed here the last two summers because I simply can't imagine moving back home, I'm far too used to the independence now.

I'm really lucky in that I share a house on the Merrion Rd which is a twenty minute walk from UCD, have my own room nad pay 380 a month. THe house is huge though, which means heating bills are huge and it's not even that warm a lot of the time. But apart from money, there's also making time to do laundrey, buy food, cook food, clean every week or so independence is worth it, imo

boneless

Blush_01 wrote:

RIP SebtheBum.

Well, he did have to play Mammies and Daddies with Boneless!

It's the way he would have wanted it... he loved that gingham dress...

Blush_01

I love the days when you wake up in the morning and realise that everything you own is dirty because you haven't had time (or have been too drunk when you came home - rare, but those weeks are gems to truly treaure) to put a wash on all week, so you end up wearing jeans that are three inches too short, a shirt that has seen many better days and doesn't know that irons exist, a sleeveless poloneck underneath because it's cold and you're out of jumpers and top it all off with your coat that looks like it should belong to a hobo.

I can't possibly be alone here.

Oh, if any of you ever see me wearing a purple sleeveless poloneck thing that looks like it's about to consume my head (usually under a black shirt), you all know why now. It's not poor fashion sense (although I have plenty of that) it's deperation.

Samos

The only downside to rented accommodation that I've found is that housemates tend not to be motivated to clean up after themselves and that in turn causes oneself to lose interest in such aspects. It's a vicious circle and it cannot be escaped without hurting someone's pride by making them clean the cooker for the first time in eight months or remove that fermented pizza from the corner of living room! The only way to avoid prolonged mess is to make a rota and ensure everyone sticks to it without fail.

You also get to know the real meaning of winter... I've suffering one without heating and the experience of waking up wearing hats and gloves and seeing my every breath certainly built character.

But on the plus side, you can find a place that is reasonably cheap (like me) and move in with people who know and love you and accept your foibles and have oodles of freedom to do as you wish with the forbidding glare of parents.

Scraggs

Samos wrote:

You also get to know the real meaning of winter... I've suffering one without heating and the experience of waking up wearing hats and gloves and seeing my every breath certainly built character.

Yep theres nothing like waking up at 4am from the noise of your roommate shaking with cold and thinking theres a fog in your room when actually its just from exhaling... definately character building!

Hermione*

Samos wrote:

The only downside to rented accommodation that I've found is that housemates tend not to be motivated to clean up after themselves and that in turn causes oneself to lose interest in such aspects. It's a vicious circle and it cannot be escaped without hurting someone's pride by making them clean the cooker for the first time in eight months or remove that fermented pizza from the corner of living room! The only way to avoid prolonged mess is to make a rota and ensure everyone sticks to it without fail.

You also get to know the real meaning of winter... I've suffering one without heating and the experience of waking up wearing hats and gloves and seeing my every breath certainly built character.

DON'T let me get started on heating problems!

Solution to cleaning dilemna? Live with utterly lovely girl with same obsessive compulsive disorder as you(me) but the time to indulge it! Although it's not fair on her, she actually has to give in at some stage and clean, and said slob will be homeless when lease expires in May ... we're counting the days