The Great Roommate Experiment Is Drawing To A Close

[SiouzQ.]

And to be quite honest, I am a bit relieved. My roommate has decided to move out tomorrow for personal reasons, of which have nothing to do with me or the living situation at all. I wish her all the best and will see her at work once she gets back.

To make a long story short, she kind of went AWOL for a week at work and we heard she ended up in a hospital. I was getting really worried for a few days because I hadn't seen nor heard from her and she wasn't showing up at work, etc. She finally called me today to let me know what had been going on ~ I am relieved that she is relatively okay and applaud her decision to seek help. She will be moving to a halfway house and will work hard to get back on her feet.

All in all, I am glad that I took the leap and tried the roommate thing, but I don't think I will jump at the chance again any time soon. I found out how much I like living in my house alone and having total control over all the day-to-day living stuff. However, I really liked getting the extra money each month, but in the end, I don't think it was worth some of the stress and inconveniences it caused me.

So now my living expenses will shoot up once again; not only will I be paying my full rent of $485/month, my internet bill went from $34.95/month to $48, and my electric bill has crept up too. I have to drive more because of work so I am spending more on gas these days. I will also be paying a portion of each paycheck towards my health insurance - I finally have health insurance after being without for about four years.

Urghhh! And just when I thought I was really pulling ahead (at least I threw most of that extra rent money into my savings account). I know I will be okay, I just have to look again at where I can cut costs and increase my income in little ways.

[bunnys]

On a recent post, Fidgiegirl made reference to something called airbnb a place where you can rent rooms out as hotel rooms of sort to people. You can go on their website and put in your info and they'll tell you how much you can rent your room for. You might want to consider just renting it out a few nights per week/month to make up some of the extra money you're now losing.

[redfox]

Mental health is priceless.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Definitely paying too much for internet I think, shop around and see what else you can get.

[fern]

Hi....First time post here!

AFter a 2009 layoff and having worked only p/t since then, I have also considered getting a roommate to share my house with me. Ultimately, I decided against it since giving up one's privacy is a huge thing for me. I had some bad experiences with boyfriends moving in with me over the years, and I have to say that no one treats your home the way you do. One boyfriend, who had been accustomed to renting, was in the habit of cracking open a window when it got too warm upstairs. Turn the heat down! i told him. The cost of oil is ridiculous, yet he was letting it blow out the window! The same guy, who got tired of me telling him to either wash his dishes or put them in the dishwasher, started putting his dirty dishes in the cabinet so I wouldn't see them!!! Or, he would have a bowl of ice cream and then instead of washing the bowl and spoon, put them in the freezer since he knew he'd be using them again the next day! I was starting to have meltdowns.

Anyway, I also looked into one of those websites where you rent out a room for short-term stays, sort of like a B&B. I also looked into having a foreign exchange student stay here becus from what I heard foreign students are extremely polite and well-behaved. And the school may pay you. Compared to other options, all of these seem to demand more adjustment than maybe just getting a better job. Easier said than done, but I think the roommate idea is a no-deal for me as well.

[Gardenarian]

Well, good for you for trying it! I know I would tighten my belt a whole lot before giving up my solitude (such as it is.)

[SiouzQ.]

Well, the roommate moved most of her stuff out yesterday and I am now enjoying having my domain back. I feel bad for her and hope she will be all right; it turns out she has a severe alcohol problem (she hid it well from me) and had a major bender last week when she disappeared for days and ended up in a pyschiatric ward. She told me she has been to rehab before and she is trying to get back into a program again. I guess she is currently at her mom's. I had a great talk with her yesterday as she was packing up and I wish her all the best.

She really wasn't a bad roommate at all. There were just a few things that niggled at me, like her overuse of cologne that lingered in the air for a long time, and that she used dryer sheets that stunk up the house. She did have very irregular hours, and was coming and going at odd times during the day and night, which often woke me up. She never cooked and didn't make a mess and actually was not home a lot anyway, so in that sense, it was ideal for someone like me, who craves her privacy. And now I have it back, 100% :)

The money thing shouldn't be a worry - I know I can live on my wages alone if I am careful. It was just really great to be able to pad my savings account for those few months and dream about what I could buy with my extra money. Thank god I have the frugal gene in me that doesn't allow for hardly any "instant gratification" purchases that I would regret later! So I will return to the way of life I am so used to and feel comfortable with and have fun with it. Frugality without creativity is deprivation, and I sure try to make a game out of it. Best thing of all, I am free to practice my guitar anytime I want!

[fidgiegirl]

Say, I had forgotten temporarily about your guitar skills. How about offering some lessons?

Glad you have your sanity back!!

[jp1]

Hi....First time post here!

The same guy, who got tired of me telling him to either wash his dishes or put them in the dishwasher, started putting his dirty dishes in the cabinet so I wouldn't see them!!!

Is it really any harder to put them in the dishwasher than the cabinet??? What a freakin' schmuck! Unless the sex was mindblowingly fantastic I'd say you're far better off without him. :-)

[Selah]

Another funny roommate story to add...when my tenant moved out of my house after renting a room from me after two years (she, too, had a secret drinking problem), it turned out that she'd watered down the one bottle of vodka I had to almost 100% water. I didn't realize what had happened until about three months after she left, when on the once-in-a-blue-moon occasion I made myself a screwdriver (vodka and orange juice), and realized it just tasted like very watery orange juice!

[reader99]

I use Airbnb to rent out my master suite. I put a three week minimum, I don't have the energy to be cleaning a room between one or two night people. I had an intern studying to be a midwife for two months. She was very quiet and always gone, it was great. Next month a retired couple from Canada are coming for a month. The money is great and because they are guests, not roommates, they keep more to themselves and have different expectations of use of the common areas.
Airbnb is a great was to test out the idea of a roommate without a long term committment.