Getting ready to move but still searching for the right person to live with? There are a ton of things to consider when getting a roommate — things like cleanliness, temporary furniture rental, and lifestyle are all important factors.
Whether you’ve been searching for a long time or just started, you’ve probably already thought of many of the basic new-roommate questions (“Do you have any pets?”, “Do you like to have people over?”, “Do you smoke?”, etc.). That’s why we decided to offer a few less common but equally important questions to ask when looking for a roommate.
Ask these questions to help set expectations and get clear on the kind of person you could be sharing your living space with soon!
1. What’s your ideal weekend?
This is a good open-ended question to ask because it allows you to gauge your potential roommate’s interests and habits. Are they a weekend warrior who likes to spend all day outdoors? More of a homebody who prefers to stay in and relax?
Their answer to this question gives you a starting point to compare lifestyles and activity levels to see if you’re a good match.
2. Which chores do you like and dislike the most?
Everyone’s got chores they hate and chores they don’t mind so much. You might be a dishwashing wizard while your potential roommate leaves his dishes in the sink for a week. Maybe your potential roommate is always quick to take out the trash, and you hate handling stinky garbage.
Knowing what chores you and your potential roommate like and dislike means you can team up to tackle your preferred tasks, compromise on the ones neither of you enjoys, and make it easy to keep your shared space sparkling clean.
3. Do you like to cook?
Speaking of cleaning dishes, you’ll want to find out if your roommate plans on spending a lot of time in the kitchen. This is especially important if you don’t have a lot of pots, pans, and other cookware to go around. You don’t want to have to clean up someone else’s mess before you can even start cooking. Plus, if you both tend to cook around the same time, the kitchen could get pretty crowded.
Get to know their cooking habits and how they overlap with your own. Then come up with a plan to share the kitchen space (and gadgets!) fairly.
4. What is okay to share and what is not?
Some people are possessive over their things, while others are incredibly generous with what they share. Part of living with someone else means agreeing on how to share things like kitchenware, toilet paper, and even food.
Is your potential new roommate someone who doesn’t mind splitting the cost of communal items like trash bags and paper towels? Do they have a nice blender they’re okay with letting you use? Are they the type of person who will eat your food unless it has a “do not touch” label on it? It’s a good idea to set up expectations ahead of time about what you’re both okay with sharing and what’s off-limits.
5. What kind of decor do you have? Do you have a particular interior design style you prefer?
Do you have an eye for interior design? If you’ve got a strong preference for how your living space looks and feels, you’ll want to make sure your potential roommate is on board with your aesthetic. Plus, you’ll want to see if the decor your future roomie brings matches thematically or if there’s a way to blend your styles.
Also, keep in mind that you don’t need to hunt garage sales or drag grandma’s antique drawer up three flights of stairs to furnish your apartment with functional, stylish furniture. CORT Furniture Rental offers a variety of Move-In Ready packages that make it easy to split furniture costs and avoid the inevitable argument over “who gets to keep what” at the end of the lease.
And if you need a few temporary furniture pieces to tie your space together, CORT lets you rent a range of items big and small, from sectionals to appliances.
6. Do you want to be friends or just roommates?
There’s a big difference between being friends and being friendly. Some roommates find that they get along really well and end up hanging out a lot, both at home and around town. On the other hand, some people just want to split the cost of rent and nothing more — and that’s okay!
You can still be friendly without being good friends. Just make sure you and your potential roommate are clear on the social expectations that come with your lease.
7. Are you still friends with your old roommate?
This may seem like an odd question at first, but your potential roommate’s relationship with their previous roommate is a good indication of how well you two will get along. If they mention that they’re not on good terms with their last roommate, it may be a sign that they’re difficult to live with.
8. What are your pet peeves?
Whether it’s lip-smacking or leaving the toilet seat up, it’s best to know what irks your roommate ahead of time. Know what kind of behaviors annoy your potential roommate so you can avoid them if possible. If they’re a good match, they’ll try to return the favor, so everyone’s happy.
9. What does a closed door mean to you?
This is a literal and metaphorical question. On a surface level, it lets you know how a potential roommate would act if they need something from you while you’re in your room with the door closed. Are they the type to barge in, or are they the kind of person who knocks and waits for a response?
On a deeper level, this question will give you some insight into their behaviors around privacy. You can expect someone who knocks and politely waits outside your door to value privacy a lot more than someone who opens right after knocking (or without knocking at all).
10. Are you a morning or a night person? When do you typically get up, and when do you go to bed?
No one wants to silently tip-toe around their own home all the time. When deciding on a roommate, it’s essential to know their schedule and when you can expect them to be awake or asleep so you can politely coordinate noise levels and activities.
A good match is someone whose regular activities don’t interfere with your internal clock, ensuring you both can get quality sleep no matter when you get up or go to bed.
Moving In Made Easy
Have you decided if your potential roommate is a match? It’s time to get ready for move-in day! Rent furniture from CORT, so you don’t have to worry about who keeps what at the end of your lease.
