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Doc, the main problems from living together freshman year of college is that neither person has ever lived on their own (usually), and, in a lot of cases they have no idea what is and is not acceptable behavior.
My brother had a nightmare roommate his freshman year, but the kid was an only child. Which explained how he could be oblivious to how to live with someone.
Establish early on how you will communicate and mediate any problems that do arise (which they inevitably will), and you should be fine.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Before I moved into the dorm, I had to fill out a questionaire. I decided to be selfish and said that I was moderately neat, slept at a reasonable hour, and didn't much like loud noise because I wanted a roommate like that. Turns out, my roommate lied on hers too so we got paired together. It was awesome. We had the most fun freshman year ever, and we're still good friends.
Posts: 866 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Hey Strangelove, don't get skerred. It's like labor-and-delivery stories ... they're boring if they're not traumatic, so you never hear the good ones. I was envious at school of my friends who became best friends with their roommates and did stuff together. I never did really bond with mine. But none of them were horrible. I'd have to say that if anyone in my apartments was the horrible roommate, it was me.
I did learn a lot from living with strangers though - about what other people expect, and what's polite adult behavior in running a house, etc. I hope to teach that to my kids before they move out. (And get them to stop leaving banana peels on the floor!)
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Like I said, Doc, my second roommate (and we shared a room for a full term) was the best roommate and friend I could have asked for, and this September I am the maid of honour at her wedding. Roommates can be good.
Oh, and Krease made a good roommate as well. Guys who can cook are awesome. And if they can fix the phone jack as well, even better!
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I didn't know my freshman year roommate before we moved into the dorms together (very very small room) and I just lucked out. A month into school I was in a car accident that required physical therapy 3 times a week from october to december. She not only drove me there and back (I had no car), she carried my book bag to every one of my classes because I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy. Keep in mind that when this all started I'd only known her for about a month. It still amazes me what she was willing to do to help me out.
Posts: 137 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I never had a roommate. After first year, I lived almost entirely in townhouses with friends*; the only negative experiences I had were when we had to live with people we didn't know previously. Once three of us had to share a five-bedroom basement apartment with two other guys, who were complete slobs. They washed their dishes maybe two or three times in the four-month span we lived together, invariably en masse at five or six in the morning. They logged more hours on our console game systems than we did, and invited other people over to play our video games.
*And I do mean friends, not acquaintances. Friends of the absolute first order, the sort who'd carry you home, deposit you in your bed, and even clean up your vomit. Multiple times.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Roommates can be awesome. I never lived on campus (or even near campus), but my mom did. She's still close with her college roommates, and it has been over 35 years.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I had a roommate the dominated the TV with sports progamming. It was ESPN or ESPN2 24/7. At first I was not used to it but I started watching games with him and asking questions about things I didnt understand. We actually started enjoying each others company and found out he enjoyed video games so I got him into Unreal Tournament 2004 which we started playing together and I downloaded and NES emulator and the Final Fantasy 1-2 roms. He really enjoyed playing them and we got along just fine.
I know he was alittle sad when I moved to another apt that was too expensive for him to live in. As far as roommates go, between college and my mission I have had 19 and I am suprised how little friction I have had on the average.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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