Many students when moving to college put plenty of time investigating the type of accommodation they want – on or off campus, apartment/dormitory etc. Students spend time looking at the location of their accommodation relative to their college/university, the transport options, the amenities around their accommodation but what can be even more important are the people that you share with university of greenwich accommodation.
Before you jump in and decide to “share” with your best friend(s), envisioning have a great time with them, everything working blissfully take some time to decide what it is you want in the people you will share with.
Look at yourself – who you are in reality, not how you’d like to be. Determine what is important to you in the people you share with, consider some of the points below.
Firstly look at yourself and how you live – are you really tidy and organized and have to have people like that around you? Can you cope walking into a messy kitchen where you have to clean up when you want to cook something? If you are a bit messy, do you want to share with someone who is the same as you or someone tidier than you who will organize and motivate you to be the same.
Look at the hours that you like to keep – are you an early riser, a late night person? Ensure the people you share with fit in with you. If you have a late night person staying with you ensure they are quiet at night if you wish to go the sleep earlier. Nothing worse than being woken at night by noisy apartment/house mates.
Are you someone who likes to watch TV/listen to music? Do the people you plan to move in with watch TV – will the TV be on for hours, do you like the same programmes? If not, can you accommodate each other?
Where do you like to study and when – in the college library or in your accommodation? If it’s in your accommodation will the people you share with be quiet at the times that suits you?
What about cooking? What do you like to eat? Will you cook in turn and share meals or will each people cook for themselves? How will shopping and the “kitty” be organized? Communally or individually?
Do you and/or the people you plan to move in with like going out/having friends around/having parties? Ensure you are clear about the type of social activities you like to participate in and the times you want to keep your social activities to. There’s nothing worse than coming in tired and finding the people you share with are just about to throw a noisy party.
The most important thing is that you and the people you share with are able to come to a common understanding of the type of living arrangements and standards that work for all of you. Firstly be really clear with respect to what you want, and then ensure that this also works for the people you plan to share with.