At the end of high school, many cannot wait to go to University/College and be free from the “imprisonment” of their parent’s house rules and regulations; therefore when presented with the opportunity many students choose to rent an apartment/room with a friend. Let’s be honest the first word that comes to mind when thinking about living with a friend especially your bestie is FUN, right? Which in most cases it is, however in other cases not so much.

Below are four mistakes people usually make when living with a friend which most likely leads to an unpleasant living situation.

Get way too comfortable:

They lose respect for each other’s space/belongings (more so than they would with someone who was not a friend) and use one another’s personal belongings without consent. In the case of both parties being comfortable with it, is not a problem; however, in the case of one being opposed to the idea of his/her things being used without consent causes problems.

Take advantage of each other’s pet peeves:

One friend finds an overflow of dirty dishes in the sink extremely annoying (pet peeve) and therefore washes the dishes all the time, whereas the other friend dislikes washing dishes and constantly leaves the dishes to accumulate in the sink knowing that it will be taken care of.

Tolerate a lot for the sake of friendship:

They tend to let things slide and choose not to speak up about it because they do not want to offend their friend or ruin the friendship. Bottling things up are not always the best option because it would eventually lead to one exploding.

A third party gets involved:

Your roomie/friend finds a boyfriend/girlfriend or even a new bestie, who often visits and before you know it moves in! This could turn pretty ugly because, with a third party involved, people will begin stepping on each other’s toes, sides will be taken and before you know it someone is looking for another place to stay.

Not all (friendship) living situations turn sour but do keep these points in mind when living with a friend, you could save your living situation by learning from these mistakes. In order to make living with someone a success there needs to be team work, both parties need to be willing to compromise and communication is key! Be open to the fact that change will take place, people change and things will not stay the same forever.