Beginner’s Guide to Group House Living

August 1, 2015 | By Tanner AuthorMy First Apartment

By Tanner Weber About a year ago, I moved from Southern California to DC and quickly found a home in the form of a group house full of young professionals with varying hobbies, professions, and standards of living. Here’s how I survived the first year: 1. Don’t expect to be friends with everyone— There are…

10 Reasons Your Roommates are Actually Your Significant Others

June 22, 2015 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

Roommates, when you pick them right, tend to become much more than roommates. After a few months of living in a confined space with a couple people, you get to know basically everything about them. 1. What’s yours is mine (and vice versa). “Separate pantry shelves” cease to exist, closets become interchangeable, and you stop…

Solo or Roommates? Take This Quiz to Find Out Which One Is for You

April 19, 2015 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’re on the hunt for your first place on your own, it’s okay to feel overwhelmed with options. There are tons of places to live, different roommate options, and types of places to choose from. Take the quiz below to narrow down part of that decision…solo or roommates! 1. Roommates are… a. OK, but…

How to Interview Potential Roommates

February 10, 2015 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

This totally makes sense: forewarned is forearmed — especially if you have a roommate. Living with someone, much like moving in with a significant other, may just as well be called taking the plunge. Finding the right roommate is quite a challenge. It does not matter whether you’ve been friends forever or total strangers because…

From the MFA Mailbag – What to Do When Your Parents Disapprove Your Roommate

February 8, 2015 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

Today we tackle another tricky topic, how to deal with a parent who may disapprove your choice of a roommate. Here’s the email we received from Kaylah: In May, a few friends and I are moving into an apartment for the first time. I can’t help but worry when I think of how my dad…

Roommate Dilemma: How to Split Rent Fairly When Rooms Are Not Equal

January 28, 2015 | By Audra AuthorMy First Apartment

When you’re sharing an apartment with a roommate/roommates and you all get rooms that are equal in size and desirability and you all share the common space equally, splitting the rent and the bills isn’t that complicated. Most of the time, the rent is just divided by the number of roommates and everyone pays the same…

How To Start a New Life in Your Friend’s Closet…and Be a Good Houseguest

December 7, 2014 | By Naomi AuthorMy First Apartment

By Naomi Finkelstein I recently moved out of my large 1-bedroom apartment in Chicago, sold all of my furniture, got rid of as much as I could stomach (it was hard – I love things!), and crammed the rest into my parents’ house in the suburbs. I then packed two suitcases and hopped on a…

From the MailBag: “How to Deal with Roommate Conflicts”

December 4, 2014 | By Audra AuthorMy First Apartment

Welcome back to the MailBag, everyone. A couple of weeks ago, we dove into our very first advice topic and helped one reader with her question about “when to begin an out-of-state apartment search.” Today, we are taking a different route — we’re addressing several issues and many readers at once. Here’s why: Since My…

5 Ways to Use Halloween to Bond with Your Roomies

October 25, 2014 | By Audra AuthorMy First Apartment

In need of some ideas about how to bond with your new roomies? Then you’ve come to the right place, and at the right time of year, too. Usually, the holidays are a time when you and your roommates will spend lots of time apart (visits home, separate parties with friends, etc.), but there’s no…

10 Reasons Why Roommates Make the BEST Best Friends

October 10, 2014 | By Sarah AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’ve kept up with my story at all, you’ll know that I recently moved from an apartment in Atlanta (with my boyfriend) to an apartment at my university with three other girls. This has led me to reflect a lot on friendships–specifically what a best friend involves. I’m quickly realizing that your roommates often don’t…