Single BR Apartment or 5 Roomates?

[grad29]

I've been out of school for 5 years, but am going back to graduate school this Fall. My school lasts 2 years. It's unfunded, so I'm paying out of pocket, which means I am trying to figure out ways to cut costs where possible. I can't decide whether or not I should get a 1 BR apartment/studio for myself or rent a small room in a house with 5 other students. The former is obviously more expensive, it'll be about $7,000 more for me over 2 years (after utilities, $600 vs $325 for 24 months), yet I wonder how living with 5 other students in a house will be. I've lived on my own for the last 7 years, so am used to having my own private space. I am concerned whether it will be quiet enough! I keep tossing the idea back and forth in my head. I'd be sharing a kitchen with everyone and a bathroom with one other person. I'm 27, so I'm guessing I would be the oldest of the people living there. It's just odd working a full-time job for 5 years and then coming back to being a student. It's a bit of a culture shock and I really don't think I'd be able to tolerate being around a bunch of undergraduate upperclassman who are still in the play beer pong every weekend phase.

Does anyone have any bad or good experiences living in a house with so many other students?

Edited February 18, 2016 by westy3789

[rising_star]

I imagine that there are situations in between the two you've painted here. For example, you could get a room in a house with 1-2 other people rather than living with 5 other people. Or, you could live with other graduate students rather than undergraduates. You could find undergraduates who don't play beer pong every weekend and live with them if you don't want to live with grad students.

I lived with undergrads at several different points in graduate school and none of them were into playing beer pong on the weekends. In fact, one of them was even more studious than I was as a first year MA student. 

[Sorawit]

It all comes down to the individual, really. In my first MS year, I lived with 2 masters students and an undergrad. But the two grad roommates were the messier ones. They were quiet folks, just didn't clean after themselves. My current living situation is pretty much like what rising_star describes. My undergrad roommates are very quiet and studious, they also have meal plans at dining halls, so they don't use the kitchen as much as I do, which I'm grateful for. It's definitely possible to find respectful undergrads to live with. However, I did go through a lot search for this place. I was looking to sublease a room so it was easier to find apartment with undergrads closer to campus. At one place, my would-be roommates were honest with me enough to tell me that they would not only drink and do recreational drug most of the nights, but also there would be game parties every weekends. I was grateful that they were honest, really.

 

[juilletmercredi]

Personally I liked having a roommate in graduate school. Aside from practical concerns of lower rent, I didn't feel quite so lonely. But 6 unrelated people in one house sounds like too many, IMO. I agree that there are other options in between - I'd look for a shared situation with 1-2 other roommates, and then talk to the roommates about their habits and social life.

[CBclone]

I agree with others -- there is likely a middle ground available between "zero roommates" and "five roommates". I was in the same boat you are; 27 and returning to school after five years of working post-undergrad. I live by myself and pay $565/month for a small 1-bd apt. I'm a homebody and lived by myself the two years prior to moving for school as well. I have total choice in whether I want to spend my free time with others or relax by myself. I could have saved a little bit of money, sure, by getting a place with roommates and paying probably $400 - $500 instead of $565 per month, but I chose my sanity and personal space over money and have no regrets. 

[TakeruK]

Where I live, the approx. rent is $1200/month for no roommates, and $600/month for 3 roommates. 1 roommate would cost around $800/month. Many of my friends still choose the single bedroom because that's what they value. I've lived in expensive rent cities almost all of my life, so $600/month for a single bedroom/studio sounds amazing! $7000 over 2 years is a good way to think about it though. Or, maybe think about it this way: a studio apartment will cost you $10/day more. Right now, you're living alone. If someone were to give you $10, would you invite 5 others to share your living space? How many days in a row can you do this? 

I know there may also be a middle ground, but for some people/cases, I don't think the middle ground is a good idea. For me, if my spouse wasn't living with me, I would probably choose either the max # of roommates or no roommates. My reasoning is that even 1 roommate would be really sucky for me, so 4 or 5 roommates isn't that much worse in comparison. So, if I'm going to choose to have roommates to save money, I might as well go to the extreme end and save the most money I can. Similarly, if I am going to spend more money for comfort, I might as well go to the extreme end and get a single bedroom.

[sackofcrap]

There is no way, I would live with 5 random strangers in a house. One or 2, I could tolerate, but 5 is just too many for my taste. If I were you and wanted to save some money, I would try to look for situations with 1 or 2 roommates. I definitely would not live with 5.

[maelia8]

I don't think I could handle living with five roommates for no other reason than that I'm extremely tidy, and it's hard enough to keep a place clean with just one or two roommates. More people means more negotiations over space, time, light, noise, and cleanliness, but roommates can also mean that you always have company and someone to help out if you need help with something. I live in a place where living alone is too expensive to be viable (literally), and I don't mind living with two or three people. If you're worried about loud undergrads, I suggest posting through your department's graduate student listserve to find other grad students looking for roommates - if you do, it's highly likely that you won't be the oldest at 27. 

[MercurialMisfit]

I was also having the same dilemma with trying to figure out the 1-bedroom apartment or roommates, but I am an introvert. Realizing that I knew the 1-bedroom option would be best for me. I'm not too far from your age (24 years old) and I know noisy undergraduates can be a nuisance. If you value space and time to yourself then I would recommend the 1-bedroom, especially if you believe that'll benefit your studies. 

[MarineBluePsy]

Having roommates isn't always cheaper especially when you're talking about 6 people total in the household.  Sure $325 sounds like a bargain, but unless every single person in the household has the same idea on conserving energy (turning off lights, not blasting the ac/heat, etc) and not wasting shared household items (toilet paper, cleaning products, etc) then your costs go up.  Also that many bodies in the home mean things like carpet cleaning need to be done more frequently and an increased likelihood of something getting broken or damaged.  If its not a routine repair or maintenance your landlord is responsible for then those costs are divided among the roommates.  I personally am not interested in having to deal with any of that stuff every again and am happy to live alone.  If living alone is really unaffordable (or too isolating) then I would suggest looking for a place with 1-2 roommates.  Since you're used to being in the working world I'd look for working professionals or grad/law/medical students as options.