Kacey Takes "Roommates 101"

I have always struggled a bit with roommates (or flatmate for other English speakers)… and honestly it’s probably me. I like my space and my independence. Jamie found a solid roommate and hung onto her for as long as she could until they decided to be “grown-ups” and went their separate ways just a few short months ago. Only recently on my adventure to the other side of the world, have I finally found a roommate whom I love living with and can see myself spending the next year with. She’s awesome. But how I have come to a place that, finally at 28, I can deal with having a roommate? Well I can only accredit this to the years of watching television shows (mostly sitcoms) about roommates.

So what exactly have my favorite shows taught me over the years about sharing a living space?

Well let’s review:

Big Bang Theory: It’s important to have pre-arranged agreements and stick to them. Granted Sheldon’s “Roommate Agreement” might be a bit extensive, but there is a need for some rules/agreements right from the beginning.

Friends: It’s important at least one of roommate has a need for order and cleanliness. Some roommates might find this irritating if they are always cleaning, but the fact that Rachel didn’t do much cleaning never really bothered Monica. Monica thrived in getting to be the organized one. In fact, her competitive nature probably wouldn’t have enjoyed having someone else who wanted to control and clean everything. So maybe the real lesson here is the need for balance of personalities.  

Friends Part 2: Roommates should probably have some shared interests. Joey and Chandler bonded over an enjoyment of Bay Watch, comfy chairs and foosball. It was the simple things that kept them together… and all the bro-mance.

HIMYM: Find a roommate that will also want to keep swords on the wall. In other words have similar ideas about décor and be able to share the space equally. Just be careful if the décor ever is used for a battle… someone might get stabbed.

New Girl: There will be some discovered quirkiness in roommates (or a lot)…embrace them anyways…or at least allow it to happen. Let’s face it… Jess, Nick, Schmidt and Winston epitomize quirkiness . But they don’t get hung up on it… it just makes the un-predictableness, predictable.

2 Broke Girls: It’s important that you both agree that a horse in the backyard is a welcomed idea. Or really, any pet needs to be agreed on beforehand. If Max didn’t want Chestnut hanging around, she would have put Caroline out on her ass with no hesitations.

Buffy: Sometimes your roommate really is a demon and it’s not just you. In Buffy’s case her roommate was a straight out of the Hellmouth sort of demon, but occasionally new roommate setups just don’t work. It’s often better to find someone you already know and love.

Once Upon Your Time: Get to know your roommate, they might turn out to be closely related to you. In Mary Margret and Emma’s case it turned out they were mother and daughter which isn’t probably likely to happen, but it is important to know a little about the person you are going to live to avoid major surprises.

Golden Girls: You’re really never too old to have roommates.

Coming Soon: After an adventure to Coachella Sarah bequeaths the 10 Commandments of musical festival going.