Shared house: how does everyone else manage?

Mac_Sami

liz545 wrote: »

Jen, there's no need to get worked up - Mac's post seems fairly reasonable to me. In answer to your post's title, most successful houseshares work where the tenants communicate with each other and try and socialise. If you skip the part where you get to know each other and do stuff together, and go straight to leaving notes and rotas, you'll never get along. Seriously, why not suggest that you cook for everyone or go to the pub or something?

Absolutely - I should have made it a little clearer in my previous post. Houseshares can work without socialising if everyone is likeminded and doesn't have an issue with rules, rotas and so on. Houseshares work best when tenants communicate and socialise, and suddenly the issues don't become burdensome on people.

ruggedtoast

I think its probably better just to accept that for most people sharing a house is similar to being in the inner circle of hell.

Theres always either arguments or simmering resentment, usually about cleaning. TBH your flatmates dont sound too bad if theyre not noisy and dont bring dodgy people round. I could fill a page with nightmare flatmates Ive had.

I had the worst flatmate - the needy psycho flatmate. She was constantly attention seeking, creating dramas, trying to turn people against one another, crying and whining about how home sick she was. If she'd just sat her fat a$$ in front of the tele and shut up I wouldnt have minded.

Never want to share again.

top_drawer_2

hi,

I would like to what you suggest - I have always managed to get along with my flatmates in the past the majority of the times as we all had similar commitments and interests.

However, in this house we have a middle aged chinese women (willing flatmate), a 17 year old college student, 2 f/t employed lads in their mid 20's (polar opps), one who we never see (ive lived here 4 weeks and met him twice) as he stops in his room and goes home the rest of the time (though apparently he used to come out and sit in the lounge etc before all this started) and me a 25 yr old part-time student who is willing to address probs as they arise as I can see what the end result will be if we dont.

They all have their downsides; the chinese women moans for england and china and to be quite honest I am sick of listening to it so am looking for solutions. Her communications are cr*p. She speaks to complain to the others and orders/tells people to not do/do stuff. Not sure if the telling part is lost in translation or a bit of communism influence here.

The 2nd 20 yr old lad is flippant, lazy and has an answer for everything. Apart from to go to work he very rarely leaves the house - the majority of this time is spent in front of the tv. He has stated he has no wish to speak to the chinese women at all. In fact the door bell rang awhile ago and I have had to drop what I was doing and come out of my room to answer it. He's sat in front of the telly totally ignoring it - he truly is bone idle.

The college student NEVER leaves the house if she can help it - she is on a vocational course, 3 days a week and on hols every 6 weeks of it too. She spends 4 days a week and every evening in front of the tv often "working" if she has run out of episodes of friends, holyoaks, sex in the city and american sitcoms to watch then she has the dance music channel on.

We all have very different ideas of what we want to do with our time - i dont think we could even agree a day to do something much less what to do and a meal well, absolutely no chance!

Jen

top_drawer_2

lol

I once lived with a teacher who treated us all like her naughty pupils; she would put laminated notices up around the house requesting that you tidy the living room after use (I went to bed one night without strainghting the throw), she specified poofing the cushions on the sofa and making sure the throws were properly aligned.

Jen

gld73

Cough, blow your nose, clear your throat, make out you've got a bad cold ... and then drink your milk straight from the bottle in front of anyone you think might be nicking it, before putting it back in the fridge.

That should put them off using it in future!