One of the things you need to consider when moving into a new place is whether or not you’re going to live with roommates. Due to the high cost of living in New York, many people opt for shared living to bring down the price of rent per person. But ultimately, there are both positives and negatives to having a roommate.

If you’re struggling to make a decision, keep reading to find out the pros and cons.

Pros

• Save money: The biggest upside to having roommates is that you’ll save money! Studio and one bedroom apartments are usually much more expensive, than renting out a room in a two, three, or even four bedroom apartment. You also cut down on costs by splitting the price of utilities, household items (like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and so on), wifi, etc.

• More space: In addition to paying less, you also will likely have a much larger apartment by choosing shared living. Not only are studios and one bedrooms more expensive, they are less spacious. So if space is important to you, it may be in your best interest to move in with roommates.

• Help with cleaning: Having roommates means extra hands to help with chores. It’s best to come up with a chore chart or cleaning schedule, so that there is no confusion when it comes to cleaning. You can divide up tasks like taking out trash, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms etc. That way, each person has specific duties, and you’re not responsible for doing everything on your own.

• Built in friendship: If you’re a person that enjoys the company of others, having roommates may be a great option for you. You’ll likely never feel lonely, because there’s essentially always someone to hang out with. Instead of having to go out to meet up with friends, you can make plans without ever leaving your apartment. Have a movie night, bake cookies, or just crack open a bottle of wine and catch up!

With that being said, living with roommates is not all sunshine and rainbows. The reality is, there are downsides to shared living as well.

Cons

• Missed payments: Although you spend less money on rent having roommates, it means that you have to rely on others to be on time with payments. If someone is having financial issues, or can’t pay rent on time, you will be directly affected.

• Loss of privacy: Living with others means that you automatically have less privacy. Of course one can distance themselves by going to their room, but at the end of the day your apartment is a shared space. Additionally, your roommates may like to socialize and bring friends over. If you’re a person that values your alone time, it’s a good idea to set rules for house guests.

• Scheduling conflicts: Having roommates means having to be considerate of other peoples schedules. However, that is not always the case. If your roommate works early mornings and you work late nights, you may be sleeping while they’re getting ready for work. If they are not considerate of this, they may be loud while you’re trying to sleep (for example: using a blow dryer, blender etc). This can become very annoying to deal with If it happens on a regular basis.

• Noise: Several people living in one apartment means noise. Whether that be noise from socializing, using things like vacuums, blenders, blow dryers, playing music aloud, watching tv, and so on. That means, that there may be times where you require a quiet space (to do homework or complete a work task) and your other roommates are being loud (maybe they just got off work and want to unwind by watching a movie in the living room). Of course there are ways around this, but it is a more difficult situation to navigate.

• Mess: While having roommates potentially means more people to split housework with, it may end up being more of a mess. If you’re not sure what your roommate's habits are when it comes to cleanliness, you could end up with someone who disregards things like doing dishes, throwing away the trash, leaving their hair in the drain, or just avoids chores completely. In some cases, you may end up doing all the cleaning yourself, just so you don’t have to live in a messy space. If not corrected, this could make for a very hostile living situation.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to living with roommates. It’s recommended that you make your own list, as each person's preferences are individual; but this is a good place to start.

If you think shared living might be the right option for you, check out Roomrs! They do background checks on all interested applicants, and match you to a roommate they think will be the best fit!