For four years I had a housemate who was an incredible slob in his room.  There was stuff all over the floor with barely a path to his bedroom. Did I ever say anything to him about that? No! That was his room to do with as he pleased.  He was perfectly neat in the kitchen and other common rooms in the house.

The room that belongs to one person, that they pay rent for, is their own space. Everyone has a right to being left alone in their own space, assuming that their habits don’t make a problem outside of the room.

Article on Healthy Aging website.  From article:

“Social participation and integration have profound effects on health and well being of people during their lifetimes,” said Berkman. “We know from previous studies that people with many social ties have lower mortality rates. We now have mounting evidence that strong social networks can help to prevent declines in memory. As our society ages and has more and more older people, it will be important to promote their engagement in social and community life to maintain their well being.”

Does this mean that seniors who share their homes fare better than those who live alone? What do you think?

Your goal in the initial phone call is to determine if there is enough of a match to spend time showing and looking at the space.

You should have a clear idea of what you MUST have in a housemate and living situation. What you must have is very different from what you would like to have.  In the phone conversation you can find out if the “must haves” are met by the space. If not, there is no reason to continue the conversation.

Some examples of “Must Haves” might be space for pets or no pets, space for visiting offspring, or other important people in your life, bathroom access, or convenient public transportation. For years, I had a must have of “no TV”.  That made it much easier to find suitable housemates.

The point here is that your “Must Haves” can simplify the time you spend looking for a housemate.

Roommates.com

This website offers free registration to post either “room offered”or “room wanted.” With pages and pages of testimonials, the company clearly seeks to establish itself as credible and helpful. J. Bennet reviewing the service at Reviewstream, comments. “Perhaps the best feature of roommates.com is that the service personally matches you with other site users based on your criteria. Often looking through Craigslist is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.” That’s a fair comment.

The registration for roommates.com is easy and free. It asks for the basics such as your sex, age, occupation, smoking habits and what you are looking for. It also asks for preferences and interests that will be helpful to you in finding a match. Clearly Roomates.com has experience in this area. The form asks whether you are willing to:  share a bedroom, share a bathroom, and/or to live with children. One question asks about cleanliness level. Another question is whether you will have children present. A final question asks you to choose one of 50 icons that describe your personality. You can include a picture of yourself if you want.

At that point you have access to all the profiles of people on the site, but only limited access. To communicate through the email servers, and to see complete profiles, Roommates offers three plans. A three-day trail costs $5.99, thirty days is $19.99 and 60 days is $29.99.

Once you have registered and logged into the system, you have access to the entire profile of others.

The log in process directs you to an email system within the roommates.com domain. You can communicate with potential housemates without revealing your personal email address or telephone number. This feature is an excellent first step in finding a good housemate.