A Few Tips to Handle Difficult Roommates
Students coming from various places to the Ann Arbor Michigan area may experience their best or worse. It may be borrowing small things to clean up the mess, being downright rude, or disrespectful. Regrettably, roommates for many students are a part of life, and they cannot expect much with the increase in costs.
A few tips to handle difficult roommates
Set Boundaries
Make sure from day 1 to set boundaries. Your roommate must know where to expect you and what to expect from you. It includes common issues such as sharing items, cleanliness, and privacy. Setting boundaries by having a conversation is helpful. You cannot expect your roommates to understand your living situation. If you both have a competing opinion in any discussion, take a mid-way to settle and compromise. It is always possible that people looking for quiet space will end up with noisy roommates. You cannot change them overnight, instead set a few quiet hours during day or night times. There is no harm in scheduling rules on certain things such as, people making the mess will clean it or set days to clean on turns the common areas.
Ditch Passive Aggression
Students accommodating rooms with other students need to know they are adults. Even with a terrible roommate, you have to adjust, and the only way is to ditch passive aggression. Acting petty or stubborn is not a brilliant solution. It will lead to difficult emotions and relationships with roommates as you continue staying for longer periods. Always remember to handle things in an adult manner. Communicate the issue directly, and it will give better results. Maintain face-to-face communication and do not hesitate to leave a note on their table if they are wrong.
Communicate in Person
With Smartphones in hand, texting has become the common way of communication. It is also easier, but with roommates, the best is to communicate in person. Dealing with issues by texting can get into misunderstanding, or your roommate may forget the conversation. It will result in unconstructive conflict. Conversations reduce miscommunication chances and resolve effectively.
Hold the Same Standard as Your Roommates
Expecting the roommates at all times to be tidy implies you must also hold the same standard. There is no room for double-standard with room management expectations. It is vital to be patient with the roommates. Student life is not easy, and there will be bad days for each student. It is crucial to compromise at times and to show understanding. Build positive relationships by going easy with each other.