A Practical Guide to Swiping Right on the Perfect Roommate in London

• Use social media, online platforms like SpareRoom London
• It is more than a vibe check- make sure you have a synergy in terms of lifestyle, interests, and financial decisions
• Cleanliness standards may vary across people and finding the right balance could lead to less trivial arguments
• Using reliable websites and interacting and meeting them in advance of moving in is key
• Making some ground rules for the house is important before a flatshare
• Trusting your gut is important and don’t hesitate to practice open communication
• Be open to feedback and suggestions as much as you’d be open to giving them

• Use digital resources at your disposal: The biggest pool of people finding a roommate exists online as it is the easiest way to know everything you need to know before you move to the next steps. Websites like SpareRoom make it very easy for someone to find houses and rooms by applying relevant filters and preferences, thus giving you an easier list to choose from.
• It is more than just a simple vibe check: We often believe that getting along with people would easily translate into living with them and liking them too. But that is far away from reality. Living with someone 24/7 is a whole different narrative and it needs to be evaluated on deeper grounds. What do your monthly budgets look like? What are your interests or hobbies? Are you both working or are you students? Is there a lifestyle difference? Is someone a night owl and another person an early bird? Asking the right questions in advance would reduce surprises later and help you make a wise choice.
• Discussing Cleanliness standards: Every person has their way of approaching how clean they keep their surroundings. Someone would have ‘the chair’ we have all seen multiple memes about and someone would be organizing everything the moment they step into the house. Finding the right amount of dedication to cleanliness is very important to avoid conflicts ahead. It is ideal that people reach a middle ground and set some golden rules to respect their lifestyles.
• Using the right resource for you: As mentioned earlier, there are innumerable resources online to find a roommate. The decision of which websites to use is key to the process. It is good to hold a conversation before finalizing your decisions and preferably meet in person to see how well you get along. Blindly trusting an online description could be deceptive and may not always act in one’s favour. Meta groups or asking your friends or posting an Instagram story are a few more useful tools.
• Setting ground rules: It would be impossible to imagine that two strangers moving in together would be aligned on everything. There are bound to be differences of opinions or sensitive habits that one might have to adjust to. An example would be one of the roommates being uncomfortable with the smell of smoking, being a clean freak or not being okay with meat cooked in the common kitchen. The best way to go around this is to set the expectations right at the very beginning and create some healthy house rules that both of you agree upon.
• Trusting your gut: Practice open communication and be upfront about what you’re looking for starting day 1. Trust your gut at every step when surfing for roommates online or shortlisting people. Your gut would tell you if you should not go ahead with someone basis your past experiences or intuitions before you make a conscious decision after reading up all about them. Being sure of what you are looking for and being open about it is key to the process of finding the right fit.
• Being open to feedback: Sharing a house or a room with someone needs some minor adjustments on both ends and it is a conscious effort every day to respect what the other person needs while respecting your own needs. Things can get messy if one roommate is too demanding and wants things their way but is not open to feedback or constructive criticism. Make sure you establish at the very beginning that you’d be open to feedback as much as you’d be willing to give it, to make this work.

In conclusion, finding the right roommate involves being at the top of all the reliable digital resources available online and having an open and honest conversation about lifestyles, budgets and preferences is important. You want to sign up for fewer surprises and more security when moving in with a stranger and doing good research and connecting with the person by asking the right questions is bound to give you clarity on whether this could work out for you. We hope these tips are useful and wish you all the best with the hunt!

There are many websites including SpareRoom, Roomster, Roomies, EasyRoommate amongst others. Additionally. Meta groups for roommate hunting in London and Instagram can be useful in finding people actively.

Finding a roommate online doesn’t have to depend on your luck. You should connect with them on social media by sharing IDs, meet them if possible, or visit the house if they already live there to get to know them more and see their lifestyle first-hand.

Important points to consider include daily life routine, their profession, how they live their social life and who would be visiting you while you live with them, cleanliness standards, cooking habits, and noise levels in the house.