When I started college, I lived with a random roommate. She was great to live with and even though we did not end up becoming best friends, I am glad I had the chance to live with her. The next year, I decided to move into an apartment with three roommates, one who was my best friend. Everyone told me it would be a horrible idea and that it would ruin our friendship. They told me “living with friends is awful, it causes so many problems. I bet you two won’t be friends anymore by the end of the first semester.” I did not want that to happen and was really worried in the weeks leading up to moving in. Throughout the year, we did have some problems, but they were mostly small problems such as who ate the last bagel, or whose turn it was to take out the trash. If anything, living with my best friend made our friendship better. We could have a sleepover whenever we wanted. Instead of sending each other pictures of what outfits we were thinking of wearing, we just walked into each others rooms for an opinion. Our closets seemed to double in size because we could always borrow each others clothes. There were endless long nights of talking, dance parties, studying, and everything in between. I can’t say we never fought, but we always got through it.

People say that rooming with one of your friends can be difficult, but rooming with a random roommate can be hard as well. Even though I did not experience problems personally, a lot of my friends in the dorms had some horror stories. Once my friend’s roommate brought a guy to their room and he stared at my friend as she slept. Creepy. I can only imagine how awkward the conversation about that was. It may be harder to talk about issues with someone you don’t know as well because you might be afraid of offending them or not know how to handle the situation. When the person you have an issue with is your friend, it can be a lot easier. Since you and your friend have probably had an argument before, you know how to talk to them about an issue without offending them or turning it into a bigger problem.

If you are on the fence about rooming with your best friend, a good idea would be to see if you can also live with another roommate or two. That way, if an argument does happen, there is someone else there to act as sort of a buffer or mediator between you two. Another thing you can do to ease your worries is to set ground rules right when you move in. Decide how chores will be handled, how rooms will be set up, etc. It will make things a lot easier because you each know how the year will go. Communication is a big part of it. Talk to your friend about problems you may have, and living with her will be a lot smoother. No matter how good of friends you are, it will be impossible for them to read their mind.

Living with my best friend was one of the best experiences of my life. It was so great that we decided to live with each other again, this time with another one of my friends. So if anyone is thinking about living with their best friend but is worried, I have one piece of advice: don’t listen to what people say. If you love your friend and think you can live together, do it. If it ends up ruining your friendship or you realize you still want to be friends but just can’t live with her, that’s okay. At least you tried it and had a learning experience from it. Living with your best friend can be the best experience or the worst, but I would recommend it to anyone who is considering it.