When you move to university, the chances are you’ll move into a flat with a bunch of people you’ve never met before. It’s super exciting, but it can also be really daunting. It can be quite a challenging experience learning to live with lots of people. But don’t worry, you will learn how to adapt and compromise!

Read on to find tips to help you survive shared living at university.

It’s so important to set boundaries when you move into shared accommodation at uni. Make sure you set ground rules to avoid awkward confrontations and to make sure that everyone’s on the same page on how to behave in shared spaces. You probably won’t have to ask someone to stop barging into their room unannounced, but you might have to let them know you don’t like people using all your stuff without asking.

By setting some boundaries, you can avoid these types of things. You have to remember, not everyone will have the same general awareness as you. Make sure that everyone is respecting each other’s privacy. Setting boundaries will help you to avoid any big arguments and will help make living together smoother and less stressful, which is what everyone wants!

Establish A Cleaning Routine 

Having a cleaning routine when you’re living in shared accommodation is super important. Trust us it’ll help you out in the long run. Set up a cleaning routine to stay on top of things, so it doesn’t build up and you end up living in a kitchen that’s borderline biohazard. This will also mean everyone does their part, and it’s not just left to one person to do all the cleaning and tidying. That’s bound to end up in a menty breakdown. Plus, everyone loves living in a clean space; it has a positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing.

When living in shared accommodation it’s really important to respect the other people you’re living with. Sharing living spaces is a proper challenge though, with all sorts of different lifestyles, habits and personalities. Just make sure you are considerate of your flatmates and be respectful of their space, belongings and privacy. This will help you avoid any misunderstandings and arguments, keeping everything chill with your flatmates.

When you’re living in a shared flat or house, it is so so important that you communicate with your flatmates. Set up a group chat when you move in, put everything flat related stuff in there. Being clear with people and communicating well will help you to avoid any misunderstandings, conflicts and tension in your flat. It’ll make living with people so much easier: it can get stressful when everyone has different schedules and different levels of social lives, so being able to communicate clearly with the people you live with will help you in the long run. Using a group chat means that you can put in any messages about cleanliness, cleaning schedules, noise levels, and social events all in one place. Don’t forget to put social invites in a group chat will stop people from feeling left out, or from not receiving an invite. 

Learn how to compromise with people. Everyone has different ideas about how things should be done, what actually classifies as ‘clean’ and how loud is too loud. It can be testing at times, but the good thing is you will learn to compromise and this will be a skill that you will need all through life. Being able to compromise will help you to all figure out how to live together.

You can agree to split up cleaning duties, or to have quieter night’s during the week, or if someone has an exam, you don’t have people over for drinks the night before. Whatever it is, it’s important to come to an agreement and to show that you have taken what everyone says into consideration. You just have to remember that everyone is in the same boat and wants a chilled living environment, and compromising is the best way to do that.

So, surviving shared living at university can be a bit challenging, but it’s all doable, and chances are, you will end up making friends for life with your flatmates. By setting boundaries, communicating well, having a cleaning schedule and making sure you compromise, you will be able to build and maintain healthy relationships with your flatmates and have a great time at uni.

Living in a shared accom gives you the opportunity to learn about different cultures, about people’s lives who come from all different backgrounds and you will make friends and develop essential life skills. Having these tips as the foundation of living with people, you’ll be most of the way to an enjoyable shared living experience at uni.

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