Moving in with friends can be a great way to save money and split up household responsibilities. But it’s important to make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding things like house rules, budgeting, and chore schedules. Having everything discussed will make the transition stress-free.
Considering all the reasons to move, you must go through some things that will make living with your BFF the best experience ever. Of course, there has to be some serious talking about cleaning, quiet hours, and sharing food and spaces. After that, find the perfect place you’ll call home and set the budget. Last but not least, avoid cluttering the future home with unnecessary stuff. Instead, discuss it with your pal and decide what to bring.
Is Having a Friend as a Roommate a Good Idea?
You should be aware of what you’re getting yourself into, know what to expect, and know how to deal with it before you take the big leap and sign a lease with your BFF. This is an extremely important thing to do, especially if you’re moving out for the first time. In order to make the best decision, you must be aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of living with friends.
After all, making a big step like booking reliable international moving services has to be well planned if you want to have the experience to remember. So, after you consider the possibilities you could get in the new country, proceed with creating a to-do list, get all the needed documents and keep them organized – they indeed are some of the relocation essentials you’ll have to prepare for the move.
Go Over the Benefits of Moving in With Friends
When you share a home with a close friend, you’ll move in together and be able to support, encourage, and constantly enjoy one another’s company. Many people see these as worthy benefits of moving overseas.
- Sharing Tasks – living together, you’ll split not only the rent but also the cleaning chores. For example, one of you will clean the furnishings and wipe the tables while the other vacuums the floors, one will maintain the bathroom while the other washes the windows. Whatever plan works best for you, you can take turns doing the duties or decide which jobs each one of you will be in charge of, or you can do them all together. Either way, compared to if you were performing it all yourself, the work would be finished considerably more quickly and in a significantly enjoyable manner. Furthermore, dividing up difficult domestic chores and obligations could deepen your bond.
- Saving Money – Since you and your friend will be splitting rent, utilities, and other housing costs, you will be able to save a bit more money each month! So it makes sense that so many people, after college, choose to live with friends.
- Avoiding risks – Since you already know and trust a friend, there is no need to conduct a background investigation or contact previous roommates to ensure that your new roommate is trustworthy. You can relax knowing that your friend won’t steal from you, tell lies to you, or cause you harm in any other way. You’ll feel protected and comfy in your house.
- Being Yourself – Living with a friend, you won’t have to put on a show or maintain a spotless reputation because your old friend is familiar with you, understands you, and won’t be expecting you to always be polite and upbeat. You can simply be yourself or even share your deepest thoughts with your friend if you’re feeling anxious, unhappy, or fatigued rather than forcing yourself to laugh and claim that everything is OK.
- Having Support and Company – If you share a home with a close friend, you’ll never feel lonely or bored because your companion will always be there for you. There will be a person to spend time with in the afternoons, somebody to share your happiness and your sorrow with, someone to acknowledge your accomplishments and offer you support when times are tough. Someone to listen to you out and provide guidance when necessary, especially if you have to deal with culture shock. You’ll always have a reliable companion by your side. And the two of you will have a great time.
Know That There Are Some Drawbacks to Moving in With Your Pals
As is customary, there is also another side to every story. Since you won’t be living on your own, consider some serious drawbacks staying with BFF could bring. Don’t let the rushed decision ruin a beautiful friendship just because you didn’t think it through.
- Awkwardness – Living with a buddy can easily result in a number of tricky situations. After all, it can be difficult to tell your mischievous roommate to clean up after themselves if you used to make messes together. You may also prefer that they refrain from wearing your clothes, using your makeup, and eating your leftover food. And when money problems develop, things get even more difficult. What should you do if your best friend is having trouble making ends meet or starts depending on you for necessities like food?
- Lack of Privacy – Spending all of your time with your friend may be too much for you – there may be times when you’d like to be by yourself, engage in a solo activity, maintain a secret, etc. You might want some alone time to reflect while your friend would like to hang out or go to a party; you might not want to reveal your boyfriend or girlfriend to your friend.
- Realizing Who Your Pal Really Is – You might begin to see parts of your pals that you didn’t know they had when you lived close by. You could be shocked to learn how disorganized, petty, or self-centered your friend is. Or you might consider some of the lifestyle choices bothersome or a few of their eccentricities intolerable. It might come out that you didn’t actually know each other very well.
Before Moving in With Friends Prepare to Have Some Serious Conversations
Hiring a professional international moving company and not making some of the most common relocation mistakes because you have every task on your moving out list surely is a good start for every move. However, you need to think about what comes next after the relocation. One might compare living with one’s best friend to a sitcom.
The shared apartment is where you return home to each other, participate in each other’s successes, work out your difficulties, and occasionally get into some hilarious mischief. However, this doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly by itself. You need to sit together and talk about some serious topics. Don’t let your first-time move-out become a disaster just because the grown-ups talk is a must.
Discuss Cleaning Schedules
Is your best buddy a covert slob who only tidies up for visitors? The only way to find out is to move in together, but you also have to talk about your cleaning routines. After all, you’re not relocating abroad alone. That entails discussing the tasks you enjoy performing and those you detest the most. You may easily divide cleaning duties based on who, what, and how often you will do it if one of you likes vacuuming and the other enjoys wiping counters.
If you need some motivation to clean the kitchen, check out the following video. You’ll learn some interesting tips and tricks on how to quickly and efficiently clean the kitchen.
Go Over the Quiet Hours and Policy of Having the Guests Over
No, you don’t have to implement the same quiet periods that existed in your college dorm, but knowing when it’s generally acceptable to speak up indoors will save you from the awful loud guests in the early hours on a Tuesday scenario. Discuss your schedules and sleeping patterns.
The guest policy talk may not seem necessary because you and your closest friend presumably have many friends in common, but ignoring it might be disastrous. Find out what works for you both: allowing family members to stay with you when they visit, throwing parties, and having significant others over. It’s a good idea to set a limit on how many nights you’re willing to let guests stay over in the flat. This way, neither of you needs to worry about not being polite.
Talk About Sharing Food and Spaces
It could not appear to be a huge issue to use the last of the milk that isn’t yours, but it’s one of those tiny things that can lead to a nasty argument. So, besides figuring out how to live in another country, discuss your feelings towards sharing groceries with your roommate as well. You can choose to go shopping separately for everything and resolve to use only the things you actually purchased. You can also choose to distribute everyday products like cooking oil. You might even consent to divulge every detail.
If you’re the type of person who gets upset when others eat their food before asking or if you’re the rare one who enjoys sharing food, be honest. Above all, don’t assume that your best buddy shares your sentiments.
If your closest friend is a minimalist and your personal decorating taste includes faux fur and zebra print, you need to talk about shared spaces. Compromise when it comes to decorating and keeping your things in shared spaces.
Start Looking Home in Advance
It will take some time for you to look around and find a spot that you can call home for a while. If you wait until the last minute, you’ll be in a panic before your relocation, which will already be stressful. And that’s why you should start looking for a rental if you’re relocating abroad at least six months before you arrive.
Having an efficient move isn’t as hard as you thought when having an international move. You’ll have constant help with relocating to another country to rely on. But besides ensuring your belongings are in good hands, you have to know where you’ll live together, right?
Have a Budget in Place
It’s one of those topics people believe they shouldn’t talk about, but discussing it before you move in together is crucial. You should ideally talk about it before you actually start searching for a shared flat. Don’t make it one of the things you forget when moving internationally.
Spend some time contrasting spending patterns and budgets. Do you both attend classes? Both are recent graduates? Will your parents provide rent assistance to either of you? Choose a budget that works for both of you, not just what one of you can afford. Next, decide who will be responsible for paying particular payments and what you will do if your financial status changes.
Discuss Items You’ll Bring and Avoid Cluttering the Future Home
When you’re relocating across the world, it’s important to talk about what items you’ll be bringing with you and what will need to be stored or sold. This can help avoid any arguments about the clutter in the future. You should also take some time to declutter your own belongings before the move. This will make a move easier and help you decide what to keep and avoid bringing things that you don’t need.
It’s also important to think about how you will use the space in your new home. If you have a lot of belongings, you may need to get rid of some of them or find a place to store them. It’s also important to consider your partner’s needs and wants when it comes to the space in the home.
After all, there are some items international movers won’t move even though they will help you with an efficient packing service. So you’ll just have to sort everything out before the big move. And one of the greatest relocation hacks surely is to do it room by room. Everything you don’t need but is in good condition, donate before the move. You can do it online on Goodwill or go personally to a charity organization.
Having a Friend by Your Side Will Make Moving Abroad Easier
Making friends with the locals is a great way to learn about the culture, get help when you need it, and make your transition to living in a new country easier. But what if you’re not the outgoing type? Or what if you’re moving to a place where you don’t speak the language?
Having a friend by your side who is also experiencing all of the same things can make a world of difference. They can help you navigate through bureaucracy, show you around town, and be a sounding board for all of your new experiences.