When it comes to apartment living, choosing to partner up with a roommate can offer many benefits. Living in New York City can be expensive. If you find a roommate, you automatically cut your rent and utilities in half, you have someone to share responsibilities (such as cleaning and shopping for household items), and you may also make a great new friend in the process! Here are some tips to keep in mind while trying to find a roommate:

Maximize the Search

Put the word out to your social network that you are looking for a roommate. Post it on Facebook, tell your friends, and ask around at work. It may turn out that a friend of yours knows someone who’d be perfect for your living situation. Word of mouth is always a great way to start your search, but if that doesn’t work, you may want to turn to online classifieds instead. If you go this route, make sure to be very specific about what you’re looking for in a roommate and what your non-negotiables are.

Know Yourself

Whether you’re asking friends for recommendations or posting an ad in the classifieds, you need to know what kind of roommate you’re looking for, and you need to be very clear about anything you consider dealbreakers. For example, many people can’t live with a smoker, so it’s important to put that in your ad. Know yourself! Are you willing to have a roommate who has a pet? What about multiple pets? Are you comfortable living with someone of the opposite sex? What about someone of a very different age? Knowing what you are looking for is an important first step.

Ask Questions

When you receive answers to your ad or to your inquiries through friends, make sure you sit down and get to know your potential roommate before moving in together. There is much to discuss! Some of the kinds of questions you’re going to want to ask:

• Does the person have a significant other who will be spending a lot of time in the apartment? What about guests?
• Does your potential new roommate like to throw parties?
• How will you split the rent and utilities? How will you split the cost of common household items, like paper towels, and how will you split the responsibility of procuring those items? What about splitting food costs and sharing food?
• What’s your prospective roommate’s sleep schedule? If one of you prefers to go to bed early every night, while the other person’s a night owl, it could lead to conflict down the road.

You should also try to suss out your potential roommate’s living style. Is this person neat or sloppy? If they’re a friend or acquaintance of yours, perhaps you can make a visit to their current apartment to see for yourself. Even if you’re not a perfect match in every way, it doesn’t mean your potential living arrangement is automatically doomed, but it’s best to be well-informed from the start.

Finding a roommate also gives you a chance to make a new friend. So besides asking about living habits, it’s also important to do your best to assess whether you’ll get along with your roommate and “click” with them. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other, so it’s best to make sure that your personalities mesh as much as possible.

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