Young professionals: do you have a roommate?

yxk01

O.G.
Aug 27, 2006
153
0
I am a senior in college right now and will be done with my master's next year. So I've been interviewing for jobs lately and also thinking about my life in the real world!

I've always had a roommate and it's been great. I've loved having someone around. But I just always thought that when I got a real job, I would live by myself. I am more than likely moving to a city that none of my friends are going to (hopefully, Chicago!). And also I mean-more than anything, it was just symbolic of my new independence.

The more I talk to people-new hires-the more I realize that a lot of them have roommates! And it came as such a shock to me. They range in age from 22 years old to 25 and they are still living with other people. Granted, I understand they're not millionaires or anything but I would think that they are making enough money (as accountants).

So my question is-is this pretty common? As a young professional and a recent college graduate, do you have a roommate?
 
I never had a roommate after college. When I went to law school, I lived alone and after graduating, I bought a house as soon as I found out I passed the bar. However, I always had awful luck w/ roommates and have a huge need for my own space. Roommates were just not my thing.

I don't know many of my classmates that had roommates after school, either, unless it was a boyfriend/SO.

If it works for you- great! You can save a lot of money that way and sometimes have a lot of fun if you like your roomies!
 
I'm 22, independent and currently I have 1 roommate in a 2 bedroom apt

I think it's based on how much your rent is and how much do you really want to pay. I can afford my rent but why would I want to pay the whole thing and have an empty bedroom?

I could move in to a 1 bd apt but I like where I am now ^^
 
Most of my friends don't have roommates. I live in Chicago and live by myself. Nothing wrong with living with people if that's worked for you in the past. However, I think moving to a new place (like Chicago!) is a great chance to explore your for yourself and live by yourself. You really do get to know yourself in a way you can't with roommates around. Now that I live alone I would never want to live with anyone (except SO) again.
 
This is such a timely question!

I'm starting my first "real" job two weeks from tomorrow after a year of post-college internships. I'd kind of operated under the assumption that I'd be living on my own after I completed my internship, but I'm realizing how much more cost-effective it will be to live with somebody.

Most of my friends with jobs still have roommates. Granted, we're all 23-ish. I think it simply depends on what you can afford. From talking to my friends, we'd all like to live alone, but it doesn't make financial sense at this point.

My sister's boyfriend is 27, and he lived by himself for a year and then moved into a house with a couple of friends to save money. I think it's very common.

Do you mind if I ask what field you're going into? I'll be working for a non-profit, so my salary basically requires that I have to have a roommate...
 
All valid points! Living alone is so convenient but it is quite cost-effective to have a roommate. Thanks for all of your input! Thankfully, I still have some time to think about the issue. Just wanted to see what everyone's situation was.
 
I've never had a roommate, but I lived with my parents until I was about 30. I just didn't make enough money when I got out of college to live on my own and had to go back to school to make more. I've had lots of friends with roommates though.
 
Many of the recent graduates I know have roommates, but it could be because most of my friends are in the "creative underclass" - mostly journalists or writers, and some actors, musicians and dancers. It's hard to make a decent living doing these things, particularly right out of school, and as a result, roommates are often necessary. Also, since I live in a college town, almost everyone here is separated from their family and most people look for an approximation of family through their close friends and roommates. If I was in a major city or friends with more people that were doctors, lawyers, MBAs, etc, it wouldn't surprise me if I had fewer friends with roommates. It just depends on what fits your lifestyle!
 
I'm 26 and I'm on a healthy salary, but I've always had a flatmate (even after I graduated from university and didn't have a healthy salary!). A flatmate has a lot of benefits:

1. Reduces the cost of living. This has nothing to do with what you earn, it's just common sense. If your cost of living it lower, that increases your discretionary income so you can invest and enjoy life more!

2. It's more social. Particularly when you first move cities, I'm not sure what it's like in the US/Chicago, but in Australia I quickly found that a lot of people weren't recruiting for new friends. I'm not saying your flatmate will be your best friend, but it's good to have someone else coming and going and all their friends and occasionally you probably will do stuff together.

3. It's psychologically healthier for a young person. You don't develop appalling habits around living on your own.

4. You have a lot of entertaining stories about flatmates from hell to amuse people at parties when you DO eventually live on your own or with a significant other.

5. For me, at least, it reduced the likelihood that you unecessarily speed up romantic relationships when you have some sort of barrier at home. That is, your flatmate will generally be a tiny bit peeved if your new boyfriend ends up staying over every night for a month. It feels annoying at the time, but it's much healthier in the long run!

Anyway, just my 2c :smile:
 
madamestuff-great list!!! Some of your points, I have thought about and others, I actually haven't. I think you may very well be right about the entertaining each other part...my roommate and I can never shut up!
razorbackbelle0-haha, i've been lucky so far and haven't had any issues with my roommates. so i see you may possibly be in razorback land? what part of arkansas are you from? i go to school at U of A.
 
I had a roommate for the first 3 years after university. I lived near downtown Seattle and worked downtown and I needed a roommate to cover rent. Thankfully my roomie was a high school and college friend so we knew eachother well. We even 'upgraded' to a nicer apartment about a year and a half of the semi-dump we lived in, ha ha.

I LOVE being around people and the idea of living alone was too weird for me. But, my roomie bought a house and I made the decision to try living on my own, as I didn't want her being my landlady and I didn't want to make the effort to find another roomie.

So, I lived alone starting in (!) 1992 and have ever since! At first it scared me, but then I got more confident in learning to make my OWN fun and not depend on a roomie for constant entertainment. I could have people over or not.

The transition from university to professional life is one of the biggest life transitions you will make, other than getting married and having children. Enjoy!!
 
I live in a 4 bedroom house with 3 other girls, but I would love to just live alone. Its not really an option for me right now where I live because rent is so expensive for a decent 1 bedroom. Everything in my price range is not in the best neighborhoods. But I like the girls I live with and we all have such different schedules that we never have problems with each other. Also its nice to be able to see other people and talk while you're cooking, etc. We even go out sometimes. I'm glad I live with roommates because I didn't know anyone when I moved to this area and I don't think living alone would have allowed me that opportunity.