Housemate rules and regulations

-By Ninah

What you need to know about share houses is that every house is different, so whether you are moving into a share house for the first time or whether it's just a transfer from one to another, what you need to realise is that the difference between a good and a bad shared house experience is the people. Now there is nothing you can do that will guarantee awesome housemates. It's basically a luck thing, except maybe moving in with friends. But the following tips that I'm going to give will help in living with awesome and not-so-awesome housemates.

Tip No. 1: Chocolate is a huge commodity within the share house community (especially with girls). It can gain you favours such as lifts to town and it can subdue the anger of a fellow housemate.
WARNING!! Keep chocolate out of reach from housemates or it will disappear without a trace.

Tip No.2: Hot water is essential for a good shower as we know; the trick is having one of the first showers of the day so that it doesn’t run out part way through your steaming hot shower and leave you screaming like a girl who has seen a gigantic spider.

Tip No.3: Having a sound system or earmuffs is useful as walls within share houses are not usually very thick and you never know what you might overhear from the rooms around you; there are just some things that were never meant to be overheard....

Tip No.4: Following on from tip No.3 there are some signs that are put up on doors as warnings of not to enter unless you want to completely destroy your life as you know it (if you are not sure though it's best just to knock first before entering). They are:

 





What's behind door number 1?? The tie is usually an indicator that...well if you don't know already I won't ruin it for you, ask a housemate they will enjoy telling you.

What's behind door number 2?? The sock means exactly the same thing as door number 1 it's just people's preference to what to put on the door. Again ask a housemate what it means if you don't know already.

What's behind door number 3?? If there is a sign on the door read it as it usually tells you exactly what not to do, but if it tells you to punch yourself or to stand on your head I would advise you not to follow those instructions for health and safety reasons.

I hope these few tips have been helpful to you newbies of the share house community, and I hope it has brought back some good and possibly some face-palm moments to those who have been in share-houses before. If you have any questions that need answering or if you want more tips just comment below and I'll get back to you

May your alcohol keep flowing and your hangovers be short.

Tootles,

Your fellow Housemate,

Ninah

Living in Student Residences abroad

-By Troy

I’m about ten weeks into my Study Abroad student exchange program at the University of Exeter in the UK.

As the semester comes to a close so does a crazy couple of months that has been living on campus.

I have lived in share houses many times before, from Brunswick to Hawthorn to Clifton Hill. Equally, I am lucky to have travelled a little bit across the USA, Canada and now the UK and I'm quite comfortable staying in hostels and backpackers. But NOTHING could have prepared me for putting 48 international students together in the one apartment block!

The first two weeks of semester,  there were parties just about every night. Every Sunday morning somewhere on campus, a kitchen looked like some kind of disaster zone from cramming a million people in there for drinking, socialising and debauchery!

As semester rolls along, you eventually find that assessments are due and you can’t be out every night. But you hear the music or the laughter drifting from your window or down the hallway and you are tempted to go and join in!

Living on campus has many perks. Everything is provided for: Internet, bills, rent- everything is included. You are walking distance to classes; you can quite easily roll out of bed 15 minutes before a lecture if you really want. For me, the campus gym is only a 10-minute walk away and the supermarket is an easy 15-minute stroll.

There is always someone to talk to and hang out with. I made toast at 2am last week and ended up chatting to my French comrades for an hour! During the first week we held an international dinner night where everyone cooked something from home. You are exposed to new cultures, new ways of doing things.

Of course there are also challenges! Sometimes you just need your own space, and it’s hard to have this with twelve others on the same floor as you. Noise can be problematic at night. Social politics and alliances emerge within the flat. Romantic relationships begin and evolve; jealousy and gossip can be sure to follow.

Coming back to the kitchen; with no common area, this has been the natural gathering point for each floor and never has it been such contentious ground to navigate. Food gets eaten, fridge space becomes a battleground, and people have no clue how to wash up or put away dishes.

After all the water restrictions we've had back home, I was horrified when several of my flat mates washed their dishes under a running tap! In light of all this, I thought it might be useful to offer some strategies that have worked for us over here:

• Establish a weekly garbage and recycling roster early on.
• Set up a Facebook Group for your floor as a forum to deal with issues as they come up. Drama is tough but don't avoid it!
• Split costs of expendables such as dishwashing liquid and toilet paper. Set aside a shelf or something to keep these things and make sure to contribute.
• Wash up your dishes after meals and put them away.
• Make your bedroom your own space where you can go if you need some timeout.
• Buy earplugs for the nights you need to study or sleep and can’t party. 
• Maximise services offered on campus such as the gym and the medical centre. These things are there to help you. 
• Get involved and get interested! So many cultures and new perspectives on life to learn about! 

Make the most of the parties and meeting new people. All the students living on campus are going through the same things as you. There are lifelong friendships to be formed even when you are on the other side of the world. I now have friends all over America, Canada and Europe who I can visit in the coming years!

Good luck and have fun!

   

Finding Share Accommodation (when you’re just about to hit 30)

-By Chelsea

Having a mortgage and starting a Doctorate in a new city means three things.


1. I will have no money,
2. I will have no time; and
3. I will have no friends (although I have faith that this condition will improve)

I am fortunate enough to have a generous boyfriend and enough savings to ensure I am not living on the usual student poverty line. However my love for fine wine and dining will have to be put on hold for three years, which is ironic (or is it unfortunate?) as I am moving to a city which defines fine wine and dining in Australia. At least I don’t have to sacrifice coffee which is like steroids for a student.

In an effort to minimise the sacrifices incurred by my limited budget, I decided to investigate share accommodation. While I had generally had great experiences in share houses, I was far from excited about the thought. At least that was until I found a townhouse in Hawthorn with ‘two mature female professionals.’ I sent off a quick email with a ‘brief description about me’ and an hour later got an excited email back from Leslie* who had four fairly major things in common with me:

1. Was the same age as me,
2. Had moved from Brisbane to Melbourne for Uni,

3. Was attending Deakin, and  

4. Was doing a Doctorate in the same course!

As a good social science student I did the math and worked out that there was a 1 in bazillion chance that my first share house enquiry would go to someone like this. I could not conceive that it was anything less than fate. In one small email I had all my problems solved. The share house was cheap - so I would have more money. I could borrow Leslie’s study notes - so I had more time. Finally we were of course soul sisters - so I had a friend! All I needed to do was win over the flatmate and the place was mine…

Except I forgot to win over the flatmate. When I finally had my ‘phone interview,’ I was so intent on finding out more about my new best friend that I forgot to ask the other flatmate pretty much anything about herself. Ooops. I should have known better, I went to an all girls high school and lesson one of “getting in with the group” was to not make any other girl feel left out. So my last email from Leslie was an apology that her flatmate wanted to go with someone they had met in person, presumably someone who didn’t make her feel like the third wheel in their first conversation. So it turned out that fate was just a coincidence.

Applying for a share house and going to an interview feels like on-line dating and I guess the golden rule of dating applies. If you want someone to like you, make them feel like they are important and interesting. Well I did just make that rule up but it’s pretty hard to dislike a person that makes you feel that way! Happy share house hunting :)

*Leslie was obviously not her real name - no one under the age of 45 is called Leslie (surely?)