Hey ladies,

I got the DC job and thus begins the arduous task of moving to Northern Virginia in barely 3 weeks. I need to secure a place this week so I can start moving my meager belongings and getting a new license/plates, furniture, etc.

I am still considering going it alone, but I've met a few cool people that I might be willing to rent with (I save money that will be directed toward a new car and guns/ammo).

I lucked out with a great college roomie--we stayed together the whole 4 years and we still see each other when we can. I roomed with a different person for one semester when my roommate was gone, and it was terrible: I was friends with her bf so she spied on us when we played raquetball together; she would get up at 5am and turn on her computer to feed her Neopet; she was a schizo hypochondriac who would cough and ask me if she had bronchitis; she was spoiled rotten and rubbed it in people's faces.

Any poignant stories you care to share? I'm hoping to hear back from some people tonight and I'm driving to VA asap to look at the place and put down my deposit so I can move this weekend.

ETA: frtloop85, you rock. Thanks for all your help so far.  Even amidst mouth pain, you have helped me tremendously. I owe you a Thai meal with all the trimmings when I get settled.

Need some help moving................

Quoted: Any poignant stories you care to share? I'm hoping to hear back from some people tonight and I'm driving to VA asap to look at the place and put down my deposit so I can move this weekend.

First off - Congrats on getting the job!

My first year of college I was in campus housing. They didn't have dorms built yet, so the school had leased apartments in a local complex and set us up with roomates and an RA in each building.

My first two roomates promptly joined the same sorority. I was working my way through college (just as I did through High School) and there was no way I could have come up with the $1000 initiation fee, and even if I could have there are a lot of other ways I would have rather spent it. This made me persona non grata in the apartment - "we're having a sorority meeting, and it's only for members, so could you leave for a while" or "we're having a sorority girls weekend, so could you stay somewhere else". I petitioned to switch apartments at the end of the first semester because I found out that there was a member of their sorority in another apartment that wasn't happy with her non-sorority member roomates.

So second semester I moved in with new roomates - three this time. We had one girl who was afraid of everyone/everything and she never came out of her room. The other two and I got along fine for a while - we shopped together, shared cooking responsibilities etc. However, one was a little too fond of her pot, and the other one drank a lot. This, in and of itself wouldn't have been too much of a problem except that one evening when one was a little to drunk and the other a little too stoned they ended up "discovering their sexuality". Still, everything was fine for a while, that is until their respective boyfriends showed up and WWIII errupted. We had RA's Cops and University advisors galore show up.

After that, the respective boyfriends refused to leave their girlfriends alone with eachother - so we had both guys living there too. This lead to continued fights, arguments and visits from the police. Student housing had me sit through some stupid mediation course so I could "take a leadership role in mediating conflict in the apartment" - whatever. In the end, they both hated eachother. I never new what the third roomate thought because she was rarely there.

After that, I found a nice private little loft apartment above the garage of a private home with an ocean view and spent the rest of my three years of undergrad and my first MA year there, until I got married and we discovered that two people in 250 square feet just wasn't going to work.

I also always get the strangest roomates on digs, so now I almost always either take a tent and live in the field, or I rent a house in the nearset village if there is one.

You mean like the roommate that used to take food from the fridge and cubbards and hide it under their bed?  Or the one that used to sleep walk and pee in the livingroom closet?

Quoted: Student housing had me sit through some stupid mediation course so I could "take a leadership role in mediating conflict in the apartment"

 is what i think of your student housing peepz--sheesh



i managed single dorm rooms all through college--the first college had a huge dorm which was all singles, so it was easy, but i watched 4 friends live together and all ended up hating each other
when i switched colleges, i cried myself to sleep (at age 23 ) the night before i went because i was afraid i was going to have to have a roommate--i didnt though  

my crazy roomie story is from after college--she and i had been friends for several years and i was itching to get out of my parents' home, so we looked for a place together

all was ok--we worked different shifts (her day, me night) so we werent in each other's faces all the time and actually looked forward to the rare times we were both home

then her girlfriend   virtually moved in and was there ALL THE DAMN TIME and wanted to be my buddy--it wasnt about her being a lesbian--it was about her being weird and nasty and creepy and a hypochondriac--my friend didnt ask if it was ok, and when asked if her gf was going to help pay bills, the answer was "oh, she doesnt stay here all the time"    riiiiiiiight  

speaking of bills, about this time, i came home to a notice from the power company about delinquent payments and a SHUT OFF DATE    
since my friend was older and had lived in apts before, all the utilities were in her name and i had been giving her $$ to pay

i went to the complex and asked how to get out of my end of the lease--they gave me a form to sign and told me to have roomie come by to sign it--when confronted with my unhappiness, roomie (no longer friend) said she was sorry and she would let me out of the lease and go sign the paperwork--i moved out  

three months later, the apartment complex is coming after me for the UNPAID rent from the last three months  SHE HAD NEVER SIGNED THE RELEASE PAPERWORK AND I WAS LIABLE

hubby (then fiance) and my dad and i went tot he apt complex and negotiated--i had only ever been liable for half the rent, since we were both on the lease, so i should only be liable for half--the complex was ok with this, but i was still out several hundred $$    

as a consolation, they let me in MY apartment, to get whatever "possesions" i had "left"  i was still too nice (oh the stuff i couldve taken away with me*sigh*)  but i went through her things and took back several presents i had given her in the past--i thought this would speak volumes louder than ripping off used "stuff"

i have never talked to her or heard of her again  


please do not analyze or otherwise try to educate me on what i should have/shouldnt have done (CJ!!)  this was almost ten years ago and was a MIGHTY learning experience for me


edited for spelink

Here is one for you.

Three of us living together in school. I went fishing and caught a drum about 23 inches long. I wanted the other guys to see it; so I filled the bathtub, put the fish in the water and went off to class.
When I got back my roommate, Charlie said when he got home the other roommate Rob was taking a shower with the fish swimming around in the tub.
We ate it anyway... starving students, ya know.

College.  The guy had to first names (george georges).  Total dork.  Use to leave his muddy mountain and stinky wool socks laying all over the place.  So I wiped my ass with his toothbrush.  I wonder if anybody ever told him?

Congratulations on the new job.  You might want to try out some of the roommate sites on the net, such as www.rent.com.  Go to the roommate section. I have used it once before, and you can find some pretty good people on there in your same situation(it is also free).

BTW, if you are interested, I'll be in DC during the middle of September for our Toys for Tots conference in Alexandria.  Drop me an IM or an email if you need some help, or want to go for drinks(my treat).  Take care.

Told ya you'd get it    Powerful jedi mind tricks, I got.



Congrats  

I had a depressed roommate who had some real issues with an ex boyfriend.  She rarely smiled, she would look at me with sad, doe eyes, but nothing I did - from listening to trying to cheer her up helped.  While I really wanted to help, it put a real stress on me.

MOS training, Fort Sam Houston, TX. I was a floor Sgt, so I only had ONE roomate and not three...good right?
She was a thief...and not just your garden variety: she stole my BCPs!!! WTH is that??? She also had hygiene issues. She showered maybe once per week and her boyfriend was just as scuzzy. They would spend the entire weekend "frolicking" and some weekdays too...I had NO privacy, had to lock up everything from my toothbrush to my deoderant and constatly had to hound her to clean OR do all the cleaning myself since I was a floor Sgt and was responsible for the rooms of all the females in 3 classes...
Roomates are evil...

Congrats Bellona!

Not a college roommate story, but a later in life roommate story.  Let's just say, NEVER AGAIN!!!

I found him on roommates.com

He had recently separated from his pyscho hose bitch wife, had 2 kids that he told me he had a pretty decent schedule with, mostly every other weekend.  I had a 13 year old son every other weekend, sounded like it would work ok with me.  He had all his stuff in storage, except for his bedroom stuff, so he would be using my kitchen/bath stuff.  I didn't have an issue with that.
Shortly after moving in, turns out the kids were ALWAYS there, using all my stuff.  I had a large screen TV, and a leather living room set that I could never use, cuz he and his kids were sprawled all over it every night.  The kids were brats with no manners, chased my 3 cats around like hellions, and used all my sons toys and video games and left them lying all over the place.  His bedroom smelled worse than a locker room, and when he didn't have the kids, he would pick up HO's in bars and bring them home...to SLEEP OVER!!!  And he wouldn't close his bedroom door.  So I'd be leaving for the day in the AM with my son in tow, and his bedroom was right near the outside door....yup.  He and skanky ho sprawled naked on the bed out for all to see.  
NOT a good situation.
I'll never have another roommate again.

GAWD.  I still have nightmares about that guy, his HO's, and his bratty kids.  Thank god it was only for 6months, but what a long six months it was.....

<shiver>  

Congrats on the job! My worst roommate was my cousin.  She was/is a el-slobo and I'm....well not.  I'm by no means a neat freak but geese louise!  Because she was family it was difficult complaining about her being such a slob.  She was down on her luck at the time so I couldn't just toss her out on her elbow.

Patty

Not mine, but my friend's roommate.  Nicknamed "the leech."

Does nothing.  Refuses to contribute to the paratment at all.  My friend even caught her throwing out dishes with food on them because she didn't want to clean them.  Plates, bowls, glasses, stuff you don't take for granted when it's your first ataprtment and you're in college.

Invites people over, has massive parties with random people who like to steal.  CDs, cash, stereo equipment, digital cameras, makeup, even birth control pills.

When I ask my friend why she doesn't just move out or get another roommate, she replies, "Who else would I live with?"

A couple of years ago, my department cut about half the staff down to 30 hours a week to make payroll meet for the year.  So for almost half a year a bunch of us lost a quarter of our income.  I moved in with a friend of mine who also worked with me and got cut.  Living with her was not too bad, we usually got along well.  But I could not stand her dogs.  And don't get me wrong, I love dogs.  But she never trained her dogs to have any manners, and they are both hyperactive bark-at-everything types.  And the worst thing is that both of them preferred to use the carpeting to do their pottying than outside.  I got so damn tired of cleaning up dog crap every single time I came home or got up in the morning.  As soon as we got back to 40 hours a week I was looking for my own place.

Roomate was not the issue seldom saw him, his girlfriend was.  As soon as she would come over she would go right to ther thermostat.  Everytime moving it about ten degrees at a time, do you know how much peak and valley usage of your A/C can run up your bill, around double.  It got to the point I told him she stops fucking with the thermostat or I would pay alot less of the elctric bill.  Their was a point she was not around for about 3 weeks one time in March we turned the A/C off, our bill was about 50+ as opposed to $200+.

Ladies answer me this why is it nearly impossible to find a woman who will put on more or less clothing rather than mess with the thermostat and run the bill up?

Don't really have much experience with roommates except for my first year at college.  I was there for a few months and switched roommates.  My first one was alright except for the fact that in the middle of the night, she would sneak guys into our room and let them stay the night.  Among other things, I reported to our RA that I couldn't live with her any longer and needed a new roommate.

My second one was worse than the first.  She smelled, she did her laundry 5 times the entire year, took my clothes, went on MY computer to look at Porn, ate my food, used all my stuff without asking.  Needless to say, I learned to lock up all my stuff and take what I could with me when I left.

But Bellona, you know you have a place to stay if you need it.  Even if you need some more time finding a place, you can always stay with us.

Quoted: Not a college roommate story, but a later in life roommate story.  Let's just say, NEVER AGAIN!!! I found him on roommates.com <shiver>

I'm sooo sorry you had that experience. I met some people on roommates.com yesterday, but decided to get my own digs. I put my app in on a place in Alexandria and I'm hoping it goes through okay and then can get a place ready for me sometime between the 12th and the 16th. They had 2 vacant studios and they just need to be readied for the next renter--which I hope won't take long. It's so tiny, it shouldn't take more than a week if they haul ass.

rent.com...well, I met some military people on there but they're older than me so it's a no-go. Other people I met are raving Kerry supporters and have an aversion to guns. So, that's a no-go.

I hope I get this place that I put in for. I have good credit and I should be making enough to cover me. It's a nice location and I'll have space and privacy.  

Bellona it will make me you feel better if you post more pics of yourself!

Quoted: Bellona it will make me you feel better if you post more pics of yourself!

I'm not posting any new pics until I get a haircut. I'm putting it off as long as possible.

Quoted: Quoted: Bellona it will make me you feel better if you post more pics of yourself! I'm not posting any new pics until I get a haircut. I'm putting it off as long as possible.

I hope it grows really fast.

I will hopefully never, ever have another room mate...

The only possible way would be if the person was my tenant, and on a monthly basis, with a contact/written agreement.

Just the word 'roommate" makes me queasy :)

Gwen

Quoted: Ladies answer me this why is it nearly impossible to find a woman who will put on more or less clothing rather than mess with the thermostat and run the bill up?

My wife will be sitting on the couch in a tank top and underwear and complain about it being freezing, while I am sitting right next to her in my skivvies and sweating. I tell her to go put some clothes on if she's cold.

Usually earns me a dirty look and a bruised arm...

Quoted: Roomate was not the issue seldom saw him, his girlfriend was.  As soon as she would come over she would go right to ther thermostat.  Everytime moving it about ten degrees at a time, do you know how much peak and valley usage of your A/C can run up your bill, around double.  It got to the point I told him she stops fucking with the thermostat or I would pay alot less of the elctric bill.  Their was a point she was not around for about 3 weeks one time in March we turned the A/C off, our bill was about 50+ as opposed to $200+. Ladies answer me this why is it nearly impossible to find a woman who will put on more or less clothing rather than mess with the thermostat and run the bill up?

You are not lookin' in the right places...Shoot...winters here require me to also build a fire occasionally...and I manage to do it without so much as breaking a nail!
<girlie giggle>

Quoted: I will hopefully never, ever have another room mate... The only possible way would be if the person was my tenant, and on a monthly basis, with a contact/written agreement. Just the word 'roommate" makes me queasy :) Gwen

Amen. I may resolve to eating mac and cheese and Beenie Weenies (do they still make that?) for a few months, but I will be free of roommate drama. I don't want to live with anyone until I am married. I've considered living with some friends, but you know how that usually turns out...