The last time I lived with roommates, I wasn’t simply moving out of our apartment; I was moving to a different country. So there were plenty of items I couldn’t take with me: my fancy blender (I still miss it to this day), my Google Nest Wifi router, my Christmas decorations, my mattress and more. But I liked my roommates, so I didn’t mind leaving behind items that I knew they would actually use.
However, if you’re not a fan of the people you live with, there’s absolutely no need to be generous upon moving out. One woman recently posted on the Malicious Compliance subreddit detailing why she decided to take all of her things with her after moving out of her apartment. Below, you’ll find the full story, as well as some of the replies amused readers shared.
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When moving out, this woman planned to let her roommates keep some of the communal items she bought
Image credits: cottonbro studio/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
But she changed her mind at the last minute after receiving an aggressive text
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About a third of adults in the United States live with at least one roommate
From the time that I turned 18 and moved away for college until I was 23, I lived with a variety of roommates. And for the most part, they were all great. Nobody is perfect, including myself, but almost everyone I shared a home with was respectful, kind, considerate, fun and not too messy. But I still had my pet peeves. Dirty dishes in the sink, crumbs on the kitchen floor, loud noise late at night and a roommate’s cat pooping on my bathmat repeatedly drove me up the wall.
I’ll admit that, in hindsight, I definitely could have been a more relaxed roommate. But I like things tidy, and I probably should have been more up front about that before deciding to live with a couple of people who weren’t as bothered by messes as I was.
Having roommates is something that almost all of us will experience at some point. According to the Pew Research Center, about one third of Americans currently live with at least one roommate. And despite the fact that we often hear about roommate horror stories, the National Apartment Association reports that nearly half of renters with only one roommate say they’re “extremely satisfied” with their arrangement.
Image credits: Gary Barnes / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The most common conflicts between roommates revolve around cleanliness
But we all know that sharing a living space can lead to conflicts. When it comes to what causes the most tension between housemates, cleaning habits is the number one pet peeve that roommates tend to have. Other common issues stem from poor communication, violating personal space, being late with rent or bills, not paying for groceries or stealing food, having too many guests, being too loud, having opposing political views and having disagreements about pets.
It’s also challenging to know who would be the best fit as a roommate. Should you risk living with a stranger who might turn out to be a horrible housemate or risk ruining a close friendship by signing a lease with your bestie? According to Apartment Guide, it might be better to venture into the unknown. A quarter of people who have lived with friends admitted that becoming roommates negatively impacted their relationship, and over a third said that they would never live with a friend again.
As we’ve seen from this story, though, strangers don’t always make perfect roommates either. And there’s still time for drama until you’ve taken all of your things and dropped off your key. But when deciding what to take, you have to consider what you paid for in the first place and how important those items are to you. If you never really liked the plates you bought, you might not mind leaving them behind. But if they cost you $50 and you’d like to keep the same ones at your next place, you better pack them up and take them with you.
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Sometimes the best way to resolve issues is to simply move out
You also might want to discuss with your roommates what you plan on taking and see if they want to buy any of the items off of you. If someone needs a new mirror for their bedroom and you were planning on selling yours on Facebook Marketplace, they might be willing to buy it and save you the hassle of selling online. The same can be said for kitchen essentials, things like shelving racks, furniture in the living room and more.
To avoid conflicts with roommates when moving out, it’s also wise to thoroughly clean the space you lived in and take your time to ensure that they won’t have any complaints for you after you’ve moved out. If you’re on good terms with them, make sure that they’re on the contract for internet service and that you won’t be getting any more mail to that address. If anyone doesn’t know how to pay their bills or communicate with the landlord, be sure to help them before you leave them on their own.
But if your roommates decide to burn the bridges between you all right before you move out, well, they can figure out how to set up the Wi-Fi on their own. We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Have you ever had conflicts with roommates like this? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out another We piece discussing roommate drama, look no further than right here!
Readers applauded the woman for her malicious compliance and shared their thoughts on the story
Some even shared stories of their own frustrating experiences with roommates
