By Isabel Bradshaw
The kitchen is packed, all six of us trying to cook at once. Steam rising, plates crashing, the TV blaring from the front room, trying to find a slither of space on the counter and I’ve just spilt water everywhere. But instead of yelling, arguing or pushing, there is laughter and playfulness. Living with other people, especially for the first time, can be hard but when the people you live with are your friends, not just housemates, every time you enter the house it feels like home.
More than just housemates – living with my friends
I understand that I am incredibly lucky, that my situation is incredibly rare and that a lot of people unfortunately have ended up living with people whom they dislike or are difficult to see eye to eye with. And everyone butts heads, especially if you are together every day but that being said, I have truly loved living with my friends.
A study, the ‘Social relationships within university undergraduate accommodation: a qualitative study’, conducted by the Journal of Further and Higher Education and written by Lucy Foulkes, Ariyana Reddy, Juliette Westbrook, Elizabeth Newbronner and Dean McMillan, discusses how “conflict amongst housemates is common” and that it can often “impact student wellbeing”. Students having to learn to cohabit with those who are not members of their family for the first time can be hard, not wanting to upset or annoy but also needing to enforce personal boundaries.
I had a conversation with my housemate Emma Cox, a second year Psychology student at the University of Chester and one of the first people I ever met here. Emma told me that she has “enjoyed sharing a house during university” and that she “thinks it makes everything feel more homely and comfortable, especially when you’re so far from home.”. Emma did touch on some negatives however, such as how “sharing social spaces and bathrooms can be difficult at times, especially when you need to use the toilet!”.
Isabel Bradshaw interviews housemate Emma Cox
However, as mentioned earlier, some people are unlucky when it comes to housemates. Perhaps the decision to move in together was too hastily made, or their living styles are vastly different. I spoke to another student, who does not wish to be named. She stated that “even though I like my housemates, they are my housemates not my friends.” I pushed further and she said that “we were really close first year, we hung out all the time, but our living habits are so different and the times that we do things, like eat or shower or go to bed, are also completely opposite so I hardly see them and when I do, we often have something to complain about to each other.”.
As a house we hangout pretty much every single day, from trips to the pub, movie nights and cooking big dinners together, it really feels like a family. I never had any worries about living with others, but I never knew just how fun it could be and so thus if you are presented with the opportunity to house share with friends – do it. It will be hard at times, and you will have to respect peoples wants and wished but it has taught me so much and has been one of the best experiences of my university life so far.
