True story, I kid you not. My final roommate (and the following will give you an indication of why I’ve been living alone ever since) used to bring guys home from bars. We had two bedrooms and we shared a bathroom and a shower. Good times. Especially when strange dudes would sleep over. Like Butch, the felon (and yes, that was his real name). I was told that he served time, but my roommate didn’t know what for. Butch was quite a character. I remember how it creeped me out the way he would look at me before I would go for a jog. Yes, I was wearing shorts and a sports bra, but that wasn’t atypical jogging attire, unless you just got out of the slammer and haven’t seen a woman in five years (just speculation). And get this, according to my roommate Brittany, whose name I’ve changed to protect the stupid, when they went out to dinner and it was time to pay, he would have her go out to the car and start the engine. When he would get in the car, he’d tell her to step on the gas because he had just skipped out on the bill. I believe that’s what they call a “dine and dash.” After hearing about this incident, I moved out pronto.
Word to the wise: When it comes to roommates, know when it’s time to hold ’em and when it’s time to fold ’em. Because your safety and well being come first. You shouldn’t allow any roommate to put either of those things at risk. And if you can afford to live alone, that’s the wisest thing you can do by far.
What do you think? Note: Your comments may be published anonymously in the upcoming book, “Wise Before 25, 50 Things Young Women Need to Know.”
Wise Before 25 
Having a roommate can be a scary thing!
I nominated you for a Liebster Award.
Don’t I know it! And thanks for the nomination 🙂
Good one! The only roommate I’ve ever had is still my roommate. So far so good. But crossing my fingers anyway. : )
You are definitely one of the lucky ones 🙂 I had one roommate who was my favorite – we lived together for three years. Bad roommate with felon moved in after her. And after that, it was just me. Now, it’s me and Mr. Chew-Cha. But fortunately, he can’t steal my credit cards, eat all my food or bring strange men home. He does however, shed quite a bit.
I once rented a house with two roommates I knew from school. Shortly after moving in, Mr. New Guy went on a major drinking binge and ended up depositing one of his half-finished beer bottles in the aquarium, killing most of the fish. That was all it took for the other two of us to evict him.
Mitch, that is a bummer of a story! Those poor fish 😦 But glad you guys got rid of him. I always thought it was only girls who caused all the trouble – all we ever heard is bad stuff never happens with guys – they’re so laid back 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Have had a roommate from hell only once, and she turned out to be a raving lunatic. I gave her back all her rent money for that month just to get her to leave. And she did, thank goodness.
Great blog, Eva.
Thanks Marcia! I know what you mean, I’ve to many of those to count! I lived with roommates for about 10 years – and that was more than enough. And yes, thank goodness she did leave – to Debbie’s comment earlier, it can be difficult to get someone out.
Be wise to the word: if you’re the LEASEHOLDER ask your roommate not to forward mail, instead ask prospective roomie to get a P.O. box until the “trial period” is over. In case you need to get rid of a Brittany or Butch it’s much easier, according to police, if the felons aren’t receiving mail where you live. You might consider a month-to-month lease and then extend it if Tiffanie makes a really good macadamia nut pesto.
Ha ha! Absolutely – I didn’t mention this in the post, but I had a roommate who stole my credit card once. I find out when the police contacted me and apparently, she was also wanted for check fraud. But then again, she did make a really good macadamia nut pesto 🙂 JK