If you’ve made the move to a new city – whether it be a few kilometres away or halfway across the world – you’ll likely have to find somewhere to stay while you spend your time studying and, in most cases, you’ll need to share the space with other students. Although these situations mostly work out well, there are certainly some times where not everyone gets along. Oftentimes, its due to things spiralling out of control due to people not being conscientious from the outset – to remedy this, in this article we take a look at a few very simple and effective ways you can uphold harmony in your student accommodation.
Look after your space
Whether your university accommodation is in Melbourne, Sydney or Darwin, people are the same anywhere you go. This is good in the sense that the same ways of approaching the situations can be brought with you wherever you go, so having a bit of knowledge can prevent things from getting nasty when they don’t have to. One of the first things you can work on is always making sure your space is as clean as possible. It is of course normal to have certain areas be messy for small periods of time if you absolutely can’t get around to cleaning, but if this becomes the norm, then there will obviously be issues. To make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to cleanliness, it’s a good idea to have a discussion about guidelines, as you’ll have a much better understanding of when you’re stepping on someone else’s toes when it comes to keeping a tidy space. Generally, though, it’s best to make sure that you don’t leave dirty dishes or clothes just lying around.
Develop good lines of communication
There may inevitably be a time where an issue is brought to light that everyone disagrees on, and in these circumstances its important to remember that proper discussion will always be better than simply blowing up or stewing about issues. This might be due to something that hasn’t yet been discussed (such as housemates having a friend over or when they are too loud at night), but rather than be passive-aggressive, gently confront them about it so you can work through the issue together and establish more awareness related to the specific problem. A lot of this can be made much easier if you are able to develop a friendship with your housemates – just because you live together, doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time together! Plus, when everyone enjoys each other’s company, the minor stuff is usually a lot more forgivable. Consider going out to do something with them potentially, such as going to the pub or playing a sports game on the weekend.
Remember your housemates are just people
One of the biggest reasons for people having a tough time in housing situations is due to people not putting themselves in the shoes of others. Rather than just considering the world as you already see it, consider the situation of your housemate to better see if the reason they’re behaving differently to you is a personality or cultural thing. You never know – they may very well have the issues with you that you never would have considered!