One in every three adults in the US lives with either a roommate or a parent, and well, that’s quite a lot! It’s challenging to find the perfect roommate for you when so many of them are looking for one.
There have been traditional ways of finding the one, and then there have been roommate finders. The former is based mostly on luck, while the latter is a magic wand that could save you a lot of time and money while getting you the roommate of your dreams.
The one who helps you with the dishes is an advocate of cleanliness, and also lets you live in peace, the one who is a Monica to your Rachel. Someone who is always there for you. Gosh! Wouldn’t that be a perfect dream come true?
Well, it becomes relatively easier, safer, and quicker to find a roommate like this if you start using various roommate finder platforms available online.
Here are a few tips to boost your ninja techniques on these platforms and getting the best out of it.
- Finding the right platform:
The first and the most important tip of all would be to find the right roommate finder platform. There are hundreds of them, and it is quite natural to get overwhelmed by all of these. Most roommate finder platforms are relatively new, with quite a lot of exciting and different features. Meanwhile, others are in the game for a long time and are referred to frequently as Reddit and Craigslist. The newer ones are as simple as using a dating app as they have a lot of options and filters that would just shrink their extensive database into a concise list of people that might be relevant to you.
In the end, the choice is yours, but ensure that you decide in a manner that you don’t regret later.
- The more, the better:
Like many people, you may prefer to register only on one roommate finder platform. However, you may miss out on your ideal roommate if you are confined to only one of these platforms. It’s a good practice to choose more than one roommate finder platform because the chances of finding your numero uno preference get higher when you are looking in more than one place. You would be exposed to more relevant matches this way and see a lot of diversity. This might also help you to understand what you truly want.
- Get your priorities straight:
Before using any of these roommate finder platforms, get your priorities straight. Try to list down all the things that you wish to have in your roommate. Criteria might include whether he/she should be a bachelor, pet-friendly, or fitness enthusiast, among others. You would undoubtedly be presented with several choices while finding roommates on these platforms, but it would be easier to clarify your basic requirements.
Ensure to set your preferences adequately, and you would be ready to go on the quest for finding the roommate of your dreams.
- Make an attractive profile:
Roommate Finders generally ask you to create your profile with necessary information about yourself. You could include your picture and a bio about yourself. Add a high-resolution photo of yourself and try to be as honest as possible in the bio description. Most of these roommate finders do internal matching based on personality tags to help find matching users. Get your tags right and try to put as many relevant ones as possible because you do not want to end up attracting the wrong crowd to your profile by lying about your personality. The internal matching system would get you a match only based on these tags.
- Ask the right questions:
Now that you are done with registering, you would start getting matches based on your preferences, and most of these would be great. You would be more than willing to have any of these people as your future roommates. However, should you make the decision so quickly? No. The actual process begins now because this is the time you get to know each of these matches. You need to ask them relevant questions, the questions whose answers would assure you to move forward with them to the next step, i.e., meeting them in person.
- Be Cautious:
Any roommate finder platform is prone to scammers. The best ones practice various multi-level verification techniques like ID verification, social media checks, and full-blown background verification to flush out scammers. You should be looking out for platforms that provide these features because you do not want to end up becoming a goodie to these phishers. Almost all the roommate finders offer a secure internal messaging system so that the matches could communicate easily without sharing any personal identification. You always have the choice of when or whether to share your details with your potential matches. However, it’s advisable to do it only after you have established a complete trust.
If you choose the right ones, roommate finders could be the most reliable, most comfortable, and most convenient way of finding a roommate. The reason being these platforms help you know your roommate better even before he/she moves in. Consequently, this saves you a lot of time that you would otherwise waste on living with the wrong person.
Once you have found your perfect match of a roommate, dive into your bed, and let peace take over everything.
