Whether if you’re an European Erasmus student looking for a shared flat in Madrid, as if you are a Spanish college student and you come to study in the capital, there are certain rules you should always follow to have a good life with your roommates. Find them out!
Communal living is complex. You know from your own experience because you live with your family. There are some rules over there that you must follow … Well, in a shared student flat, there’s also rules!
When you set out on an adventure and you leave home with a scholarship Erasmus to live in a shared student flat in Madrid or elsewhere, you are about to live an unique experience.
For the first time you leave your home and you will experience freedom like you had never felt before! But make no mistake. Freedom implies responsibilities …
Soon you will find out that your freedom is not unlimited, and end up where the freedom of your roommates start … Because the coexistence imposes limits for everyone, otherwise it wouldn´t be possible to keep friendliness and good «vibes» among roommates.
Some of the rules of coexistence are not negotiable. We are talking about those made by the neighborhood association, or by the dorm that belongs the apartment in which you stay.
Other rules are implied. Everyone is going to respect and obey even if they are not in writing or established by mutual agreement.
For example, everyone knows that it is not allowed to sell the assets and property of a roommate, and that it is not even necessary to mention it. It is something that is implicit, and that anyone civilized would do to a colleague.
Finally, there are the rules you can agree, talk about and negotiate. And in those it is important to try to be as fair as possible, because you are all going to live in the same shared flat for several months, you will be away from your families and friends and it is important that you feel supported one by another
As a matter of fact, any issue affecting somehow the roommates can become a rule to be agreed. But there are some that are always repeated in all student flats. Let’s check them!
1. Set up a cleaning schedule, and fulfill it !: hygiene and cleanliness are the biggest problems among roommates. Anticipate to the problems; Determine a cleaning schedule that you can respect and that involves a fair division of labor. Always stick to it!
2. Respect the property of others !: the belongings of your colleagues, they’re not yours! If cleanliness is the main reason for arguments and problems between roommates in shared apartments, the respect to the others belongings ranks second.
If you feel tempted to take a razor, a bag of chips or a box of cookies, Resist! Ask for it politely. But do not take it without permission, because they will understand it as a robbery.
3. Do not disturb the bedtime of your roommates: there will be a day when you will also need to sleep in order to fell fresh for the next day for a test and you will want that your colleagues respect your bedtime
4. Leave the bathroom as you would like to find it: no further details … isn´t it?
5. Establish a bond with your roommates: you are away from home, your family and your lifetime friends. Do not be the unsocial, the one who spends the entire day locked in his room and does not connect to the others. Be kind, cooperate.
with your colleagues, make activities together and count on them. They will probably become your second family for a few months and maybe you can make friendships that last a lifetime.
Another important aspect for living together is to live in a shared flat well set up. Because the problems, shortage, old furniture, facilities in poor condition, etc., increase the level of stress, the discomfort that make accumulate tensions and may adversely affect the coexistence in an student flat .
In Vitium we have luxury student flats to share a flat in Madrid. Get to know our four student flats in Madrid, with a desirable equipment, the best furniture, concierge service 24 hours and carefully decorated. Our dorms are located in central areas of the capital.
And just worry about getting good grades and take care of the relationship with your roommates!
Contact us to answer any questions. We will be happy to help you.