Living with a roommate has developed a stigma as a potentially stressful situation. But this doesn’t have to be the case. When it comes to living with a roommate and the potential problems that can arise, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best prevention of roommate issues is, of course, choosing the right roommate. As is true with many things, the more you know about a potential roommate the greater the likelihood of making an informed and successful decision. But what should someone look for in a roommate? With more information than ever before available on the topic, it can be easy to develop information overload. Here is a basic overview of some factors to consider that will help as you find a roommate.

Schedule Considerations

Although most people focus first on things related to personal compatibility, this can lead to more practical factors getting overlooked and leading to disaster. One of these practical factors, crucial to consider when picking a roommate, is each roommate’s schedule. No matter how well roommates get along personally, conflict is inevitably going to ensue if one is cooking, showering, watching television and generally living their life while the other one is trying to sleep. This can be a factor if one or both roommates are in college and keep a certain schedule related to classes and schoolwork, or if one or both roommates work a job with odd hours.

Choosing a Roommate with Similar Interests

While it may not be the first thing to consider, sharing common interests is definitely a factor that can be conducive to roommate success. A common interest—a sport the roommates can play together or a television show they can watch together—not only provides a common activity, but also provides something to talk about in your downtime and can help defuse conflicts when they do arise.