Ugh. Roommates. It's a give-and-take, dog-eat-dog, don't-you-dare-touch-my-leftovers world.
One minute you're having a casual conversation about The Bachelorette—not even anything that contentious when you think about it—and next thing you know, you're waking up at 3 a.m. to the sounds of a ritual cockroach sacrifice being performed on the fire escape because, you know, that's why there haven't been that many roaches around the apartment.
Say hello to SpareRoom, the room and roommate finding site that helps you sift through the crapshoots of sketchy people and connect with good people looking to share an apartment.
Sure, that could have just been a bad dream. But this isn't the first bad roommate you've had.
You've got a stout rolodex of people dating back from when you had to share your room with your little brother when you were 9; people who took your stuff, ate your food, stole your clothes—and it's only gotten worse since.
Save for that little brother you were contractually obligated to acknowledge by birth alone, where the hell did you find these people? Friends of friends. Random want ads on college boards. Craigslist. It's all complete crap.
Shouldn't we have an easier way to find real, decent, actually human people, in more than habitable apartments without playing Russian Roulette in a city of 8.5 million strangers who may or may not be just godawful?!
Say hello to SpareRoom, the room and roommate finding site that helps you sift through the crapshoots of sketchy people and connect with good people looking to share an apartment.
With SpareRoom you can find the perfect roommates—real people looking for real roommates rather than weird sex-for-rent ads—and rooms in neighborhoods you want to live.
Unlike Craigslist and your friends' misguided attempts at hooking you up with a roommate, there’s nothing sketchy about SpareRoom as they have actual humans policing the ads.
Oh, and it's completely free. You can post an ad for a room or roommate search, or respond to those ads for free. Of course, if you find yourself in a bind and you're suddenly in a mad frantic rush, you can upgrade your advertisement for a small price where you'll get responses faster.
But if you're all about getting as much information as you can when it comes to securing the absolute right roommate, SpareRoom lets you post and search video ads which, unless somebody's only using puppets, is a good indicator that they're at least human.
Finding roommates on your own; finding someone who fits perfectly in the middle of the Venn diagram of “looking for housing” and “doesn’t suck” is almost impossible. Maybe the ideal roommate is just somebody who won't stab you and will split the cable bill.
Cool. Good. You're likely to find that on SpareRoom. But many New Yorkers hope for more than that. SpareRoom's also for people looking to live in New York City the best possible way: affordably, and not utterly alone.
For every awful roommate you've ever had, you've probably come away with a wishlist of ideal qualities your next roommate would possess. Like, yeah, someone who's actually okay with you singing in the shower at 2 a.m. or at least understands that the critical difference between spontaneity and insanity is the context.
SpareRoom is not only the perfect way to cross off that list (not in its entirety though because, let's face it, you've probably got a lot of unreasonable expectations), but the best way to know what you're getting into.
Godawful roommates make for good stories and little else. Great roommates can change your life. Know what you’re getting into without having to sift through the slush pile of sh*tty people. Check out SpareRoom.
Find a Roommate Worth a Damn & Check Out SpareRoom Right Here.
[Feature Image Courtesy Vice]