#StayCasting – Flatmate casting or how to find the perfect match?
Soon the new semester is going to start again, which means that new people are coming, but sadly also that people are leaving as they`ve finished their degree or are planning to pursue their education elsewhere. Everyone has to ask themselves the same question: Where am I going to live? Do I want to live on my own or would I rather be part of a shared apartment?
For many people that live in shared apartments, this is also a time of change since rooms are emptied out and need to find a new owner, so the rent doesn’t skyrocket.
However, the process of finding a new flatmate is always a bit of a poker game, because how well can you really get to know someone within 30-45 minutes and be sure about the fact that you guys are going to be able to cohabitate within tight quarters.
To make this decision process easier for you we have collected a few tips and tricks and summarized what you absolutely need to know.
1.) What do we expect from our new flatmate?
A very important question that needs to be discussed beforehand is what kind of flatmate you are looking for. Meaning, are you at home a lot and are looking for someone that shares your interests and you can spend a lot of time or would you rather live with someone who you only share a space with. If you are looking to become great friends with the people you live with you will probably have higher expectations.
2.) Where do we upload our vacancy?
As you have probably experienced while searching for a room yourself, there are millions of websites, which you can look through while searching for a room. One that is used most often is: www.wg-gesucht.de/ . If you make the decision to upload the empty room on wg-gesucht, you need to be aware of the fact that you are inviting any kinds of people into your home. Which can entail many benefits as well as deficits. Either you are lucky and meet some random stranger that you get along with amazingly and is a perfect fit or you notice in the end that it was the wrong decision.
Another option that a lot of people use, is just posting on your social media channels like Facebook or Instagram and so on that you are looking for a flatmate. This makes it easier to get a feel of where that person comes from, what kind of people they associate with and you can maybe even ask a friend that knows them for advice.
3.) How do we set up the Casting?
Depending on what you’ve decided for the previous points, you should structure your casting accordingly. If you are indeed only looking for someone to sleep and live in the same apartment with, you should make a list of things that are important to you and figure out what could be topics of conflict. By figuring this out beforehand, you have the opportunity to see whether you share the same values. This can be the importance of a consistent cleaning plan or that the other person doesn’t smoke, etc. .
However, if you are looking for someone to cook with every now and then and that you can build a proper friendship with, you should structure the casting differently. Whether the chemistry is right between two people, is something you can often already detect during the first handshake, which is why you should definitely meet face to face. After you are done with the usual formalities such as “What do you do?”, “Where are you from?” and so on, you need to figure out how to get to know the person sitting across from you in a very small amount of time.
A very interactive option is to create a form of Speed Dating. For example, you could choose two different word pairs, like “pink or black”, and have the person choose which one applies or speaks more to them within a few seconds. Of course a game like that is no guarantee that you are going to get along with that person, but it is a start and a fun way to get to know the person sitting across from you. Plus, it calms down the atmosphere a bit and makes it less awkward and interview like.
4.) Contact all applicants afterwards
At the end of the day you have to choose one person and however difficult this might be, you owe it to all the other people to let them know whether they got the room or not.
Sadly, there is no magic formula for the perfect flatmate , but if you focus your search a bit and take the above mentioned points as a rough guideline, you should be fine. The search is always a hassle though, which is why student housing apartments offer the perfect symbiosis of living on your own while sharing your life. You are surrounded by a community and at the same time have the chance to have some time to yourself in your own apartment. So, who would like to stay away from those kinds of stress, is able to find the perfect balance at Staytoo.
