Sydney Life

Making the move from school to uni is already a big step and moving house is supposed to be the most stressful thing you'll do in life, after losing a loved one and getting a divorce. So when you have to do both of these things in the space of a few weeks, it's hectic. Here's a few tips regarding the ins and outs of sharehousing.

1. The flatmate situation. Unless you’re blessed with the love and funds of a wealthy benefactor, the share house is probably your most cost-effective option. This means you’ll have to find people to share with. Your first stop should ideally be people you know – friends, associates, friends of friends. Especially when you're first living out of home, it can be very confronting living in such close quarters with people who aren't family. So it's probably a case of "better the devil you know." If you come from outside of the city or overseas, chances are you won't know anyone. In this case, I'd recommend checking out Sydney Uni's Student Accommodation database. Only enrolled students can access this database, so check it out after the enrolment period in January. The database lets you search for rooms by suburb and price, and lets you specify whether it's furnished / unfurnished and smoking / non-smoking.

Around the university suburbs (especially Glebe and Newtown) people often put up signs when they need housemates. This can also be worth a look. As well, there's the old newspaper classifieds options (check out the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturdays for both share and rental accommodation).

My key piece of advice when finding flatmates is to approach with caution. When you're in an "interview" type situation (say, you've gone to a house to check out a room which is available), remember that everyone is probably being on their best behaviour. So when your potential housemates say "oh, we're pretty easygoing about housework" – they might be clean freaks who go pale at the thought of crumbs left on the kitchen bench, or they may just not care at all and believe that cleaning is a culturally imposed stricture to be railed against at all costs. So ask them specific questions. Do they have a cleaning roster? Do they stay up late, or go to bed early? Is it ok to play music in your room and have guests around? (Yes, it should be ok, but you’re better off checking these things before you commit yourself to a place.)

2. House hunting. If you are looking for a flat or house, by yourself or with friends, remember to start looking early. The suburbs around the university obviously have higher rents than those further away, as they are in such high demand by university students. So if you are trying to find a place, don't leave it until a week before uni starts. First you have to make an appointment to inspect the property, then put in an application (which can be time consuming and require more points of ID than you need to work for ASIO). If you are successful you may need to wait until the current tenants have moved out. The whole process is a waiting game, so factor this in.

Luckily the internet has made house hunting easier. Try www.domain.com.au or www.justlisted.com.au, which will have most of the available properties in Sydney. Try not to be disappointed when you realise that your money might only score you a dark, damp "renovator's delight" and think of it instead as a rite of passage.

3. If things go downhill, know where to get help. Tenants NSW and The Share Housing Survival Guide are websites which provide excellent advice on dealing with most of the common problems which can arise in sharehouse situations. It’s a good idea to have a look at these, because you don’t want to be entering into all-out turf wars with your housemates while you’re trying to study for end of semester exams.

Sharehouse living can be amongst the best and worst things about being a student. But it’s an experience I’d recommend to anyone. And if sometimes your housemates make you feel like throwing yourself off a bridge in frustration, read He Died with a Felafel in His Hand by John Birmingham and remind yourself it could always be worse!