Yes, this is New York and we all have to make peace with the fact that we’ll be stuck with roommate(s) until we’re about 40. But having a roommate doesn’t always have to be a pain; you can actually live with someone who broadens your horizons and enrich your life in ways you didn’t imagine. (For example I collaborated with my ballerina roomie Amanda on a short film, in addition to becoming good friends, that is…)
We’re approaching the end of June, which is when people tend to move a lot. Some folks will be moving in and some out for the summer. In any case, rooms and roommates will be needed. For all of you looking for new roommates, we put together a little guide on how to find the perfect roommate in Bushwick.
#1 Imagine the kind of roommate you want
Before you sit down to write an ad for a roommate, spent ten minutes imagining your future roommate. Making your own expectations clear for yourself is probably the most important part in finding the perfect Bushwick roommate. Pose yourself a couple of questions, and don’t hesitate to write down your answers.
Are you looking for someone who will party with you? Are you looking for someone who will be your new BFF and spend hours discussing that cute guy/gal? Or are you looking for someone to respectfully exist with, but not hear much from? Should they be older or younger than you? Should they work from home or never be around? Understanding what you want will make it much easier to recognize the perfect person when they come.
#2 Use your social media and the social media of your friends
Yes, social media can be outright useful at times. Use your own network! It doesn’t mean that a friend of a friend has to necessarily be a good roommate fit for you but the chances may be better. Post your ad on your Facebook, and ask a couple of your friends who live in Bushwick to post it on your behalf on their feeds as well. You may end up with a bunch of great replies to choose from!
#3 Post on Bushwick Daily Classifieds
More intimate than Craigslist, our readers are welcome to use the Classifieds section to find their roommates. Using Bushwick Daily Classifieds has a number of advantages – your potential roommate probably likes art, music, culture, is Bushwick savvy, and likely busy with all the good events we write about.
#4 Join Bushwick Boarding Bazaar Facebook Group
Sam Severance who runs the Bunna Ethiopian Pop Up restaurant created a Facebook group to post vacancies or roommate requests. The group has been running for a couple of months now, and is very lively with roommate and room requests.
#5 Check out Bushwick Roommate Exchange
Bushwick Roommate Exchange is a Facebook page and a project of Matt Winkel, a real estate broker from Nooklyn. Matt organizes regular drinks at The Bodega followed by apartment viewings and, you know, general ice breaking between potential roommates. Matt told us that Nooklyn is a very different real estate agency – they specialize in the Bushwick/Williamsburg area,and understand this very unique market. He said that they recognize that most of the people came to New York to build a business or make it in some way, and that housing doesn’t mean the same thing to them as it might mean to a family. Matt gets that people need roommates, and he’ll help to find an apartment to lease and roommates or rooms. Sounds pretty good to us.
If none of the above works, use the gigantic pool of people hooked to Craigslist. The huge number of people using Craigslist is an advantage as well as a disadvantage. If you’re lucky you will find the roommate you imagined. Otherwise, you can be the next contributor to one of the many Craigslist horror story forums.