A month or so into university life and students at the UA are settling into their living situations. It’s always exciting to move into a new place, especially if you move in with new people, but by now the honeymoon period is surely over. Now that reality has set in, what’s the best roommate situation to find yourself in? Saving the discussion of moving in with your significant other for another time, here are some pros and cons of the various roommate situations you might find yourself in:

Multiple Roommates of the Opposite Sex

Old fashioned Puritanism is good and dead for males who move in with females and vice versa. It’s a helpful situation for men who are more in touch with their feminine side and women who aren’t exactly girly girls, allowing for a little reprieve from strict gender roles. Gerald Mitchum, a junior who used to live with female friends, said he felt better living in a more nurturing environment than he might have experienced with other men.

However, especially for a man living with women, there are stereotypical carnal desires to consider. Whether you’re bringing another female home or going solo, there’s an existential issue knowing that other women (or men) are under the same roof. Mitchum may have liked the nurturing environment, but he says that there was a certain type of nurturing that he had to keep well hidden in order to keep the peace between the sexes.

Multiple Roommates of the Same Sex

A big gang of potential best friends sounds like a lot of fun. Priscilla Evans, a senior who lives with a couple of girlfriends, says living with other girls is helpful when it comes to setting up the household. An argument over how to direct the place seems more likely in a mixed sex household, but living with the same gender helps in creating a harmonious aesthetic.

The harmony may stop there, The more people you live with, says Evans, the more difficult it is to get chores done.

One Roommate

Things get a little better when you only have one personality to deal with. Sophomore Sam Harvey lives with one male roommate, and says he likes the situation. One of the best things about it, he says, is that he always has a wingman on hand when he goes out. It’s nice to have a roommate that not only doesn’t frustrate your search for carnal needs, but actually encourages their fruition.

There’s friction every now and again, however. Facial hair ends up in the sink, and of course even the best of friends can get annoying in such close quarters.

A Cat

By far and away the best roommate situation there is: living alone with a cat. A dog might be a little bit more fun, but since most living spaces for students don’t allow dogs, a cat makes an excellent substitute, especially when you’re lucky enough to find a really good one. Cats occasionally destroy your property and wake you up at night, but then again, so do roommates.

At least cats don’t steal the television, and if you have a lady or a man or over they’ll never tell. Best of all, unlike almost any other creature, human or animal, a cat knows when to leave you alone. Few human beings have as wonderful a sense of space as a cat does.

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