Second year at Edinburgh has arrived and you have officially survived your first-year accommodation. No more cleaning up after your flatmates or waking up to the fire alarm at 3am on a Wednesday— right? The second year flat holds so much hope, there’s only one thing to consider: the flatmates. This article will provide the best tips and tricks to avoiding the ‘second year flatmate curse’ and how to keep the peace in your new home.
The beginning of first year feels like a high-stakes competition to not only establish a friend group, but to secure next year’s flatmates. This often leads to friendships with people who really just aren’t for you. Pretending they’re the right flatmates just to avoid the anxiety of being alone next year means you’ve already lost. Take it from me: be picky. Don’t take the security of the first option you receive, take the risk with the friend that brings you the most joy.
Also, do not worry if things don’t always go to plan. When a potential flatmate left university last minute, it felt as though the year was set up for disaster. Instead, this space was filled with a flatmate and friend I would have not met otherwise.
The excitement of your new home may get in the way of the technicalities. In an idealistic life each of you will contribute fairly to the weekly chores. Unfortunately, this is reality. Rotas are your best friend to make sure that everyone is pulling their weight equally.
As cliché as it might seem, it really is the little things. It is hard to not complain over little things, especially when university life gets stressful, but take the initiative to do the little things for each other. Replace the empty milk carton, top up the toilet roll, make everyone a cup of tea. If you want a village—or rather a nice home—you must be a villager.
Lastly, spend time together. Even if it is a walk to the coffee shop or a weekly screening of Traitors in the living room. Make the people you call your flatmates your family away from home.
Image by Anita Monteiro on Unsplash
