Then there are those room mates that bail when the rent is due. They are the ones who keep promising you any day now that they are going to get a job but come the third month you suddenly realize that they are never going to leave their bedroom and that sadly you have been had. I like to call these type of roommates ‘passive aggressive’ degenerates. They don’t actually go out of their way to behave like a nuisance but by their inaction and their own inertia end up becoming a prolonged horror show nevertheless. If you must know they count as the worst room mates because their mental breakdown is the one you end up inheriting not just for one scary night but for 3 terrible nerve wrecking months.
Then there was Jenny who was secretly in love with her room mate Brad. After a while I didn’t have the heart to answer Jenny’s phone calls. If she didn’t have the heart to tell Brad that she was in love with him (while he was lusting with a different woman of the week) how could I have the heart to answer her phone calls. In those instances I call that the ‘self inflicted room mate syndrome’ and no amount of counselling and discussions at 5 am in the morning can resolve their existential dilemma.
As you may or may not know roommates come in all shapes and sizes, and as easy as it is to assume that the most weird looking roommate will end up becoming the worst roommate in your life it sometimes results that the most clean cut looking gal or guy can end up becoming a Patrick Bateman ala ‘America’s Psycho nightmare in your living room mate. Take Mike a semi functional attorney who was prone to the occasional prolonged cocaine binge. At first he’d be the guy you couldn’t help but adore, but by 3 am in the morning you just wanted to shoot him if he one more time brought up his ex girlfriend, wife or what ever. This type of roommate I like to call the ‘over stepping ‘ the boundary room mate that exist in bountiful supply in the city and do an exceptional job of disguising their wicked sensibilities.
This in short is my personal account of the world’s most horrid roommates, and if one leaves you to your memory I am sure you too can drag up some figures that you long ago buried in the back of your head, assuming that they are of course not your current night mare…
Hey Kimberley, there are places you can go to rent-free, support places. Considering how screwed up your situation sounds, you could class it as abuse. It may take a while to get back on your feet, but it’ll be worth it for your sanity. I did something similar last year when my mentally ill housemate decided to go off his meds all of a sudden. I haven’t looked back.
Hi, I just read your article. I am in a hellish room mate situation right now and I have been for over 2 years. I can’t afford to move, but I am so unhappy with my situation, I am considering moving anyway, even though it would mean my becoming homeless! This is my situation…For the first year I lived in this apartment, I had to go to bed at 7pm every night, so that when my roommate awoke me up at 3 or 4 in the morning, I got enough sleep, because she would keep me awake all night long making unnecessary noise and I know it was on purpose. Also, I had to stop using the refrigerator and get my own fridge and put it in my room, because she was eating my food. Most recently I had to fork out money for a P.O.Box because I can no longer use our mail box, cause she was screwing with my mail. The postal inspector said there was nothing they could do about it because she was authorized to handle the mail and there was no way to prove what happened to the mail once it got into the apartment. I am very upset because now it is starting to look like I can not even use the washer or dryer in our apartment! The other day I pulled some things out of the dryer, I found 2 sweaters and a shirt all ripped in the exact same spot, what a coincidence that these clothing articles were all ripped or torn in back of the collar! There are other little things she’s done, but these are the major things. I know that this is not an advice column, but do you think I should get the heck away from her even if I can’t afford to move, though it would make me homeless? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kim Bush
horrifying yet amazing. makes me want to buy my room mate flowers.