50 Enraging Photos That Show What Awful Roommates People Have To Deal With

On paper, it makes so much sense to split things and share. After all, if you’re renting a flat, you’re paying for all the facilities for a month, yet it’s not like you’re in, say, the kitchen 12 hours a day.

This sometimes is the case. But for many, it is also living with the hell of being exposed to the chaos of immensely irresponsible or immature housemates. The reason why this is happening so often is that it is all about a mix of incompatible lifestyles, lack of responsibility, and the plain fact that living together is not as straightforward as it appears.

One giant factor is maturity level. Not everyone is prepared for the duty of living among others. A few come with teenage behaviors, thinking dishes will somehow clean themselves, food will restock itself, and noise will be everyone's problem except theirs. When these behaviors collide with housemates trying to work, study, or just live in peace, resentment builds rapidly. What another person perceives as "normal" behavior is experienced by still another as sabotage.

Communication, or lack of it, is one of the reasons. The majority of roommates do not communicate boundaries overtly because they do not want to fight. Instead of talking to the dirty dish pile, the unpaid bills, or the 2 a.m. karaoke party, people let the irritation build. The inconsiderate roommate never gets criticized, and the considerate roommate endures quietly. This produces little annoyances that turn into a nagging headache over time.

And then, of course, there is priority. Certain roommates just don't care as much about good times and convenience as they do about respect for a common area. They'll have parties without asking, eat other people's food, or play their music loudly when someone is trying to sleep. To them, these things are no big deal in their own heads, but to the person being subjected to them, they amount to a complete lack of manners. When two ways of life aren't compatible, conflict is unavoidable.

Financial stress only makes it worse. Necessarily, people wind up rooming with roommates, not because they want to. That is, you might find yourself having to share a lease with someone you barely know, or worse, someone you already suspect doesn't pay his bills. The pressure to divide up rent and bills keeps people in situations they would otherwise quit. For some, a bad roommate situation is not an escape option until the lease expires, and therefore they have to endure.

Personality clashes are also going on. Two extremely rational individuals can also drive one another crazy if they are too different in their habits. A neat individual and a slob will constantly battle. A quiet-loving introvert will tire of an extrovert who turns the apartment into a revolving door of friends. These are not necessarily indications of immaturity, but they do make cohabitation resemble a constant negotiation.