Sharing an Apartment With My Sister

[Gael 1]

So, my first year at UTC was spent in on-campus apartments. They were nice, but I wanted to switch to one of the cheaper buildings. But the school switched to a new system where people who are renewing the same room or the same building get first pick of the housing. So when my turn came, every single non-freshmen room on campus was taken. A lot of my friends have had the same problem. There just aren't enough spaces for all of the students who want rooms.

Added to that, my sister chose to transfer to UTC as well, and she won't be able to get a room either. So, the situation now is that I will have to share a two-bedroom apartment with my sister. Doesn't seem so bad on the surface, right? Well, my sister is a year and a half older than I am (I'm 21). But I know 17-year-olds who are more mature than she is. She's always trying to find some guy to fall in love with, and gets all whiny and emo when they aren't interested in her. She can't cook. She never cleans around our parent's house unless she's ordered to, so I doubt she'll even try to pull her own weight living with me. She likes to hear herself talk, and is constantly calling and bothering me with trivial things. Plus, my parents don't think she's mature enough yet to live completely on her own. Since I know the city, I'm supposed to be there for, I dunno, guidance or something...?

Not only that, but she can't drive. This means we absolutely have to find an apartment within walking distance of campus. If we didn't, I would have to drive her every time she needed to go to school. And every time she needed to go back to the apartment. And every time she needed to get something from the store. In other words, it would be pure misery. But the apartments near campus are expensive. I could live across the river in North Chatt, or south of downtown in St. Elmo, and drive to school if it were just me. The rent there is so much cheaper. I could get a place for $350-$450 a month instead of $600 a month or more. And my parent have to pay for all of this, minus what I'm able to pay them back with scholarship checks. This is because I can't find a job. I can't work full time because of school, and no one seems to want to hire part-timers, much less people with no experience.

So basically I'm trapped in housing with my sister, which I can't argue with because I'm not paying the rent. I really have no other choice. I can't move in with my Milo. My parents would freak, plus he's pretty conservative anyway. Hence the celibacy. And I can't pay for my own housing, or move in with friends. So I'm stuck. I just hope we'll be able to find a place. Lots of other students are looking for the exact same thing, due to the overflow.

I'm hoping by this time next year, I'll have landed a job that pays enough for me to pay my own rent.

Am I being selfish?

[Michael 290]

ouch

[Max 10]

Am I being selfish?

No

[pheonix561 2080]

Whats a Milo.

[Arachne 25]

Hmm, you know, apart from the boy-crazy thing, it sounds like your sister and I share a lot of the same problems I do. I can cook, just nothing fancy. I don't drive (mainly because I tend to use the bus, bike, orhave my boyfriend give me a lift). I'm talkative, and I'm forgetful, so don't always do the chores I'm supposed to do.

If she's problematic because she's forgetful, don't be afraid to give her reminders about cleaning up. It's much better than having you get angry at her without her knowing why. Also, with the talking, make sure she knows she has to leave you alone when you're, say, working, in your bedroom, whatever, unless it's an absolute emergency.

Does the town you're in have a halfway decent bus system? If so, it probably has direct routes to the colleges and universities, as well as routes headed downtown (even my hometown's craptastic buses have at least that). Try finding a house that's close to a bus stop. She may need a ride every now and then, but you shouldn't have to be her chauffeur all the time. I'm sure she'll understand.

Sucks with the on-campus housing, btw. I fel your pain there, because not only is it tough getting into housing on campus in Victoria, but the city has a vacancy rate of less than 1%.

Hang in there, ok? Get her a copy of a simple recipe book for her birthday or something. the kind that can teach her how to boil water, make meals out of the microwave, that sort of thing.

[Fierce Muffin 490]

Are you going to make sweet lesbian incest sex together? Or no.

[Hiro Protagonist 0]

I feel for you, buddy. When I go to MIT, I am going to find a roommate that I can tolerate and share the rent.

[Gael 1]

Are you going to make sweet lesbian incest sex together? Or no.

You sir, are foul.

Moving on, it's pretty much decided that we're not going to be able to find anything within walking distance. There are too many other people looking for apartments, and most of them are booked, too expensive, or dirty and falling apart. So we're looking for a place across the river, which means driving to school. Plus, like I said, the rent is cheaper. So we're going to choose a place within the next couple of weeks and snatch it up as soon as we can.

It does make me sad that it'll be harder to walk and ride my bike places. Many of the roads in Red Bank (community north of downtown) don't have sidewalks or shoulders.

But as far as the sister is concerned, I'm going to be laying down some ground rules. Mostly, if it's time to leave for school and you're not ready, I'm leaving without you. She has issues with being on time, and I'm not going to deal with it.

[Max 10]

Muffin isn't foul :<. Muff is Muff. He has a sense of humor that some people (Women) don't get, but he's not sick.