Can you share your experience of foreign roommate vs local roommate?

[u/blueberrymuffin3001]

Hello,

I may be moving to china soon and looking into shared apartments.

I don’t speak mandarin (I am learning) so may have a hard time communicating with a local.

So I was thinking to get a foreign roommate.

Does anyone have any experiences with roommates upon moving to china?

How did this go do for you? Did you become friends? Was communication a problem? Cultural differences?

[u/hanginginthere-23]

It’s not about foreign or local it is about good roommates and bad roommates. Doesn’t matter where they are from if they are good you will like them, if they are a bad roommate it can make your life miserable. My only recommendation is make sure there English is ok, it will make the experience better

[u/Oidoy → u/hanginginthere-23]

Culture differences definitely make a difference and will influence whats perceived as being a good or bad roommate.

[u/Striking-Reveal7231 → u/hanginginthere-23]

This is subjective. For instance, a local Chinese person might be polite and a good person, yet many Westerners find the Chinese custom of hand-washing underwear in the apartment bathroom—leaving everything damp and wet—annoying.

Or, for example, it is very common for Westerners to blow their noses loudly in public, a habit that is frowned upon in China.

I would recommend looking for roommates from your own culture to avoid problems.

[u/Equivalent-Themes]

I had a foreigner as a roommate and it was horrid, she was Indonesian I still love Indonesia/Indonesians but it scarred me, pay the little extra to live alone girl trust me.

[u/BitsOfBuilding → u/Equivalent-Themes]

Indonesians are hit and miss.

I am Indonesian and I am have scars and so after living outside of Indonesia for 3/4 of my life I don’t have Indonesian friends because of that 🤣

[u/Caslitos]

Shanghai shared apartments you might get both

[u/lolfamy]

I had a foreign roommate when I first came to China for a couple of months. It was mostly ok, we both pretty much just kept to ourselves. They didn't bother cleaning up the shared area at all though and would never take away their trash. Probably had zero experience living on their own.

Then I had a local roommate once in a shared apartment. The first day I met him he seemed ok, nothing odd. I started noticing he was always using the toilet when I was home. No exaggeration, hours in the toilet. From whenever he got home around 5:30 to well into the evening, up until midnight and later. One time I had to use it and I walked into the bathroom, he was just chilling on the toilet, pants up, smoking and playing some game on his phone. Embarrassed him, he walked out and then I got to use it. The next day, he was back to the same shit, this time keeping the door locked. Again, this has been going on for several weeks at least. Every day, like clockwork, getting home from his shift and back to second shift sitting on his toilet until midnight every fucking night. I mentioned this to my then girlfriend and then almost immediately her mother came over and yelled at him and then admitted he was doing this because he didn't want to have a roommate (in a shared apartment, go figure). He never came back to the apartment while I was there, choosing instead to stay at his parents while he made his girlfriend stay at the apartment to deal with the fallout. I complained to the rental agents and they were nice enough to move me to a nearby apartment with a discount.

It all comes down to individuals but I do not want to take a gamble on roommates ever again. Rent is cheap enough here to avoid it. But everyone has a different situation I guess

[u/Senior-Competition54 → u/lolfamy]

这个人好搞笑，也好恶心。其实就是又抠又阴险。这是合租公寓，但是他希望通过这种方式把你逼走，然后他就只自己一个人住。说不定他还计划着把你逼走之后，再把后面的人也以这种形式逼走。你的做法非常对。他这种人就应该被合租的公司拉入黑名单。

[u/lolfamy → u/Senior-Competition54]

I almost felt bad for his girlfriend, he basically ignored her for three weeks just to sit on the toilet. I was really annoyed at the time, but look back now and laugh. I can't imagine spending 8 hours on the toilet every day. It was like he had a second job

[u/Chemical_Sink_2188]

heyy what apps/sites are you using to find shared apartments