You’ve probably heard stories about best friends living as roommates, with no concerns that you and your friend would fight, because the two of you are such good friends. After all, you probably have many things in common. Before you commit to sharing a small dorm or apartment though, you should consider these pros and cons of choosing your friend as your roommate.

PRO - You probably won’t experience an awkward situation, such as walking into the room seeing personal items or experiencing the uncomfortable need-to-get-to-know each other period. As both of you know each other so well, you can usually anticipate what is on the other person’s mind. Both of you will not go through the painfully awkward first impression where you quickly learn each other’s weird habits, bedtime rituals, and cleanliness standards.

CON - While you and your best friend have already made plans to go to college together or to stay in one apartment, you’ve probably already given this some thought before. Going to college is a time in your life when you go out into the world and meet different kinds of people and develop new friendships. 

This is a time to expand your horizons and get out of your comfort zone. If you are worried about getting bored in a new environment, you may want to consider taking the risk of living with someone you haven’t met before. 

PRO - If you live with your best friend in a community space, there will surely be a good vibe and you will be guaranteed a good roommate. Speaking of good vibes, you’ll be enjoying a comfortable living situation, with someone whose habits you are already familiar with. You probably have heard of some horror stories of terrible roommates doing terrible things. Things like keeping a pet and not cleaning up after them, throwing crazy parties without the other roommate’s consent, and not cleaning up after themselves are just a few of the things that could go wrong.

Living with your best friend allows you to set the good vibes to a maximum level. And even if he or she does do something that bothers you, you’ll feel more comfortable telling your best friend about it and trying to find a solution to work it out.

CON - Because you know your best friend well enough, your arguments take many forms, whether that’s a heated debate or a full silence around the house. In some cases things may escalate faster because you are both more comfortable with each other and you aren’t as concerned about hurting the other person’s feelings.

If you’re not careful, both of you could end up more like enemies, just waiting for the spark that can start the fight.

PRO - Goodbye loneliness and hello happiness. Everybody can get lonely now and then. When you have a roommate, who happens to be also your best friend, you’ll likely be experiencing more happy feelings. By having a roommate, you have someone to talk to, share ideas with, laugh with, ask an opinion of, or get advice from. You and your best friend will enjoy comfortably living under one roof and helping each other get through the thick and the thin.

CON - There’s a slight chance that your friendship will be ruined. This con is probably at the top of the list of concerns - it can blossom, or it can fail, just like most people. Living with someone whom you know so well is not a guarantee that you both will enjoy a long-lasting relationship.

It can be a dream come true for many people to live with their best friend, however the reality is: you cannot predict whether you and your best friend will thrive when living together. Good friends that you can trust and count on are hard to come by. It’s up to both of you to decide whether it’s worth the risk.