Moving in with strangers? It can be an equally exciting but scary feeling as you don't know what these people will be like, but the worst thing you can do is lock yourself in your room and avoid all contact! What you should be doing is embracing the flat community and trying your best to get to know these new people. A lot of the time, you'll end up making best friends but there are plenty of other benefits as well which you may not be aware of. Here are the pros and what you can do to make the most out of them. 

Sharing is caring

So a lot of students choose to keep as much to themselves as they can, which is okay but they will miss out on lots because of this. For example, the idea of having an ensuite room sounds good but if you chose a room with a shared bathroom, you get more chances to build relationships with your fellow flatmates (that's on top of the obvious monetary incentive as well).

Also, it's not like you've never shared a bathroom with other people before, you will have likely had this experience many times over the years - sharing with family or friends or anytime you've stayed somewhere abroad.

Bathrooms are not the only things you could share, there's also your living room, kitchen/dining space and any items in there that you might all use (kettle, TV, etc) as well. By embracing the communal areas and items you will:

• Gain better communication skills - You'll end up spending more time with your flatmates, meaning you'll get to chat with them more and build up your ability to speak and create relationships with new people.
• Gain better negotiation skills - You'll need to figure out what rules you need for communal areas and items that work for everyone. Having these important conversations will improve your ability to negotiate and find the right middle ground.
• Make friends quicker - The more time you spend with these people, the quicker you will form connections that will turn into friendships. You can spend more time with them by spending more time in the communal areas.
• Feel more comfortable in your flat - Once you have built these relationships, your flat will start to feel like a home and you'll be able to relax more when you're there knowing you are surrounded by people you like and understand.

These are just a few examples of how making the most of communal areas will help you create the best flat relationships. So give it a go, you won't regret it!