Eight fun ways to get to know your housemates

Living in a house share can be one of the best experiences of your life, but it can also be pretty daunting if you’re new to it.

Getting to know your housemates doesn’t mean you have to be best friends, but taking the time to get to know someone can be beneficial for everyone in the house.

Not only will it create a friendly and comfortable atmosphere, but it can also help many friendships flourish.

Why is it important?

Whether you’ve lived with housemates before, or you’re completely new to sharing a house, getting to know the people you live with is really important. After all, you’re going to be in each other’s space quite a lot.

With this in mind, here are eight fun ways to get to know your housemates!

1. Have a games night

Having a games night is a classic way to have hours of fun and break any tension.

Whether you’re a fan of card games, drinking games, or consoles, playing games together can bring you and your housemates closer. If you play a group game, it gives everyone the chance to speak up, which might otherwise be hard for some people.

2. Have some drinks!

Usually, we would suggest going to the pub, but right now, that isn’t possible. However, nothing is stopping you from having some drinks and getting to know each other in the house instead.

You could have a cocktail night. There are plenty of delicious cocktail recipes online for you to try together, which will be fun in itself!

Having a few drinks will allow everyone to feel a bit more at ease and have a good time while also getting to know each other a little better.

3. Cook food together

Making food can be quite a big task! Maybe not so much if you’re having a pot noodle, but a big home-cooked meal can have a lot of components.

If you wanted, you could cook some food and work together to create a delicious meal. With everyone having helped out and a little bit of teamwork, you can all sit down to enjoy what you’ve made.

If you’re searching for ideas, the BBC’s goodfood guide has over 60 cheap and easy to make student recipes.

4. Day trips

Going exploring on day trips can be a great way to get to know someone. There are plenty of national parks that are re-opening, or other picturesque places to visit around Yorkshire.

Day trips can be filled with carpool karaoke and lots of chatting, which is sure to allow you all to get to know each other.

5. Binge-watch Netflix!

There is something for everyone on Netflix. So, whether you stick on a comedy, fancy a cry to a romantic film, or maybe you want to be educational and watch a documentary, do this as a house!

Grab some popcorn and snacks, bring the cinema to you and bond over whatever you choose to watch.

6. Go grocery shopping together

I know what you’re thinking, this is boring at the best of times. Going food shopping is not exactly the funnest of tasks, but it can be made much better when you go with housemates!

If you’re struggling with how to ask your housemate if they want to do something, grocery shopping is a great excuse. Just see if they fancy joining you to pick up some things. The chances are they will probably need something from the shop.

With clothing and other non-essential retail shops beginning to open up again, maybe you could brave a trip to Primark together (if you can handle the queues).

7. Workout together

Get your sweat on! Working out together is a great way to bond and keep fit at the same time.

Whether you go for a run with your housemate, or you follow a full routine workout, it is sure to bring you closer. You’ll feel great once you’ve done it, and it could break any barriers of feeling awkward.

8. Designate a night a week to do something

Making time to hang out with each other is a good plan, but it does depend on your circumstances.

If you’re students, getting everyone to hang out might be a bit easier. However, if you’re in a professional house share, this could be hard because of the different work schedules!

To the best of your ability, try to designate one night a week to make time for each other and do something. Even if it’s just for a quick ten-minute chat, it’ll make sure there is a friendly environment and gives you all a chance to catch up.

Don’t worry!

If you’re feeling isolated, don’t worry and don’t be afraid to ask your housemates if you can join in on something they’re doing.

An important point to make is that every house share is different. Try not to panic if you don’t become really close friends with yours; nobody is at fault, sometimes people just have a lot going on out of the house.

If you’re looking for somewhere to live in Leeds, take a look at our selection of house shares.