It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Charles Dickens may not have known it, but he perfectly summed up what it’s like living in a share house.

A rite of passage for many, living with strangers in a house together can be a delight…or a total nightmare.

Sure, it can be affordable (translation: more avocado toast) and a great way to meet people, but it can also seriously test your patience as a human being.

Here are seven experiences – both good and bad – that everyone who has lived in a share house has experienced.

1. The housemate who does absolutely nothing.

Coming home to a sink full of dishes while your housemate sits on the couch watching TV? Far more common than you’d like. Maybe it’s passive aggressive behaviour, maybe it’s just pure laziness. Either way, it’s infuriating. Of course, if it’s YOU sat on the sofa while your housemate gives you a look, then you may actually be this one. Do the damn dishes.

Image: New Girl.

2. The unpleasant bathroom surprise.

Talk to anyone about share house living and they're guaranteed to have a bathroom-related story. If you're lucky, it might just be a housemate or visitor with little respect for common bathroom decency and a tendency to leave behind a lingering scent - and not the good kind. For that, you can just subtly nudge them with a gift (trap the smell in the toilet with a pre-poo spray. What a good housemate you are!).

If you're not so fortunate? Let's just say I know one person who entered the shower only to see an unwanted gift of what looked like a full beard left on the floor.

3. The awkward conversation about rent.

Money is never a pleasant conversation to have, even more so when it's with the people you share a bathroom with. While most of the time housemates are generally on the same page, there's always one who has a slightly different idea about what 'paying on time' means. The more you get on, the more you realise how much easier your life will be if you start that conversation early, however awkward it may be.

4. Mould will become a familiar friend.

You never know the luxury of your parents' house until you move into shared accommodation. That browny-green pattern adoring the ceiling and walls? You'll come to look at it almost fondly by the end of it. Maybe even give it a name, like 'Steve'. Of course if it's severe/bothering you, get your landlord in, stat, but as you'll learn, it's generally par for the course.

5. Your food in the fridge does a disappearing act.

It doesn't matter if you have your own shelf, meticulously label your food or even chain it to the fridge, at some point someone will eat 'your' food and it won't be you. You'll get sneaky with it, like hiding your chocolate in a bag marked 'veggies' or putting it in the high cupboard so your shorter housemate can't reach it. At some point though, you'll also definitely get peckish in the night and help yourself to your housemate's beloved biscuits. Sorry Jim.

6. The housemate who thinks what's yours is theirs.

It doesn't stop at food either. It may be included in marriage vows, but I can't recall the 'what's mine is yours' clause being included in many rental agreements. Still, that won't stop your housemate borrowing your shoes (even though you're not the same size), your brand new top AND EVEN YOUR TAMPONS. (It's always the tampons).

7. Making friends for life.

Sure, they might forget to tell you they've finished the toilet paper or forget that not everyone wants to party at 2am but there's no doubt that living in a share house together is a sure fire way to make friends for life. After all, nothing unites people faster than holding each other screaming on the sofa while a cockroach makes its claim over your living room.

What's your horror story or favourite experience from your share house days?

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