If you go to university in the future, you probably think a lot about where you are going to live. If you don’t opt for a students’ house, you might choose to rent a flat with your friends – this is much cheaper and can be fun! We asked a few people about their experience in sharing a flat.

Monika

I was very happy when I read my name on the list of the future students – and I was very optimistic. I couldn’t live in a students’ house, because I lived too close to Warsaw, but then guys told me it was a good idea to rent a flat with somebody. I wrote an add and put it on the wall, I also started to look for a flat. I was lucky – I managed to find a very nice flat in the centre. It was very convenient and not very expensive. The only problem was that one of the rooms was very big, and the other one was much smaller and it overlooked Marszałkowska Street. I decided I would take the bigger room and pay 700 zloty and my flatmate will pay 500 for the smaller room. But the girl who came and looked at the flat simply put her things on the bed in the bigger room and said – ‘OK, so this is mine’. She was really very confident.
I couldn’t even decide about the colour of toilet-paper. After a year I was completely fed up with her.

Ewa

I went to an office which was called ‘A Room for a Penny’ – we went there together with a friend. And – what a surprise! We found a small flat to share for 300 zloty! In the centre! When we went there I felt there must be something wrong. It was a very old building (probably it has collapsed since that time) and there was – really – a small flat: two beds, and a kitchen. We only couldn’t find a bathroom. The lady said there is one bathroom for a few flats in the hall. We went to see it – and there was no shower! She offered a pump on the yard!

Zuzanna

Once I shared a flat with a girl who was very mean. She never bought anything for the house so if I hadn’t do it, we wouldn’t even had a brush or a mop! Once I needed half of an onion for a salad, so she told me to return her the money for this piece of onion! We never cooked together – she was afraid I would eat more for the same money! It was simply awful! Next flat
I rented with a wonderful girl – she was generous, funny, talkative. Her only disadvantage was that she hated cleaning and washing up. Everything was dirty all the time. She cooked a wonderful meal and left all dishes dirty and empty packages on the floor. Fortunately I like cleaning, so I simply cleaned everything and told her to do the shopping.

Marcin

For five years of university I shared flat with seventeen people! At the beginning I rented a flat with six people – there were four rooms and it was the noisiest, but also the funniest year in my life. We had parties everyday, but we also studied together. There were always some visitors – our friends’ friends and their friends… We led very unhealthy life – eating leftovers or Chinese instant soups. Sometimes we had visiting relatives – and it was a festival – they always brought something to eat! After a year I decided to find something quiter – and I found flat to share with three other students.
It was much more peaceful – but not that funny!

Adam

It is actually a love story. I was sharing a flat with a friend and we were very happy about it. After two years of living together he told me his younger sister was going to start university soon and she didn’t have a place to live. He asked me if she could spend some time in our flat, until she finds something for herself. I was very unhappy! I didn’t even know he had a sister! She appeared to be the most awesome girl of the world – and we are very happy together.

 

Improve your vocabulary!

ad (advertisement) – ogłoszenie
awesome – cudowny
convenient – dogodny
brush – szczotka
disadvantage – wada
do the shopping – robić zakupy
flatmate – osoba, z którą mieszka się w jednym mieszkaniu
leftovers – resztki
mean – skąpy
mop – mop
opt for – wybierać
overlook – o pokoju: wychodzić na (ulicę)
pump – pompa
relatives – krewni
rent a flat – wynajmować mieszkanie
share a flat – dzielić mieszkanie
students’ house – dom studencki
wash up – zmywać naczynia
yard – podwórko