Loathe, love and regret: Everything you need to know about living in an all girls’ house

Expect nights out, heated arguments and them being your second family

2 months ago

You know the drill: New year, new house. Although exciting to take on another year with your friends by your side, sometimes this proximity is too much to handle. After all, you don’t truly know someone until you share a house with them, and this newfound knowledge is make-or-break for some.

Firstly, let’s dive into the unfortunate (yet inevitable) mishaps you will face in a house of all girls.

Heated arguments

Although your grotty student house may not be heated, the frequent heated arguments sure make up for the lack of warmth in the winter months. From unwashed dishes to undisposed takeaway boxes, a messy house is always set to cause some messy relationships with your roommates, and obviously an occasional Durfess written about you. Living in an all-female household is the ultimate test of friendship and sanity.

Bins

Speaking from some rather unfortunate experiences, I have bin victim to a fair few bin rota arguments in my time at Durham. Please save your tears and make the one minute walk to the bins, it is truly not worth the argument.

Surprisingly, your housemates are not the main enemy when it comes to taking out the bins in Durham – some of us are unfortunate enough to have had some rather expensive encounters with Durham Council. I strongly advise you do not leave your bin bags on the ground when they are overflowing, you will not get away with it. Trust me, an £80 bin fine and mandatory bin course is not pretty. It was rather humbling to get lectured on recycling as a Geography student.

Animal control

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Chances are the biggest animals you’re living with won’t be your housemates, but possibly a few friendly rodents and some resident silverfish. Perhaps these pests will prove less of a nuisance than some of your housemates, largely due to the fact they cannot talk.

Every day was a battle of girl versus spider, and being defeated by a two millimetre wide insect was beyond embarrassing. Before you sign that contract, make sure one of you has some basic survival skills.

Schedules

Six girls, one bathroom, early morning. A recipe for disaster. We all have that one housemate who showers for an hour every morning, blissfully unaware of their sleep deprived housemates wanting to make a quick turnaround before the day begins. Although this applies to myself, don’t be that person.

Noise

For everyone’s sake, please sound test your bedroom walls before you move in; chances are, you can hear EVERYTHING. So, before you start literally talking about your housemate behind their back, remember the walls are paper thin and it will not end well.

On a more pressing note, the one housemate who treats their bedroom as Warehouse Project every morning is bound to rustle some feathers. There truly is nothing worse than being woken up to D&B blaring through the corridor on a Thursday morning.

However, living in an all-girls house is not entirely horrific, so do not be scared. Living in a house with six girls was the best decision I made and ensured my sanity throughout my second year; just because someone is not an ideal housemate does not take away the value of their friendship. It is important to separate the two.

Movie nights

One thing about a house of girls is that everybody is always down for a movie night in. Grab the snacks and your family’s Netflix account, it’s time to watch the worst Netflix original movie ever created and thoroughly enjoy every second.

Emotional support

Big or small, an all-girls’ house will help you through it all. The love in an all girls’ house is unmatched, despite the arguments, and you can guarantee that the girls will have your back (90 per cent of the time). Girls just get each other, and the value of female friendships is truly one to cherish, especially through some of the hardships faced at uni.

Nights Out

If I had a pound for every time my housemate knocked on my door asking to go to Jimmy’s, I would have enough money to pay back my student loan. Nothing compares to the hungover morning debriefs in the kitchen and the endless shared embarrassment post a few too many Woodgate’s the night before. Refreshing the flat group chat to horrific media every Thursday is the best form of amusement, along with updating the house chart with a few tallies of regret.

Having a second family

Love them or hate them, these girls will become your second family. At the end of the day, in months to come all of the petty disputes once shared over kitchen mess will mean nothing, when you remember the laughter shared and the fun had. Living with your friends for the first time can be tricky, especially when you are all so different. But all that is needed is a bit of patience and understanding. For me, these girls are the light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, if you are sharing a house with girls this year, enjoy every second. It is a whirlwind like no other, and if you survive the year still friends then you are guaranteed a friend for life. I would not have changed any second of my experience, and am forever thankful that I got to spend a year with a group of amazing girls, and have the pleasure of doing the same this year.