MOVING IN… STUDENT STYLE

Does living in digs mean piles of unwashed plates in the sink and dubious take-aways? Well…yes and no, say these six Rondebosch, Cape Town housemates, a mixture of students and working types. Read on… (by the way, they all talked at once, so we’ve squished their answers into one voice!)

What’s the best thing about living in digs?

No rules! There’s no one checking up on us and our different lives mean that conversation is easy we never get bored

And the worst?

No clean spoons, paying bills and the green pool

Craziest situation you’ve had to deal with?

A break-in. Michael woke up at 4am as an intruder opened his bedroom door. Who got the bigger fright, half-naked Michael or the man who saw him is up for debate, but either way he fled. We were all pretty freaked out so we sat and drank coffee together until it was time to get up. Sharing the experience actually brought us closer

What do you wish you’d known before you moved in?

That friends don’t necessarily make good housemates!! You get to know another side of people and sometimes that’s the untidy side. Maybe we should set up a housemate interview process which includes messing up the kitchen and asking, ‘DO YOU SEE ANYTHING WRONG HERE?’! Those of us who are students also wish we’d known the petrol price was going to rocket: getting to class is crazy expensive now

Your advice for finding a digs?

If personal contacts don’t work out, use the internet or follow up on ads, but definitely do your own personal research too. When you visit the digs, ask the locals what the area’s like safety-wise and check how long it’ll take to get to work/ college/uni in rush hour. Find out why the last person left and check out the rooms of your potential new housemates for over-the-top untidiness!

What do you eat when there’s no money left in the budget?

Sheldon knows where to find cheap food: bunny chows and giant chip-and-cheese rotis!