How was your summer?"
"What classes are you taking?"
"Where are you living?"
Finding out where friends will call home for another year in Charlottesville is an inevitable part of August reunions. Off-Grounds housing can be especially varied, with options ranging from modern apartments to historic, crown molding-laden houses. Some students choose to live alone, or in groups of two or three, while others opt to split the rent with many roommates.
Second-year College student Alex Chertok contributes his monthly rent check as one part of a 10-person split. Living together with nine other roommates in a four-story off-Grounds house is an adventure Chertok is looking forward to this year.
Second-year College student Jen Nurmi also has chosen to live in a large off-Grounds house, although in her situation, the rent is split between 11 girls. "I love the idea of coming home to a real house every night," Nurmi said.
Living with so many roommates is not the norm among off-Grounds students. For starters, it can be difficult to find such a large group of students willing to live together.
The majority of Chertok's roommates know each other from their first-year suite assignment. In fact, all but two of the residents of the house are from the same suite. Chertok and one other student lived elsewhere first year but were brought into the arrangement through mutual friendships.
The residents of Nurmi's house joined each other in a more haphazard manner. "Our house started with five core members, and we filled in the list from there, each bringing in different friends we found who wanted to live in the house," Nurmi said.
Large population houses have the potential to bring together many different types of people. Nurmi's house includes girls from various sororities and some who are not Greek. Additionally, the girls participate in a wide range of activities and University groups.
"Living with such a large group gives me a chance to discover many different activities and social circles," said second-year College student Katie Adams, who lives with Nurmi.
While differences among house members makes life in large population houses more interesting, it can also lead to conflict. Organizing contrasting schedules and compromising between different needs can be a challenge.
"We try to have house meetings to discuss things like parking, cleaning and getting rent and utilities payments on time," said second-year College student Luke Benvenuto.
Likewise, the girls in Nurmi's house held a lengthy meeting prior to their move-in to discuss splitting the rent, respectful noise levels and room choices. "We took about two and a half hours to work out the room assignments," Adams said.
Chertok and his housemates had similar deliberations. In the end, residents of both houses decided to make larger rooms and single rooms cost more each month. "We actually figured out rent for each room by measuring square footage and charging proportionally," Benvenuto said. Benvenuto also noted that attic residents get an additional discount.
"I have a large single room that was in demand when we picked assignments," said Angela Jillson, Nurmi's housemate and second-year College student. "But I had to pay more for it."
This system helps appease those in the house who must share a room or have accepted a smaller room.
Grocery shopping is another inevitable hurdle students sharing a house must clear. Stocking up a kitchen with Easy Mac and OJ for 10 can be a challenge.
"When buying groceries, we do it individually and trust each other to be respectful and not eat what you don't buy," Chertok said.
Nurmi and her roommates follow a similar code of grocery ethics.
"We all buy our own snack foods, and initial them just to make sure people can tell their foods from everyone else's," Nurmi said.
Nurmi and her housemates have decided to share things everyone uses such as milk, orange juice and flour, and they take turns stocking the kitchen with these items.
Another matter that requires trust and respect among roommates of large population houses is household cleaning. In bathrooms that are shared among three or four people, and common rooms shared by 10 or 11, mess can accumulate quickly.
"We are in the process of delegating chores from a list we've come up with because we don't want it to get to the point where the same person ends up emptying the dishwasher every day," Adams said.
Chertok and his housemates have a more relaxed approach to the housework, and have chosen to go without a chore list. "Right now, each floor of guys is in charge of keeping their floor clean," Chertok said.
Cleaning is one thing Benvenuto worries will become a challenge. "It's one thing I think we'll have trouble keeping up with," he said.
Whereas forgetting to do dishes or wipe toothpaste from the bathroom sink may lead to annoyed roommates, forgetting to pay the rent check creates another level of tension altogether. To avoid this possibly sticky situation, both houses have designated one person as the key rent collector.
Adams, of Nurmi's house, chose to undertake this responsibility.
"I wanted to have this job, because by doing it myself, I won't worry that the money isn't being taken care of," Adams said.
While all the hassles of groceries, cleaning and rent checks may make living with 10 people sound difficult, there also are major upsides to the situation. Having a house full of roommates makes any night a potential party.
"Even a night at home is fun with such a full house," Adams said.
Likewise, Chertok and his friends have experienced how quickly their house can become a party.
"Large parties can be expensive, but with everyone chipping in, it's not that bad," Benvenuto said.
Chertok and his roommates have taken entertaining to the next level with themed parties and specialty drinks. Next month they are planning a luau bash.
But parties could bother the tired and book-bound housemate.
Both houses try to limit their partying to Friday and Saturday nights out of respect for anyone in the house who is studying. "During the week anyone who has guests over tries to keep it contained to their own room, but Friday and Saturday is fair game," Benvenuto said.
Although both sets of housemates have a long year ahead to discover more ins and outs of living together, they're satisfied with the start of things.
"I love the idea of coming home to a real house every night," said Nurmi.
Her roommate Adams agrees.
"It's so wonderful to live in a house of so many girls, all of whom I enjoy talking to and hanging out with," Adams said. "I wouldn't want to live any other way."
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