When I was 19, I moved out of my mother’s home, where I had spent my whole life, and into the home I had just purchased with my husband. I realize that most 19 year olds, or 18 year olds, or even 25 year olds don’t do this. What can I say – I’m not normal? Typically, young adults leave their parents homes and move away to college, and stay in a dorm, and then venture out into a roommate situation. My own sister had a roommate until she was in her 30’s, because it made it easier to handle the rent when you split it with a friend.

So where can you turn when you need a roommate? You could put an ad in the paper. Placing an ad in the paper means you need to screen people over the phone, and then meet people in person. Sounds like a good way to waste a couple of weeks, right? A better solution is Roomster.net. Using this website, you can find a roommate, a room to rent, an apartment, and more. The site has sort of a MySpace feel, with icons for each profile, the ability to IM people, and send quick messages, but it’s devoted entirely to helping people find a place to live or someone to share their home with. I checked out the section specifically for Tampa in my visit there, and found this:

As you can see from the screenshot, you’ve got tons of search options. You can search listings by age or sex (not frequency, but perhaps a female who only wants a female roommate) or even Zodiac sign! You can also find the perfect apartment, or a tenant for your rental property. Clicking on the profiles at the top will show you the details of each prospective roommate, from work schedule to children to pets, even if the person is ok with smoking or drinking. That eliminates a lot of people right there if you’re looking for something specific, which means you don’t waste time talking to people who don’t fit the bill. You can also see the roommates interests – do they like movies? Music? Will you have anything in common with this person? In addition, each prospective person can have testimonials from friends who can vouch that this roommate will not sacrifice a chicken in your living room, play loud music at 3am, or bore you to tears with his or her lack of personality.

The site isn’t just for Tampa or Florida residents either, they offer listings in major US cities, Canadian cities, and even U.K. cities!

This is a sponsored review.

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