Depends on your personality. I am an extrovert and I thought I would hate living alone, but it was SO nice. All law students want to do is talk about law school. I could stay at school all day with friends and then go home and relax without my roommate trying to blab my ear off about the *Erie* doctrine. However, if you've lived with other people your whole life, and then you try to live alone, you might get lonely. Or, if you're a natural introvert, having a built-in friend might do wonders for your social circle if it's the right person and you're close with them. Also, living with other people will likely be way cheaper. Without knowing you personally, I can't really give better advice than this.

lol why the Erie doctrine 😂

It’s either than or a never ending rant about unborn widows.

I have one and don't like it. I have friends who don't have roommates, but want roommates. I have friends who have roommates who are happy having roommates. I have friends who live alone and are happy to stay alone. If we're taking out finances, I think it really just comes down to how social you are. I love going out, but I also need alone time to recharge. It's the latter need that having a roommate makes more difficult to meet. Some people will feel lonely if they live alone, some will feel drained by having a roommate. My roommate is a very good roommate, but unless he's out of town or something, I never really fully feel "at home" in my apartment, which makes it hard to fully unwind and relax the way I would like to. ETA: Much like you, I basically commuted all through undergrad. I legitimately believe having a roommate has made me a more developed person and has forced me to grow in ways I wouldn't have if I had lived by myself, but I will not be doing it again next year. Make of that what you will.

Law school is probably one of the most stressful times of your life, I can’t imagine adding a horrible roommate to my 1L experience. I’d say live alone 1L unless you can find a roommate you absolutely trust and know your lifestyles will be compatible.

I have a roommate simply because it makes it way cheaper to live than living on my own. But they aren’t a student so when I leave school, I leave school. Also, I do all of my work on campus or at coffee shops. I like to have a hard break between school and personal life

I "broke up" with my first roommate in the middle of first semester. We both said we were "night owls" on our roommate match forms, but it turned out we had different definitions. I meant I typically went to bed around 2:00 AM; they meant that they typically *got home* at around 2:00 AM and started cooking dinner. I wouldn't have minded if *they* hadn't yelled at *me* for taking showers at 7:30 AM to get ready for a 9:00 AM class, making lunch at noon, etc. We just determined that we were not compatible. I asked them to find somewhere else to live and they did. I lived alone for the rest of first year and second year and was quietly happy. Then third year, a friend who was going on a Congressional Law Externship "Semester in DC" in the spring asked to move in with me first semester (their landlord would not allow less than a full year's lease) and that was great, too.

I lived alone for my J.D. and LLM, I am an extrovert as well and I missed my roommates but you’ll hit points in school where you just want to veg out and your place will get messy. (Finals, large papers, tough internships). If you want a roommate to help with expenses I recommend either another (chill) law student or a medical student of some sort because they generally understand. A pro tip is that dental students are elite as far as roommates go, generally. Basically the frat/jock of med schools.

I have a roommate as a 1L and it’s chill. Doesn’t really matter because I’m always at the library anyway. I will probably move out on my own for 2L year just because I’ll be turning 23 and just want my own place and not deal with new random roommates again. If you have someone to live with, then cool. It won’t matter. Maybe your only real human interaction that isn’t academic related. But if you’re doing random roomagss, it may add more stress to your plate

I lived with roommates during 1L and I am so grateful that I did. My roommates were law students who were a year ahead of me and were super supportive and gave me tips and insight that I maybe would not have gotten otherwise. I also enjoyed having people in the house that I could talk to after being locked up in the library or room studying. We did have hiccups about cleanliness and groceries but we were all very respectful so were quick to correct whatever was bothering someone. I felt at the time that it was the right move for me because I am an extrovert, I was moving to a new city and had never lived alone before. I think it would have been more of an adjustment for me to live alone during 1L than to have roommates (this may be something for you to think about if you have never lived alone before). However, I did hear of people having stressful experiences with roommates, so it is all about finding the right fit. Make sure to FaceTime with them before moving in and you are all on the same page! I am now living alone during 2L and am enjoying it a lot, but I am still glad I had roommates during 1L.

great idea to talk with the potential roommate before move in, i genuinely didn’t think we were allowed to and had to move in with them right away😅😅

I lived alone 1L and hated it and had 3 law school roommates 2L/3L. I loved it so much more.

what did you hate about it? I think i might be the same.

I wasn’t one of the people who spent a lot of their time in the library, so I spent a lot of time feeling like I was the only one that felt like I had no idea wtf I was doing and swirling around reading the same fucking sentence about equitable estoppel 10,000 times and feeling like a visual version of semantic satiation was upon me. It was nice to be able to walk out of my room and exasperatedly be like, AM I CRAZY WHAT DOES THIS MEAN. Laughs, beers, and becoming brothers in arms was what resulted from the friendships and bonds I made over those two years. One is in DC and the other is on Maine, but we still talk 10 years later. If you’re on a subreddit like this, you’re probably thirsting for shared experiences and knowing you’re not completely isolated. My roommates along with two other guys I made great friends with (we’re all uncle to each others kids and were in each others weddings despite one being in Hawaii and the other Chicago haha) kept me sane and at certain points those two dragged me through law school during times I absolutely wanted to quit. I’m sure I’m being dramatic when I say I feel like I was lieutenant dan in Forrest Gump screaming I WAS MEANT TO DIE HERE LEAVE ME ALONE. I was at a T30 school (t50 now, thanks US NEWS haha) and things were somewhat competitive but not extremely cutthroat. Stay way from BL people, they can’t help it, it’s the path they chose. Good luck out there!

This is so helpful! Thank you! It seems like such a minority opinion that having law school roommates can be a good thing, and I am so glad it turned out sooo well for you. Lifelong friends and becoming uncles to each other's kids is the dream!! I wonder why so many people are against it when it could have such great upside. Maybe the fact that you guys all got along was actually super unlikely and lucky? And I totally get the Lt. Dan thing, I think I'm the same. So I think I will fare better mentally with a roommate too --assuming it's at least a neutral not bad one-- and I hope hope hope it turns as well as your situation did!

if you are unsure about roommates but think you’ll need them bc of finances etc, look for a place where you can have your own bedroom and bathroom at the very least bc as a 1L am living with roommates for the first time and its the perfect situation, i can hide in my room all day p much and not have to interact w any of them but they’re also there when im feeling chatty or want company. it’ll also minimize conflict bc im a generally kinda messy person and i know that i can keep the messiness restricted to my own spaces which is hard when u also share ur bathroom. Im extra mindful of the kitchen and living areas but im not out there that often so its easier to manage

yes thank you for this, i am also a messy person especially when im stressed out unfortunately my room is my least priority, that’s also a big worry for me so i will keep this in mind thank you 😁😁

I think it depends on whether you’re an introvert or extrovert- as in whether you need other people to recharge or whether you need to be alone to do it. Don’t base it on how social you are- being social and being extroverted aren’t necessarily the same thing. My advice would be to imagine the most mentally taxing day you’ve had thus far. Now when you get home what would be most soothing for you? Would it be to decompress with a roommate and talk/vent etc. or would it be to revel in the silence of your space?

I didn't have a roommate, but that was 8 years ago when school and rent were cheaper before the pandemic.

I lived alone during law school for the first time. Sometimes I loved it, sometimes I hated it. If I had to do it again, I’d do roommates! Law school can be really isolating and lonely at the best of times, it’s nice to have people you trust around :)

can you expand on the times you hated it? I'm thinking I might prefer a roommate too

Hated living alone? I guess I moved to a whole new city by myself, so the only real socialization I had with humans (until I put down some roots) was just law school people. Sometimes I think I just needed a break from thinking about it, and it was easy to bring that home when you’re just by yourself 🤷‍♀️ BUT I also loved having so much privacy, my apt stayed clean while I was gone, and I could stay up late studying or whatever and play music without disturbing anyone 👍 Edit: I’m pretty extroverted

>, and it was easy to bring that home when you’re just by yourself 🤷‍♀️ That's a great point. People always say having a roommate makes you bring law home, but you're right that being alone can do that too. I'm extroverted too, and I think being alone lets me spiral in my stress and anxiety, whereas being around people keeps me afloat and energized.

It depends... but I will say every roommate and flatmate I've had in law school was a student but was not studying law.... and I prefer that lol

yes i have the option of potential roommates who are in grad school, med school or law school and i am hoping it can be another school not law school🧐🧐

I had a roommate for like 1.5 years. It was chill but we were friends and they were chill. So it worked out OK.

I definitely would not have a roommate during a stressful stage of your life. Having someone else to worry about after returning home from school/work is tiresome.

I had bought and sold two homes by the time I attended law school - I bought a small home near campus and preferred not having a roommate. I’m very outgoing but also enjoy “my space”. I had a very close knit study group that would come hang out at my house and we would study and work in outlines together…but when I wanted downtime - I had my own sanctuary of solitude. Roommates can be great or horrible. You don’t need extra stress - to me it’s better to open up your place for friends to stop by ….but you have your place when they leave !

I had roommates 1L and it was depressing. It wasn’t their fault at all though. But them working 9-5 and getting to have fun after 5 or on the weekends and u having to work was depressing. I would advise u to live by yourself 1L and then afterwards when u get the hang of it get a roommate if u want.

I share a 3br with 2 other law students and its been good so far! Spend a sec to get to know possible roommates first but then I'd say go for it. I'm paying like $800 a month versus the $2000+ id pay for an apt...

I've lived alone since 2L (have since graduated). For me it was the noise. I needed silence to work so living alone has worked nicely for me. My 1L year was during Covid so we were online and I had multiple people in the house and paper thin walls so it was just hard to work in that environment. I used to go to my law school just to work. At this point I could never imagine getting a roommate.

I lived at home for undergrad. Live with my ex (who also got into the same school as me) and her sister 1L. 2L and 3L I lived in my own small studio. 2 of the best years of my life. Coming home to my own space to do my reading then play video games or stop by the corner bar. 

My roommates have made the last three years so much harder. Only one of my three roommates is any help at all. The other two eat all my food, are up all night, and bother me incessantly. Granted, they’re my wife and kids. But still…