Many people who are getting into a roommate situation want to know about the other person's social habits. Some of the important habits to find out about right from the start are whether your future roommate participates in drinking, smoking cigarettes and partying. You can simply ask, "What is your social life like?" or "Do you ever smoke cigarettes?" You may have a preference about being paired with a roommate that does not smoke, so finding out about the types of things that your future roommate is involved in can help you make changes so that you have a better living experience.
Since you and your roommate will be sharing a space it is important to ask questions about cleanliness. You can ask your future roommate how he would rate himself in terms of tidiness or neatness and how often he spends each week cleaning. It is also important to ask questions pertaining to a cleaning routine, so that the housework is fair and balanced. Kenyon College's Housing and Residential Life department suggests roommates asking each other "How will we split up the cleaning?" "Who cleans what?" and "How often should we clean?"
If you are in college, you and your future roommate should ask one another about your study habits, since studying is a major part of college life. One thing to discuss is your class schedule. Find out if your roommate has morning classes, late classes or classes only on certain days of the week. Then ask her when she would prefer to do her studying. Some people study in the morning if they have late classes, while others have early classes and study at night. Ask your future roommate what her noise tolerances are while she studies, such as if she needs complete silence or if some background noise is okay. If you can, try to get on the same study schedule.
Your future roommate will probably want to have guests over from time to time, and so will you. It is important to set expectations for guests so that nobody feels like their boundaries are being infringed on. Ask each other how often guests will come over, whether you should ask permission for guests to come over, when are the best or worst times for guests to come over and what to do about guests who sleep over.
You or your future roommate may have a job that requires you to work outside of your home or dorm. It is a good idea to find out about each others' work schedules. Ask what his work schedule is like and whether he works day shifts, night shifts or weekend shifts. If he works evening shifts and gets off really late at night, talk about how to handle noise and lights being turned on at late hours.
Questions about sharing food, beverages, personal possessions, the TV and other items in your environment are critical to having a positive roommate relationship. Some people do not like others using up their things, while other people do not mind it at all. Find out how your roommate feels about sharing. You can ask questions like "Which items will we share?" "What items can be shared without permission?" and "What do I need to ask to use?" Bills are another issue that may need to be shared, so ask your future roommate about how the two of you will handle household expenses. You need to know if you will share the bills by half or only pay for what you use.