There's rarely anything about my life that's hip (as evidenced by my use of "hip"). But the rise in sibling roommate situations has The New York Times calling it a growing trend. My brother recently moved into my apartment, so looks like I'm not alone in bunking up with kin.
My roommate & I - a few decades ago
After a string of less-than-stellar Craigslist roommate situations, I was so excited my younger brother's plans for school brought him to Boston in January. There are definite benefits to living with a sibling; you know each other's quirks. You can be completely open and honest about house stuff without worrying about ruining your relationship (living with friends) or dealing with passive-aggressive retaliation (random roommates). Plus, he's taller than me, which comes in handy when I set off the smoke alarms.
He is over 4 years younger than me, so while growing up, we were never really in the same life stage. It's been fun getting to know one other as adults, without spending my time trying to blame things on him or having toys thrown at my face.
Anyone else have experience living with adult siblings?
(Images: 1. Leela Cyd/Penny, Petra & Sydney's Gorgeous, Artful Home, 2. Donna Bellucci)
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No, I wouldn't last a month. My brother and I are complete opposites in every way. I love him but can barely tolerate him.
My twin sister and I have lived together since the lease ran out on her first apartment roughly 5 years ago. Its much cheaper for us, and I love having someone around most of the time, and double the wardrobe, but damn if sometimes I don't feel like asking for a "divorce."
I lived with one brother for three years while we were both in grad school. Then two years ago, after several years with various roommates and a few years on my own, I moved in with my sister. She's the better cook and a lot neater than dear brother was.
On the whole, though, my siblings have been the easiest roommates to get along with. They understand that bathrooms need to be cleaned on occasion--and I know they know how to clean them. They can cook. We share a common knowledge on how things are done around the house.
Yes, there are squabbles. But there are many, many more good times. Gin and tonics and the Amazing Race, anyone?
My brother and I tried being roomies when our parents divorced and I was forced to move out of our childhood house. (I was commuting to college and he had just vacated the premises.) Maybe it was the circumstances, but it was just as awful as when we were kids. I love him dearly, but we were not meant to live together. Never again.
My brother has been renting a room from me for 11 months. It was tough in the beginning, because he moved in with me out of desperation (he broke up with his live-in girlfriends suddenly and needed a place to stay). Generally it works out. I know he's not going to break my stuff and he knows I'm not going to charge him an arm and a leg. We've had fights but we've always gotten along really well. Plus he brought his 46" flat screen with him and set it up in the living room. Bonus. The only thing I suggest - don't complain about your sibling-roommate to your parents, ever. Since he's renting from you, you should solve your disagreements by yourselves.
It's great to know someone has your back and will fix something that's broken because they're as invested in your home as you are.
*girlfriend (he only had one, lol)
I've been living with my little brother for 3 years while he finished undergrad. It's fabulous--he loves antiquing, cooking, and my cats, and we're both queer. Alas, he's moving away for grad school in August. Gonna miss him like crazy... I'd live with him forever if I could!
I lived with my older brother for nearly 4 years. It worked out well. As much as we could piss off one another, at the end of the day, we were family so everything worked out.
My younger brother moved in with me last year and I can't really complain too much. I'm never lonely! We've always gotten along pretty well, but now we're actually friends. We still drive each other crazy, but we split rent and have each other to lean on. I love the little fella!
My sister and I have been living together for 5 years and although we argue at times it's definitely better than living alone. 2 years ago my sister had a baby and since that time I have had the pleasure of getting to see my niece grow up I like to call her my half-a-roommate. So never a dull moment here!
We have lived in three apartments in large apartment complexes until this past November when we decided to rent a house.this blog is definitely showing me how to make this house rental a home can't wait to try some of these things here in our home!
Aww, that's cute @Kpg- "half-a-roommate". Ha, well I don't think I could have ever lived with any of my siblings in my 20's and especially not now in my early 30's! So ironic because we are (and have always been) an incredibly close family. But that's the problem- with me being the youngest of the bunch, it would've been like living with my parents! I don't even want to imagine how badly my dating life would've turned out. Yikes. Well the natural progression for us seemed to be college, marriage and then children so there was never an opportunity for any one of us to become roommates at any point in our adulthood.
I think living with my brother would quite possibly result in homicide. We have a MUCH better relationship ever since we stopped living at home together!
I don't think this would work well for my brother and me, but we did live 4 blocks from each other for a few years and that was a great situation. We were just close enough to be able to drop in for a cup of coffee or dinner.
I lived with my sister and her partner for 18 months. At one point, the partner had to referee our arguments. Still, they were doing me a favor when I moved out to Seattle without a job. They has to finally tell me to stopping baking late at might because the smell was waking them up. I think the way for sibs to be good housemates is to pretend you are housemates first and have all the discussions about food, personal preferences, responsibilities AND to try not to fall into the habits of your childhood...no care-taking, ancient stories and teasing about long ago stuff, no trash-talking the rest of the family.
Nope...no roommates ever again...family, friend or stranger. I am temporarily sharing an apt with my sister and i would never do it again.
my siblings live together, they're 2 yrs apart.. they've always been close and it works really well for them. me on the other hand... I'm much older, so nope, wouldn't work out. I'd be parenting and they'd be rebelling... DISASTER!
Im keen to see the interior style incorporating both siblings... thats what I thought id be seeing here... maybe later?
I love this post! and all of the comments! thanks so much! My little brother and I are really close and I have been considering the possibility of him living with me. I think this helped me decide.
My brother and I have been living together going on 3 years now. We first decided to live together when we both got into graduate school in Boston. Much like the author, we are also four years apart (he's older)--so we grew up separately from elementary school forward, having separate friends, and separate high school and undergraduate experiences.
It has been amazing living together as adults. We share the same background, and love knowing that we always have a built in travel buddy, someone to have dinner with, and someone who is as invested in the living space and lifestyle as you are. Because we are family, we are each willing to go the extra mile for the other, unlike with any other roommate. We help each other, laugh constantly, and are always getting into fun and crazy adventures. We often joke that we are "power siblings" and that we have developed a twin language--despite our being four years apart in age.
Together we have build furniture, explored museums, toured chocolate factories, had many delicious dinners, seen parades, taken boat trips, been up and down New England by plane, train, and automobile, and are doing it all over again in the Midwest.
Living with a sibling, especially one as awesome as my brother, is the way to go.
I could live with my sister, if needed. I couldn't live with my brother. But I'd rather not live with either of them. In fact, I don't think that I want to live with anyone ever again.
Very happy to go on vacations with my sister and we have a great time together but I don't think I'm programmed to live with another human being.
My 4-year-younger sister and then boyfriend lived with me when I first bought my house. I loved it. She hated it. I was too messy and hadn't quite gotten the domestic thing down. I missed them terribly after they got married and moved out.
Now my 18-year-younger sister lives with me. We both enjoy it for the most part but she's so young and so much younger than I am that I end up doing more parenting than either of us want. Looking forward to pushing her out of the nest only because she needs growth. I'd gladly take her back in 5 years. She's a great roommate.
My sister and I have shared two apartments together as adults (after years of sharing a bedroom growing up). She's almost 6 years younger than I am, and we are very different, but we make excellent room mates. I still regret giving in to my desire to live alone and breaking up that union, and it's been years!