I’ve never owned a house. To be honest, I’ve never really wanted to. I’ve moved around a lot in the last 8 years, and have really valued being able to pick up and move when I was ready to do so.

I’ve been living in apartments and/or renting houses since college, and I can say that through roommates, two-bedrooms, four-bedrooms, backyards, no backyards, pets and no pets… I’ve learned a few things about living in an apartment.

Rachel’s the opposite. She’s never lived in an apartment, so we thought we’d share our thoughts and lessons learned from our own experiences with each others’ readers. Fun, huh? So, if you’re on my blog today, Rachel’s sharing her 5 Things No One Ever Told Me About Owning a House, and here I am with -

5 Things I’ve Learned About Apartment Living in the Last 8 Years

5. Make the most of your small space. I’ve found that in smaller apartments, shelf space is super valuable. Chris and I have little cabinet space in our big new kitchen sink and like to keep the counters clean. This was almost impossible – as we needed the space on the counters for our appliances – until we added a shelf in the kitchen. We moved our pretty dishes, bowls, and glasses onto the shelf and put the appliances (blender, food processors) out of sight and in the cabinets. This works in other rooms also – keep your surfaces clean and clutter-free by making use of creative space like shelves.

4. Roommates make the best TV-watching companions. I lived in St. Paul for a couple of years with some other girls, and my favorite times were the nights we were all home together in front of some sort of guilty pleasure TV. The Bachelor, Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelorette, you name it. It’s better when you have people to talk about (judge) the TV characters with, and it’s even better when you have someone to share that bottle of wine with.

3. Get to know your neighbors. I can’t tell you how many times it’s been helpful to know who’s on the other side of that wall. Maybe you need to borrow a vacuum cleaner, sure. It’s nice to know who your neighbors are when you need something (and when they do, and they know they can ask you). But when you meet and greet your neighbors, sometimes they become friends. This has happened a couple of times and it is a pretty awesome thing to have a good friend, quite literally, next door.

2. Bill-pay requires communication. Yes, you should assume that bills will be split between the two, or three, or four of you. That’s fair. But you need to be 100% clear up front on HOW those bills will be split. Will you each send separate checks to the electric/cable/water/gas company each month? Or will you each cover one bill and figure out the differences to pay each other directly later? I’ve been in both situations and they both work – but they both require an understanding up front about who’s paying what, when it’s been paid, and how.

1. Be considerate to roommates who are on a different schedule than you. I used to get up early to be at work by 8am. I had a roommate who was in school and would stay up late to study, but sleep in in the mornings. We had a quick conversation once about how loud my work heels were on the hardwood floors and from then on, I waited until I was out the door to put my shoes on. On the flip side, she put headphones in at night when I was sleeping instead of using speakers. Making concessions for these little things will go a long, long way.

Are you a renter or an owner? Why? What kind of tips can you offer about what you know?

Author bio: Doniree Walker is a blogger and freelance writer. Her clients include Duncanville, TX apartments and relocation company UMoveFree.com. She blogs at doniree.com and tweets @doniree.