Roommates, amiright? Sometimes you love them, and sometimes you want to post passive aggressive notes all over the apartment. Trust me, living with other people can be hard, and harder still is choosing who those people will be.

Friends seem like the obvious choice. You like them, you have fun with them, you’ve always said they were like family to you, but it isn’t until it’s too late that you remember how annoying your family can get. Living with friends is fine until you learn all their irritating and sometimes disgusting habits. No one likes being stranded in the bathroom because their roomie forgot to replace the toilet paper…again.

I, for one, am also not a fan of unrinsed dishes crusting or growing mold in the sink because it seems you are the only person in the apartment who can tolerate scrubbing away food debris before it grows its own two legs and walks away. Does the word ‘ew’ come to anyone else’s mind?

Anyway, over the years I have lived with a variety of people both on and off campus. Honestly, I’d have to say the best roommate I’ve ever had was from freshman year when I ticked that box for random roommate. I know it can be a scary thought to live with someone you don’t know, but hello Facebook! If you wind up living with someone you don’t know, check them out on Facebook, send them a message, and get to know them. A nice chat can calm your nerves and prove that they’re (probably) not a psycho.

Honestly, living with someone you don’t know could turn out horribly. I won’t lie, but when it turns out your roommate is crazy, remember that you can run away to a friend’s apartment. This becomes a lot more difficult when you already live with your friend.

Although some people will argue against that, sophomore Andi Markham says, “Live with friends because for the most part you know what you are getting yourself into and might have an easier time resolving conflicts.”

The choice is ultimately up to you. Live with a stranger and risk the multitude of awful scenarios I’m sure are running through your head, or live with your nice, safe friends. Seems like a no-brainer. Truth is, living with friends can cause the friendship to end—living with someone means getting to know them on a much deeper level, and sometimes the friendship isn’t strong enough to handle that. You don’t always know people as well as you think you do.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Living with that friend you’ve known forever and are not afraid to call out usually works because you’re communicating with each other, even if that sometimes means screaming at them through the bathroom door. If you don’t have a friendship like that, well, you’ve been warned.

Senior Liz Bakken see both sides, but agrees living with friends has its downsides: “I’ve had great experiences living with random roommates and friends, but I think living with friends can be tricky because when you’re actually living with someone, you notice more of their annoying habits.”

Living with friends or strangers both have their ups and their downs, but overall, I advise against the year-long sleepover with your friends. When you’re looking for apartments this fall, remember to save your friendships. Besides, if you wind up living with a crazy person, you’ll have some great stories to tell.