The Upwardly Mobile

If you’ve landed that new job or found that new apartment, chances are, you’re looking for a roommate. It can be tough to find a good roommate, especially one whose tastes, lifestyle, and budget are all similar to yours. Since I just went through that process myself, I thought I’d share a bit about what I learned.

Without a doubt, the two most popular services for finding a roommate online are Craigslist and Roommates.com. Both sites are popular, but which one is actually the best at connecting potential roommates?

Roommates.com

Pros: Roommates.com is a site designed specifically to help you find a roommate in your location. The website’s algorithm allows you to search for a roommate over a number of different parameters besides the obvious age, sex, and location attributes. Particularly helpful attributes include price range, cleanliness levels, smoker/non-smoker status, and even a little emoticon indicator of general personality. When I joined the site and filled out my profile, I instantly had over 20 matches. Over the next 30 days, the site found me about 30 more.

Cons: The free membership really isn’t that useful. Like most dating websites, Roommates allows you to see your matches for free. However, to actually contact anyone, you’ll have to pay. 30-day memberships go for $19.99.

Craigslist

Pros: I know people who swear by Craigslist; the free community site is incredibly good at connecting people. I’ve used it in the past to buy and sell things, and its roommate-search functionality is the same. Post a free advertisement and get free responses.

Cons: Posting on Craigslist can be incredibly cumbersome, and there are significantly more 45-year-old women (no offense if any of you are reading this!) than young professionals. Posts quickly move off the first page and into the abyss, where they await a lonely death. In order to be effective, you’ll need to post early and often.

The Verdict: Roommates.com Wins

It’s really hard to pass up free sometimes, but the pain you’ll save by using Roommates.com makes it well worth the $20 you’ll spend. I managed to find a great roommate who’s actually working in the same building I am after about 2 weeks (I’m picky), and the site did most of the work for me. I spent hours on Craigslist posting and responding to posts, but I didn’t get nearly the same response. Of course, had I put my virtual assistant on this task, I probably could have gotten him to find me a roommate on Craigslist instead for about the same price as Roommates.