How to Find Roommates in NYC: Guide for 2024

Even with a small apartment, living alone in New York City can be financially unmanageable. While some people choose to take on a second job to keep up with the higher cost of living, an easier option is to share your living space with one or more roommates. 

Want to know how to find a roommate in NYC? There are more resources available than you might think. These free resources can simplify your search, and some options even come with screening features to make the process safer and more efficient. 

Take a closer look at how to find a roommate in NYC to lower your living costs for good.

Talk to Your Friends and Co-Workers

There are more advantages to having roommates than just sharing living costs. You’ll also enjoy a stronger sense of community as you form bonds with the others living in your unit. This sense of closeness forms faster if you already have a connection to your roommates, which is why it helps to turn to the people you already know as you start your search.

In particular, your friends will have a strong understanding of your personality, interests, and quirks. This insight gives them a good starting point for recommending potential roommates who will meld well with you. Often, a friend of a friend becomes a better roommate than you may think.

If your friends can’t recommend anyone, don’t be afraid to ask your co-workers. Knowing how to find a roommate in NYC includes using any resource that’s available to you. While you may not want to ask every co-worker, it can help to turn to some of the more trustworthy people in your workplace. A respected or valued co-worker might become a useful asset in your search.

Browse Short-Term Rentals on Roomrs

You won’t need to wonder how to find a roommate in NYC when you leave the search to Roomrs. Roomrs has the infrastructure in place to efficiently screen renters during the application process, which helps ensure every renter meets the criteria as a safe and reliable renter. 

Perhaps one of the best benefits of leaving your roommate search to Roomrs is that you’ll save an incredible amount of time. You won’t spend your free time advertising for roommates and interviewing potential candidates. With Roomrs, finding the right rental is as easy as searching student rental listings, so you can limit the time you devote to your NYC overall.

Of course, sometimes, personalities don’t mesh, even if all the roommates in a unit are reliable. However, an advantage of short-term rentals through Roomrs is that you’re not tied to an extended lease. 

Check Social Media

You won’t be the only one interested in coliving in NYC. There will be plenty of others who are looking for roommates in the city, often to save costs as well. You can reach a vast majority of those potential roommates by visiting your favorite social media websites. That’s because the latest statistics show 63.7% of the world’s 5.45 billion people use some type of social media.

Due to the ease of accessibility to social media, the process of how to find a roommate in NYC can be as simple as making an online post. If you already have an apartment, include pictures of the unit with your post. Use hashtags relevant to your NYC neighborhood and your roommate search.

The important thing is to be persistent. Remember that the algorithm may only show your posts to a limited audience. For that reason, finding a NYC roommate should involve repeatedly posting about it. Get your friends to share your posts to extend your reach. You can also try changing your hashtags to reach a different public audience.

Pursue Your Personal Interests

One of the lesser-known ways to find a roommate is to try an organic search. Find a hobby or interest that you enjoy and engage in it on a regular basis. Whether you like hiking, sitting in a cafe, or ballroom dancing, there are plenty of groups or classes to join. This gives you an opportunity to enjoy your hobby while you meet like-minded people.

Don’t worry about how to find a roommate in NYC as you engage in these interests. Just enjoy the conversations you have with others. Eventually, you’ll get to know people who share your interests, and some of them may be equally interested in a coliving experience. Let the topic come up naturally whenever possible.

Organically connecting with potential roommates can be a great way to find a coliving renter who already shares a deep bond with you. However, don’t let this lull you into letting your guard down. You should still put your potential roommate through the screening process to ensure a safe situation all around.

Download Apartment Sharing Apps

When researching how to find a roommate in NYC, keep in mind that more than half of the population uses their mobile devices to access the internet. This makes mobile apps one of the most helpful tools you have available to you. 

You probably have plenty of apps for restaurants, health and beauty, sports, and other interests. You might even use apps to read books or news. Check your app store to find apps directly related to roommate searching. 

Unlike other types of online vetting services, a roommate matching app does more than screen potential renters. It also helps you match with roommates who share your concerns or interests. You can even look for roommates who work in a similar industry or attend the same university.

Roommate matching apps are also effective because they use quizzes, surveys, and other methods to measure an individual’s personality. Some apps make these processes fun, designing them to resemble the social media quizzes social media users do for fun. The exception is that the apps use the information to connect similar renters.

Post Ads on Community Bulletin Boards

While digital services make it easier to connect with a broader audience, keep in mind that you may still have trouble reaching your local community. If a website’s algorithm limits views to users from the Midwest or Canada, for example, you won’t receive many messages from potential NYC roommates. A more effective strategy is to combine online advertising with print options.

If you don’t own a printer, you can have a printing service provide printed copies of your roommate search ad. You may need to tweak the ad for a real-world audience. 

For example, recreating digital artwork in printed format can become a costly endeavor. Instead, use a simple yet eye-catching design. You can also use bold or highlighted text to increase the flier’s visibility.

Once you have a few copies of your ad, look for public bulletin boards where you can post them. Check cafes, bars, and locally owned shops. Many of these places have bulletin boards to generate interest and foot traffic for their businesses. A bulletin board is a tremendous resource when you want to reach people in a limited geographic area.

Review Online Classified Websites

Some of the best websites to find a roommate in NYC don’t use social media at all. Just like print newspapers, you can still find simple websites that host free classified ad listings. The ads are even designed and organized like the classified section of a newspaper. In most cases, you only need a verifiable email address to post an ad.

Before you design an ad of your own, try searching the listings for other renters in search of roommates. There’s usually a section titled “roommates wanted” or something similar. You might find a living situation that matches or exceeds your expectations already available. In that case, a mutual screening process can lead to a satisfying end to your roommate search.

If you don’t find a good match, though, you can post an ad of your own. You might want a specific gender, age, or other criteria. Mention your preferences in the ad. It can be helpful to mention whether you’re looking for a student or a professional roommate in a specific industry. Describe your apartment in the listing, or mention that you would want the roommate to assist in the apartment search.

Look Through Student Apartment Listings

Many university students turn to the internet when they want to know how to find a roommate in NYC. For that reason, some sites, such as Roomrs, have sections that cater specifically to college students. This is helpful when you want to share a living space with others who have a similar lifestyle. 

A student apartment makes your daily life easier in a general sense. Since you’ll come and go irregularly as you attend classes, sharing a space with other students can help you avoid surprises. Additionally, you can commute together if you attend the same school. Both of you can save on gas by driving just one of your personal cars, or you can feel safer as you ride the subway with your roommate.

Student apartment listings are available on a variety of websites. If you don’t find an affordable place on one site, look on another website. You can find budget-friendly listings in any neighborhood. The key to success in finding the perfect student rental is persistence.

Consult a Real Estate Agent

It’s always helpful to consult a professional when dealing with the real estate industry. That’s because many people want the expertise and inside knowledge that only an experienced real estate agent possesses. After years of working in NYC, an agent is well-acquainted with fair market rental rates, the availability of rentals, and the competitive nature of the short-term rental market.

A real estate agent can take care of the screening process for you. They will run credit checks, verify employment, and run criminal background checks on behalf of the property owner. In this way, an agent also acts as a property manager for their clients. With a real estate agent’s help, you can have a better chance of finding a safe rental arrangement.

Networking is an essential aspect of any real estate agent’s career. They regularly communicate with property owners and other renters in search of coliving situations. So when your DIY roommate search isn’t turning up good prospects, an agent can connect you with others who share your situation.

Join Industry Organizations

Whether you’re in college or already working in your chosen career, you might want to cohabitate with others in your chosen industry. A shared career field can make it easier to relate to your roommates. You will understand each other’s stress, working conditions, and career demands. When you need to blow off some steam, the right roommate makes the perfect sympathetic ear.

In more practical terms, living with another person in the same industry can partner you with others who understand the demands of your job. For example, healthcare workers often work long or irregular shifts. Sharing a living space with another nurse can spare you from discussions about your late hours. Your roommate will understand why they heard you coming in at 3:00 a.m. 

It’s easier than you think to connect with roommates in your career field. Join an industry organization and visit their website regularly. If the site has a message board, find out how you can post an ad for a roommate. 

This is one of the best ways to find an industry-friendly roommate since only those in your career field will see the ad. As a result, you should only receive responses from others in your industry. Although you should still screen candidates, this method can help you find a reliable roommate sooner.

Skip the Roommate Search With Roomrs

Roomrs offers a wide range of coliving rentals to fit your budget, location preference, and specific needs. Best of all, you won’t have to worry about finding roommates on your own. You can move into a rental that already has other renters, and you can enjoy the peace of mind that we screen every renter in advance. 

Leave your roommate search to us and browse our room rentals today.