Personal Space and Privacy:



Moving in with a friend over a stranger means you will have almost no privacy, friends have a tendency to wan to hang out especially when you door is shut and you just want to be alone, but a stranger will usually respect your privacy by not bothering you unless it is something important. Friends will also assume it is ok to borrow things from you without asking be it food in the fridge or your toe nail clippers from on top of your dresser.

My old roommate would always go into my room to borrow my things no matter how much I asked her not to, and every time I asked she would get insulted because it was her so it should be ok with me.

Finances:

The reason why you moved in to an apartment is because you needed help being able to afford your expenses, and someone you don't know will usually be more responsible with making sure they have the money to bay their half of the bills then a friend will, a friend will ask you to help them out when they are short on cash.

One of my friends would always gamble in the casinos and especially the online casinos because it was easier then driving to the nearest land based casino, and sometimes he would spend all his money playing in the poker rooms or the Blackjack or Roulette table, and come the end of the month when the bills were due he would have to ask me to cover him.

Cleaning of the Shared Spaces:

In the past roommates I had found in the news paper always made sure that any space we shared like the kitchen or living room was kept clean. If you cooked something any mess was cleaned from the counter and pots, pans and plates would be put in the sink and were taken care of within 12 hours, but friends may take advantage of the slack you will give to a friend, because they know you would be ok with it.

One friend of mine hated anything being left in the sink for any amount of time and if it was left fore more then an hr or 2 she would complain, so me and my other roommate started cleaning the dishes as soon as we were done with them, only to find that she would leave her dishes sometimes for days and when questioned about it she said that her seeing our dishes bothered her but her dishes did not bother her so it was ok for her to leave them.

Utilities:

Friends will take liberties with electrical usage that strangers usually will not take. When I lived with strangers if we ha an agreement to only use the AC for an hr before bed then they would usually stick to the agreement, but friends will break the agreement because you are friends and you will understand.

The girl I was friends with would always go out and leave her AC on and when I called her to tell her she would just say she forgot and would try to remember, but the next day she would do it again. She would also go into my room and turn on my AC and the one in her room to cool down the rest of the house when she was home watching TV alone.

By the time I eventually moved out of that apartment I was no longer on speaking terms with my former best friends and that is why I recommend that you do not ever move in or allow friends to move in with you.