A few days of staying home, not having to dress for work or school, and enjoying some quiet time may have sounded enticing at the beginning of the pandemic. When you share a home with a friend or family member, you may have looked forward to playing games or catching up on movies. However, as those days turned into weeks and then the weeks turned into months, now you may be experiencing roommate issues during the pandemic. You may also be curious to know whether people are moving more in COVID-19.
Living with a Roommate
Even the best of friends can be challenged with being cooped up inside the house for too long. Roommate issues during the pandemic are actually not that unusual. When living with someone else in the midst of stay at home orders and social distancing guidelines, you and your roommate may find that you are bickering over the smallest things. You may even feel as though your apartment or house has become smaller, given the confinement of the pandemic.
A few simple steps can help you and your roommate regain your mental health, as well as maintain your physical health, during COVID-19. The first step is to literally take steps. Go for a walk. Get some air. Refresh mentally.
Then sit down and have an honest discussion with your roommate, about the pandemic itself and about ways you can find to reduce your roommate issues during the pandemic. Discuss your schedules and address the issue of space. Remain empathetic, understanding that your roommate is going through many of the same struggles as you.
People Moving More in COVID-19
Roommates are moving out but they’re also moving in during COVID-19. People are moving for various reasons, either to move back in with family or because they have to move out of their current situation. Pew Research conducted a survey in June and found that millions of Americans are relocating this year because of the COVID-19 outbreak, moving out of college dorms that abruptly closed, communities they perceive as unsafe, or housing they can no longer afford.
Overall, around one-in-five U.S. adults (22%) said they either changed their residence due to the pandemic or know someone who did. Among those surveyed, 3% said they themselves moved permanently or temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, and 6% said someone moved into their household because of it. (Some had more than one of these things happen.) An additional 14% of those who did not personally experience relocation said they know someone else who moved.
Younger Generation Moving More
Overall, 37% of those ages 18 to 29 said they moved, someone moved into their home, or they know someone who moved because of the outbreak. Around one-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 (9%) said they moved due to the coronavirus outbreak, higher than the share in any other age group. Young adults are among the groups most affected by pandemic-related job losses and by the shutdown of college housing in early spring.
Moving to Reduce Risk
Among U.S. adults who moved due to the pandemic, 28% said the most important reason was to reduce their risk of contracting the virus, which had infected more than 2.8 million Americans of all ages by June. Another 23% said it was because their college campus closed, and 20% said they wanted to be with family. An additional 18% said the most important reason was financial – either job loss (8%) or another money-related reason (10%).
New Roommates
Around six-in-ten (61%) of the adults who moved said they relocated to a family member’s home. That included 41% who moved in with their parents or in-laws; 4% who moved in with an adult child or in-law; and 16% who moved in with another relative. An additional 7% moved in with a friend.
Contact Fox Moving and Storage When You’re Ready to Move
When you need to, or want to, move during COVID-19, because of roommate issues or other reasons, the professional movers at Fox Moving and Storage Charlotte can help you plan, pack, move, and unpack so you can move to your new home stress free. We also offer a free quote so you can include it in your moving budget. Contact Fox Moving and Storage Charlotte today to learn! Simply give us a call today at 980-414-8380 and find out how we can help you.