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What is it you might want to know about someone before you get into a relationship with them? What their taste in music is? What they usually do for entertainment? Whether their personal style is more hip & happening or cool & laid back? Or perhaps whether they actually could give new meaning to the word disorganised? And what better way to find this out than by approaching them in their natural habitat and finding out for yourself? It may sound like a weird way to find a date but I’ve heard far stupider ones than to go through the share accommodation ads.

Lets face it, when you are out in public, you don’t have to worry about that Immaculate Collection CD that sits right beside Megadeath Greatest Hits on top of the stereo at home. You don’t have to be concerned if your bathroom is overdue for a clean. You don’t even have to be anxious if you are currently unable to see your bedroom floor for all the clothes and towels that you’ve used in the past week. In fact, if your out, you won’t even be thinking about these things but they may make all the difference to someone else.

Sure, if someone knew they were advertising for a flatmate and would be getting strangers through their place, it would be possible to tidy up beforehand and hide whatever they felt might be incriminating evidence. More often than not however, people do not alter the appearance of their home drastically for visitors and one would be able to get a decent sense of another person by seeing how they live. And not only do you get to see someone in the surroundings where they would be the most comfortable, you also get to ask all those annoying get-to-know-you questions without it seeming like a personal inquisition.

Are you single? Do you generally stay at home? Do you go clubbing? Do you play sport? Do you read? Are you easy-going? Are you the sort of person I could easily count as a friend…These are the sorts of things that you can find out either by checking out their pad or by asking them. You would probably find out more than you could in a crowded bar as well. It is definitely a situation where there isn’t really any pressure to ‘pick up’ and you would probably have their undivided attention away from prying friends. Would I try it myself though? No. Would I recommend others try it? Well I’d have to say also no.

Personally having been on the hunt for a prospective flatmate to move in on a few occasions, I can vouch for the fact that it is tiring if you wouldn’t consider them and somewhat annoying if they are the one who won’t consider you. Having read someone else’s account of having actually done it though, I can appreciate the method behind the madness and see that for some there might possibly be a few advantages.