10 Proven Tips to Break the ICE with Your New Roommates

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Are you moving in with new roommates and you wonder how to break the ICE? No matter whether you are a first year student or just moving-in to a new place, you always need to break the ICE with new roommates. This is beneficial, because it ensures a smooth transition without much hassle. So, to ease things for you, here are a few ‘ICE’ breaker tips for you. This, to some extent, will help subdue most of the initial awkwardness you might face with your new roommates.

10 Tips to Break the ICE with Your New Roommates:

1. Introduce Yourself
2. Make a Cup of Tea
3. Cook a Meal
4. Arrange a Party
5. Explore the City Together
6. Open Ended Questions
7. Make Yourself Adaptable
8. Taster Sessions
9. Blending with Other Culture & Traditions
10. Spotify Playlist

#1. Introduce Yourself

Interaction is always the first ice breaker whether it is virtually or face to face.  As you head towards a new transition, it is always best to make yourself known to roommates who will be living with you and sharing much of your common space. So be the first to make that attempt to introduce yourself and this can make the people around you in that house feel comfortable. This can be the first step towards socializing and eventually creating a circle of good friends who can be your friends for life.

Interactions can also become the part and parcel to roommates landing up being your classmates. Being known to each other can further help you when you need some career advice or simply want to check out hangout places nearby. Also remember, there can be roommates who are shy or introverted so take your time and also give them the time they need to open up with you. 

#2. Make a Cup of Tea

It is all about identifying the ice breaker. What exactly helps you to break the ICE? Why not try making a morning cup of tea together?  In India, tea is a cup of life for many and if you are in the UK then you must have heard people saying that “a cup of tea makes everything better” so offer a cuppa with some cookies of course. The tea making session can also become a conversation starter as you can ask your roommates about the way they like to have their tea like with lemon, ginger or honey etc. So meet up at the shared kitchen or pantry of your student accommodation and mix up along with some tea. This can serve as a good ICE breaker to help you open up more with your new roommates . 

#3. Cook a Meal

It is a known fact that food brings people together and if it is good food, then nothing like that. It is the universal language where tasting good food can actually bring us close to best pals for life. Being a student, it always serves as an advantage as students settling abroad come from different regions and cooking regional food can always serve as a surprise element for each of us.

Another thing about eating together, is once you are at the dining table you can very well start a conversation which can be related to the recipe of the dish that could be shared on the table. Also you can try making a popular food together like, for instance, baking a pizza together and sharing it with roommates while your favorite TV show is on. 

#4. Arrange a Party

Parties are a great way to socialize with people you want to be friends with. Universities also organize fresher’s parties for first year students with a motive that students can mix up well and be familiar with their prospective classmates. This becomes beneficial as it helps evade homesickness that many students face while trying to settle down abroad. Parties are effective ways to break that ICE of being total strangers in a stranger city.

Parties really help you bond well with peers and you can make friends who can be your best pals later in life. This will help you chill out on weekends with them and there will be a group of people to guide you and help you in making a smooth transition to university life. So host or head over to a party where you can bond with your roommates and break the ICE to a certain extent. 

#5. Explore the City Together

Another way to break the ICE is by arranging weekend trips to neighboring areas or simply checking out the city attractions. This will help you bond well with roommates and also you will get to know more about the city. You can arrange the trips together and plan it beforehand with your roommates.

This interaction can help you know about your roommates about their likes and dislikes. For example, if your roommate is a history buff then she can recommend you to visit a museum or any historical monument in the city. Similarly, if you love trekking then you can invite your roommates for a trek to the nearby hilly terrain. Finish off your trips with your favorite drinks and dinner at a restaurant or simply head home and then prepare your dinner together. 

#6. Open Ended Questions

Break the ICE by asking open ended questions to your roommates and try to be a good listener as well. By being a good listener you can sustain the conversation to a significant level and also you will not sound rude. Interrupting in between can ruin the conversation or end it abruptly. Make your conversation interesting by actually taking interest in what your flatmate has to say. This will help mitigate the distance between you and your flatmate and eventually break the ICE. 

#7. Make Yourself Adaptable

Studying abroad is about being yourself, managing things alone, and also making decisions on your own. It is also about being adaptable and making small compromises for a happy living and maintaining that cordial relationship with your roommates. If you are living in a shared accommodation then adjusting yourself accordingly is very important. You can discuss with your flatmate as well as to how he or she can adjust to a specific time when the washroom might be occupied, or when you will need the pantry to cook breakfast and also if you are comfortable with outside friends coming over at your place. So just adapt to the new environment, make a little adjustments and it will help you break the ICE. 

#8. Taster Sessions

Many student unions also organize taster sessions and they encourage students to participate in it. These sessions are mostly hosted within the first few weeks of joining university in the first year. These sessions are a great way to break the ICE as they potentially run fun activities AND group discussions to create a great bonding and also introduce students to each other. You can also join the cultural societies at your university along with your roommate to develop your friendship and keep it going on a regular basis. Therefore, head for the taster session and take the first step towards breaking the ICE with roommates. 

#9. Blending with Other Culture & Traditions

Students living abroad together come from different cultural backgrounds. They can blend up with each other to create more equality amidst the diversity around them. You can know more about the festivals they celebrate and take part in it. Similarly, let them know about the events you celebrate. For example, if you are an Indian you can celebrate the Indian festivals like Holi and Diwali with your roommates, who can cherish being a part of it. Such cross cultural events, thereby can help in breaking the ICE. 

#10. Spotify Playlist

Music brings the world together and if you and your roommates have similar interests then that is an icing on the cake. You can know about their type of music and create a playlist and send them. Most of the music apps have this feature and Spotify too is the one for you.

This serves as a great way to bond with your new roommates in a more symbiotic way. You never know, you can land up with similar tastes in music that will also set you up for a strong friendship. So. just go ahead and make a playlist of your favorite songs and share it with all your roommates. 

Is It Hard to Get Along with New Roommates?

So to conclude off, breaking the ICE can be difficult or time consuming depending on how you do it. It can be hard initially, and time consuming too but it will get easier as time goes on since you already know your roommates.

Hopefully, the points mentioned above can be your helpful guide on how to deal with getting to know your roommates better and maintain a happy bonding with a friendship for life. June Homes also helps you create a great bonding by offering really good shared rented accommodations to university students. So go ahead and book your accommodation today and break the ICE with your roommates by following the tips stated above.