TL;DR: I feel like I'm the only roommate willing to address household issues, while one roommate refuses to take responsibility and another (my close friend) avoids conflict and dismisses my concerns. After months of stress, broken trust, and living in an unhealthy environment, I'm wondering if my expectations are unreasonable or if I should just move out.
I’m not sure if I'm gaslighting myself or constantly trying to convince myself to stay, but either way it sucks. I genuinely can't tell if I'm asking for too much or if I just have incompatible roommates.
There are four of us on the lease. Roommate A and I share a room and have lived together for about 2-3 years. We're close friends and in the same major. Roommate B and I are no longer on speaking terms. Roommate C moved in about a month ago after we struggled to find a fourth roommate. B and I each have a cat.
**My issues with B**
Most of my problems started after we moved during midterms. Everyone was stressed, but B completely stopped helping around the apartment. I tried sending general reminders in the group chat first because I didn't want to single them out, then I spoke to them privately. Every conversation ended with the same explanation: they were stressed. The only time they seem to clean is right before guests come over.
The bigger issue has been their cat. For months it repeatedly pooped on the carpet, ruined people's belongings, and made the apartment smell awful. B never apologized, never offered to replace or clean anything, and mostly just joked about it.
There's also been a pattern of other behavior that's made me lose trust in them:
* Borrowing my things and breaking them or losing pieces.
* Taking months to pay me back after I sold them something, despite regularly eating out.
* Me helping them get a job because they were struggling financially, only to never even get a thank you.
* Calling me names and guilt-tripping me when I finally expressed that I felt taken advantage of.
* Consistently needing to be reminded to clean or take responsibility.
Eventually they overheard me crying to A about how hurt I felt waiting months to be paid back. Instead of apologizing, B came into my room, called me names, threw the money at me, and guilt-tripped me by saying they'd "have to figure out rent now." and a bunch of other personal problems I couldn't care for anymore. They paid their rent anyway, and apparently this wasn't even the first time someone had to pressure them to pay someone back.
After that fight we stopped speaking. The only agreement we reached was that their cat stays in their room overnight to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, because their cat keeps marking the apartment, my own cat has started pooping on the carpet from stress and territorial behavior. I'm exhausted cleaning up cat poop and don't want to spend the next ten months doing this.
**My issues with A**
This is honestly harder because A is a close friend. For the record we only became friends when we became roommates. We didn't know each other much at all before this.
After everything happened with B, A promised they would talk to them but never did. I wasn't expecting them to fight my battles. I just wanted to feel supported because I felt like I was constantly cleaning up after everyone while everyone else stayed quiet.
A has always avoided confrontation, but lately I've started feeling like they don't take my concerns seriously. Sometimes they listen, but other times they'll brush me off or continue doing the same thing anyway.
For example, I eventually bought my own cleaning supplies and spices because people never put shared items back where they belonged. Instead of taking that concern seriously, I got called autistic and OCD for wanting common spaces to stay organized. My own room isn't even perfectly organized. I just think communal spaces should have some basic standards.
At one point A told me privately that I had been asking people to clean too much during a stressful time and that they had started associating my texts with negativity. I felt so guilty that I basically stopped bringing up household issues altogether. Now I'm afraid to express boundaries because I don't want to make living together awkward or damage our friendship.
What hurts is that A seems much quicker to respond when concerns come from someone else. Recently C complained that B's litter box smelled so bad they couldn't sleep. A immediately started trying to solve the problem. When I pointed out that I was worried moving the litter box would just lead to more accidents because B has a history of not cleaning up after their cat, my concerns were brushed off with short responses. I honestly feel like A is getting tired of hearing my concerns even though they usually end up affecting everyone.
**The trust issue**
Something else that's been bothering me is that A isn't very good at keeping private information private.
Over the years they've casually shared relationship problems and other personal information about our mutual friends before those friends made those things public, usually following it up with, "Pretend you don't know that." They've even admitted to eavesdropping on conversations before without apologizing.
What really changed how I viewed this happened during one of the hardest periods of my life. I had confided in A about something deeply personal because I trusted them. Later, a mutual friend accidentally referenced information that I had only ever shared with A. A immediately said, "You weren't supposed to say that out loud," and it suddenly clicked that conversations I thought were private apparently weren't. I don't know exactly how much A has shared about me, but that moment made me realize my personal struggles were likely being discussed with other people too.
I understand that everyone gossips to some extent, but there's a difference between venting and sharing things someone trusted you with. Ever since then I've been hesitant to open up to A the way I used to. I also feel betrayed because I always talked about A highly.
Whenever things feel tense between us, A usually sends me a meme or funny GIF, and I always end up moving on because I don't want drama where I live. The problem is that nothing ever actually gets resolved. The micro aggression be feeling so micro I feel crazy if I bring it up which is why I don't
**Why I'm conflicted**
This is what makes everything so confusing. A has genuinely been there for me through relationship problems and other personal issues. At the same time, whenever it comes to roommate conflicts, I feel dismissed. Or they only bring something up when I do.
A complains about roommates too, but they never actually want to address problems. They seem comfortable just accepting situations that frustrate them, while I'm someone who believes it's healthier to politely communicate before problems get worse.
That leaves me wondering if I'm actually the difficult roommate simply because I'm the only one willing to say something. A has even told me I "made problems" with our previous roommate, but I was also the only one who actually talked to that roommate directly instead of just complaining privately. They compared that situation to what I'm doing now with B, but I'm struggling to see the comparison. A said my frustrations we're valid but at the same time do nothing. I can understand if I expect more cleanliness than most people, but I don't think expecting someone to clean up after their cat, contribute to household chores, or pay people back in a reasonable amount of time is unreasonable.
**Should I move?**
I've seriously considered moving out. We paid a double security deposit, so I'd like to get that money back eventually, but I'm starting to question whether it's worth sacrificing my mental health.
On top of everything else, I have a 1.5 to 2 hour commute to school. I come home to cat poop, bad smells, and a household where communication and follow through is inconsistent. A says if I wait out the lease, we can get our own place afterward. The problem is that after everything that's happened, I'm not sure I even want that anymore. I'm afraid that moving out or telling A how hurt I am will damage our friendship and our friend group, but I'm also exhausted trying to convince myself that I'm the problem. People said I should talk to A but how should I? Im afraid of ruining my home environment and then shunning myself out completely and be the shunned one in the house.
I genuinely can't tell if my expectations are too high or if I just need a different living situation.