Been here! Long fucking story but worth it if you love crazy.
Just got out of a two year (abusive) relationship back in 2014. I was on the hook of a two year lease with my ex..his idea... And my parents helped me out fiscally to find myself a new place so I could be physically safe.
I found what I thought to be a decent apartment on one of those college town roommate finder Facebook groups, although I did search on Craigslist. Roomate seemed pretty normal, we had mutual friends, and she kept going on how she really wanted to have a great home environment and good times. She had a dog, I had a dog, cool. Shes had other roommates in the past that we're bitchy, too imature, not down for activities, etc (she was 29 doing her undergrad in a college town, I was 21). She wanted to have a friendly environment not an awkward roomate set up for the next year and I was down. It was a 3 bedroom apt/townhome. Two rooms upstairs and one downstairs. The 3rd roomate (upstairs adjacent to her room) was graduating and moving out but she was also really (or seemed) nice too, and they seemed to get along great. After that relationship with absuive boy, I had little friends anyways since he really didn't let me. I took the room downstairs because I wanted more privacy.
When moving in I started noticing things. Like the weird art projects that weren't there when I toured the apartment... like a baby doll head flower vase, where red painted plastic baby doll heads we're the flowers, and their limbs were painted green for the leaves, sitting on the dining/kitchen room table. The many animals and reptiles in jars. The headless Barbie dolls mounted to wooden plaques with TEETH (origins still unknown) adorning the sides. Two guy friends (ex boyfriends ex roommates who hated his guts so much that they helped me move all of my shit in a day, god bless) we're like ughhhh wtf did you vet her? I took it as she was a little creative and excentric and just a little creepy but it was better than living with someone emotionally and physically abusive so I was still soooooo psyched for new beginnings.
So this is all happening in the beginning of Summer in a hot Florida college town (inland, no ocean breeze). My apartment jets out from the unit, and these rooms in these layouts get really hot (perhaps not as insulated as the rest of the house). This is known to me when I moved in but I wanted the privacy.
Sticky notes began to be left everywhere instead of just talking to me. Kind of passive aggressive but okay whatever our schedules weren't exactly in sync. But it was for everything. My dog drank water out of his bowl and dripped a couple drops without me knowing? Sticky note. Left the light on in the kitchen when I was studying after just had pulled an all nighter and left for my test in the AM? Sticky note. Put the AC below 75 (my room was 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the house) in the middle of Summer? Sticky note. Left a dish in the sink? Sticky note. I took them seriously at first but after a while I was like okay, sticky note? Trash note.
Then she finally exploded, she just came at me and started screaming. My reaction was to laugh because I got nervous which of course just made her more mad. She was upset about my living style AND the fact that we weren't hanging out and friends like she wanted when I moved in. I just met this guy (who I am still dating, we've been together for over 4 years and moved to Colorado together after college) and was taking 18 credit hours to try and finish college and GTFO of the college town. It ate up most of my time. I already dealed with a psycho before, so i had some coping skills, so I apologized about my behavior said I'd do better with all the shit she was complaining about and just tried to not use common areas and avoid her.
Of course, just my luck, our apartment becomes infested with fleas and the bed bugs so we are literally forced to interact. We don't know who's fault it is, and of course she immediately blames me and trashes all of my stuff. I filed a police report and a report with management. The management company botched our extermination of these critters and I got creative with legal looking documents and scared them into letting me out of my lease (which never happens in college towns so that was a huge win). I found a sublet in a 3/3 apartment, Melrose place style complex, near the football stadium (and my classes) with all jocks that didn't care I was a female. Cool! Literally moved on Christmas eve when no one was home. I figured I might be invited to a few parties but not really interact and I was so down for something more chill and hands off.
I'm all moved in and school is starting up again. Still dating my (new at the time, couple months... but literally current to date today) boyfriend and I had been texting with one of the roommates who had a nice girlfriend and we seemed to be getting along (we are actually still friends). The other roomate sublet his room without saying anything to another girl, who was worse than the roomate from the townhome apartment.
This girl, also close to 30 in a college town, threatened to break down my door (I put a bolt lock on it when she started getting crazy), hurt my dog, would berate me about my appearance (I was struggling with my weight and she was like a member of Jersey shore) not allow me to keep anything in the living room (all I had was a printer which she would rip out of the wall when I wasn't home and throw in a closet), but only acting this way towards me and not the male roomate. She also let us know she was being vetted by the FBI and if they called us to ask about her, to say good things and help her out. We both steered clear, because she was clearly unstable.
She disappeared mid summer despite taking summer classes, and didn't show up for move out. We called her and texted her for 3 days before the final move out date and got back nothing. I was graduating, and moving across the country, other roomate he was moving in near his girl friend, so we threw out all her shit as to not get charged for garbage removal and other tedious fees.
Of course he was spared, but days after this happened, I started getting threatening texts from her that she was going to sue the shit out of me. I laughed, screen shot the texts, and blocked her number and multiple facebooks, and never heard or saw her again.
I've had normal roommates since (living with a guy friend when I moved to Colorado) but I now live with my boyfriend (the one in the story) of four years and am so happy. If we ever break up I'm getting a fucking studio to myself. I'm never going through roomate hell again.
Tl;dr: had a few bad back to back roomate experiences. Never again, bitches near there 30s in a college town be crazy.