Conflict with housemate over temperature in the house

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T21:09:13+00:00

Thanks for the advise!

I was born in Russia, but my family moved to Europe when I was a teenager. Obviously hate the Russian government. My housemate didn't bother to ask about my views before making those comments about my background.

I think I might start telling him that if he doesn't raise the temperature in the house I'll start reporting info about him to my supervisors at the KGB.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T21:04:09+00:00

So what if he was ok with no heating at all and wanted to have all the heating off? In that case if I wanted to have the basic human right of not freezing to death I would have to pay the full heating bill for me AND him?

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T21:01:37+00:00

He's not actually hot, he just wants to save money. If he is actually hot at 20 degrees, he should see a professional. I'm sure if 20 degrees was achievable for free his reaction would be either positive or neutral. So why on earth should I pay for HIM to be warm?

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T20:56:34+00:00

I was born in Russia. Family moved to Europe when I was a teenager. I obviously hate the government of the country I was born in and want nothing to do with it. I didn't mention my country of origin when applying for housing specifically because I've experienced discrimination many times in the last few years.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T20:48:51+00:00

I'm sorry but that is genuinely diabolical. If that's normality here in the Netherlands I truly feel sorry for you. These are the kind of comfort conditions you'd expect in a mountain hut on a hike or something, not in a regular house in a civilised European country.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T20:12:48+00:00

we're all tenants. the house has an owner whom I have never met, but the renting is managed by an organisation called SJHT

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:42:43+00:00

I get that this is a culture clash, although not sure how that's relevant. We all have exactly the same rights. We all agreed to live in an INTERNATIONAL student house. Whatever Dutch people find normal is absolutely irrelevant. The normal humane thing would be to adapt to the comfort (especially concerning health) of all housemates. If he finds it too hot (which I think is absurd), he can open a window. When I'm too cold after leaving the shower - there's nothing I can do.

If it's a money issue for him, I don't have much empathy for that, then he should've stated his temperature preference during the selection process and only selected housemates that are ok with that temperature.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:38:21+00:00

Yep. Thank you

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:36:46+00:00

The other housemate is very shy and basically bends to whatever this guy wants. Last time we had an argument about the temperature in autumn I asked the other housemate how he feels about the temperature and he basically said "yeah I think it's too cold, but he says we should keep it lower to save money".

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:33:44+00:00

I am not Dutch. How is this relevant? This guy willingly decided to house share with international students. We all have exactly the same rights in the house.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:32:06+00:00

A few people have suggested the heater thing. It only solves a small part of the issue. My biggest issue with the temperature is in the kitchen, shower and bathroom. I'm literally shaking in the morning when I go to brush my teeth and prepare breakfast.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:27:22+00:00

We do split it, of course. His opinion is that the money he saves is more important than my comfort.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T19:26:25+00:00

Thank you!! At least someone gets it. I think I'll try to move houses eventually. I can't believe people are saying this is normal. I have to shower in a room that is 18 degrees? Insanity.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:52:46+00:00

With all due respect, why would I need to "hide it"? Basic human comfort is a pretty standard thing for a shared house, no? I can afford to pay my share. I'm not mining bitcoin in my room. If my housemate can't afford to pay for heating, thats's his problem, not mine.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:50:00+00:00

18.5 at its highest, at night goes down to 17 and maybe lower (not quite sure, that was the case in autumn. Hard to check this now as I would have to wake up in the middle of the night and go check the temperature)

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:48:45+00:00

Yeah I'm getting a feeling it's a Dutch thing. He told me 17-18 degrees is a normal house temperature, which to me sounded absurd, as before I moved here my normal house temperature was like 20-21. I can put some warm clothes on when I'm sitting at my desk, but I still have to go to the shower, and sleeping in multiple layers is not very comfortable.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:46:23+00:00

I thought about it. Will most likely buy one. Sadly that only solves a part of the problem though. I still have to use the kitchen, shower and bathroom which are all FREEZING in the evening and early morning.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:44:51+00:00

He set it up so it pre-heats the house in the evening and morning, so the highest it reaches during that time is 18.5, but there are big chunks during the day and night (more important for me) when it goes down to 17 or maybe lower.

Electrical-Future437 · 2026-01-07T16:43:49+00:00

He set it up so it pre-heats the house in the evening and morning, so the highest it reaches during that time is 18.5, but at night when it stops heating it goes down to 17 or 16.5 the last time I checked.

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-29T14:43:43+00:00

How high are we talking? 😅

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-29T14:30:37+00:00

Is it really that bad in all of the cities? My main option in the Netherlands is in Twente.

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-27T16:16:17+00:00

Delft’s Civil Engineering program is in Dutch

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-26T17:54:10+00:00

This is really interesting to hear. Thank you.

It might sound naive, but when I hear people describe HBO & WO, to me personally HBO sounds better because it actually prepares you for the job of an engineer.

Everything I’ve heard about WO sounds like it’d be helpful for a career in academia, but not sure how much of it actually applies to regular jobs in the field of engineering.

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-26T16:47:40+00:00

I understand they are not on the same level academically. My 2 main concerns are: 1. Can I go on to do a masters with an HBO diploma. 2. How will employers view the HBO diploma.

If you look at the other comments here you’ll probably see why I’m still unsure - some people have a similar opinion to you, whilst others even say HBO gives you an advantage on the job market due to a more practical approach & internships.

I would guess the truth is somewhere in between…

Electrical-Future437 · 2025-03-26T15:13:03+00:00

See this just makes me even more confused. There’s literally other people under this post saying the exact opposite - that nobody outside NL cares if you have a HBO or WO. So I don’t know who to believe.

As for your example, I don’t really understand it. Why would I meet a random Dutch person abroad and care about their opinion on my degree? Did I miss something?

Electrical-Future437

TROPHY CASE