Are people really this unfamiliar with the idea of having roommates? I'm 26 and it's been a necessity for my entire post living in parents house life. I could buy a house in the city I currently live in, but I'd be spending >50% of my (relatively large) income on mortgage repayments and I'd be utterly screwed if I ever hit the "housing prices crash" + "no job" combo.

I know students in the US sometimes have roommates. I didn’t think many adults did it in the west. Let alone well-paid professionals.

I think it's more common now among tech employees. It's also probably less common in areas with cheaper housing. Personally I feel this kind of shared housing situation would probably be much more enjoyable than loving alone.

It's been great for me. But it heavily relies on the people you're living with being generally reasonable.

I've also found it fun to live with people with varying interests, living with just other software engineers might be boring. Common hobbies are great though. Imagine every night being a lan party.