My roommates are moving out and no one I know can take their place, what are the pros and cons of having a stranger move in?

Pros
Being able set the rules
Making new friends
Extra money
Help with cleaning and chores

Cons
The older you become the harder it is to adjust
Finding someone easy to live with
Sharing living space
Hope they pay their rent on time
Their problems could become your problems

Fortunately I have never been put into that situation and could not fanthom the idea of a roommate. I think I would go without and sacrifice before I decided to live with strangers.

One of my best room mates ever I got by posting a notice at Columbia U. when I was living in NY. he stuck to his space and I stuck to mine, and we got along fine. I didn’t know about pros and cons in those days—I just needed someone to split the rent.

Today, I would be a whole lot more discriminating, but the space thing would still be one of the most important things we’d have to settle.

In addition to what @AmWiser said,
Pros:
-What was expected of you from your old roommates is gone; there will now be new expectations
-You can finally rearrange or reorganize the thing(s) you wanted to when other people lived there

Cons:
-The person might not turn out to be a good roommate/housemate
-The person might be a Cowboys fan

Pro’s : You the “daddy” – Easily maipulated :¬)
Con’s : They may be Jeffrey Dahmer’s love child who has a knife fetish – Snorer – Flatulent :¬(

ARRRRRGH!!! I seem to have been afflicted with the dreaded typo. Oh & such a glaring one at that. Take pity on me kind jellies!! :¬(

Expectations can be discussed on the front end. Good communication works wonders as you learn to live under the same roof.

The hardest thing for me has been having a roommate that is a night owl when I’m a morning person. It’s one of those things that one cannot be asked to change.

Tell everyone that you know that you are looking for roommates and to let you know if they know anyone.

Put the word out at groups you belong to: church, the gym, whatever.

You are likely to find the friend of a friend that way so you can have some arrurances about the person. Since I assume the rental agreement is in your name, you will be the one in control.

Con-That person could be the biggest weirdo you’ve ever met.
Pro-hmmm….

There’s a lot of weird and wonderful people out there. It could go either way, but like @Pied_Pfeffer said, get the important stuff out on the table at the start and then hope for the best.

I found my last roommate off craigslist and it turned out to be awesome and perfect. a lot of people find their rommates there. you’re just as likely to live well with a stranger as you are with a friend. even better, maybe, because you aren’t risking ruining a pre existing friendship.

My daughter has had roommates that she met through Craigslist for the last several years. You have to do a stringent job of interviewing people, get and check references, google them, make them sign an agreement up front about using things, overnight guests, etc. Ask for a security deposit of first and last month’s rent.