Until recently, I didn't know if I could really do the housemate thing. Especially as it's far less common for my age group. There are so many variables for a successful situation! Not to mention concern over "issues". Like trust. I lucked (totally accidentally, really) into a good situation. The recipe for success on this one is: Private space that is separate from main area of house with a private entrance option. Just a couple of other people (both a bit older). No drama. No kids. Mellow. Quiet, but not stiflingly so. It is equally ok to hang out or not hang out. This is a good thing -- cave-time doesn't get anyone bent out of shape (though this has not been thoroughly tested. Been pretty steady, so can't really comment yet on how disruptive symptoms might be that dynamic.), and getting a bit of socialization is convenient and low pressure. I like it very much actually!

You're in kind of a tricky situation (like you don't know that, right? ). Have to admit that I could not deal at all with a kid in the mix. (Haha, and I have one! He's 20 now though.) It adds a whole 'nother dynamic. You actually put it very well, mm, and it might not need quotation marks... "family". It's going to be hard to not feel like a 5th wheel at times. Rare are the people who can truly make someone feel "part of the family". So that one's going to be hard. On the being "like they are your parents"... Is that in specific ways, or is it just a general feeling/atmosphere?

If you are inclined to say.... How did you come about living there? Did you know them before?

The BP part.... do they know? (That is something my housemates don't know. For me it's a lurking fear that waxes and wanes. Things have been steady, but the fear lurks-- not so much of whether they find out or not, but of what form a "disruption" will take.) That's probably enough questions for now. Have a few more thoughts, but they're kind of dependent on the answers to the ones currently posed.