Matt Hutchinson, the director of Spare Room — the room-share service that runs the Speed Roommating events, which launched in New York City in January — sees the mixers as a way to give candidates a better sense of each others’ personalities. “Rents are expensive, and [apartments] go quickly,” says the 40-year-old Londoner. “It’s almost a full-time job to find where to live.” (The next event is tomorrow; see speedroommating.com for details.) Speed Roommating can be a less stressful — and safer — alternative to seeking roommates online, where you could wind up interviewing someone who looks like they belong in Rikers Island instead of your spacious SoHo loft.
