Typically roommate does mean flatmate. But a new occurrence (well new for middle class folks) is renting a one bedroom place with a roommate.<p>You can either share the bedroom, but more commonly, one of you sleeps in the living room. Sometimes you can put up a fake wall--sort of a room divider--to make two bedrooms.<p>It&#x27;s not really normal, but it&#x27;s done in absurd high cost of living cities like SF and Manhattan, NY.<p>Then again Americans do it during college, so I&#x27;m not sure why I think it&#x27;s so weird a young adult would do it. But I think it&#x27;s weird.