i want to preface this by saying i apologize if i say anything inappropriate or inconsiderate, if i do, please correct me! so two days ago i moved abroad to start a new job in a country where i barely speak the language. i sort of got stuck living with this guy (my future coworker) who pressured me into committing and signing the lease although i already was not keen on the idea since i didn’t think we had that much in common. not to mention i have never lived with a dude before (im a girl) and i have a deeeep fear/mistrust of men. but i was trying to be openminded about it. flash forward to me moving in and i really am struggling to adjust. since he has autism, i want to be able to accommodate him but i am having a hard time imagining how i will have the energy to do so while also preserving my own boundaries.  there is already a laundry list of behaviors that are driving me up a wall (only 2 days in) but to borrow other terminology, he has an anxious / codependent roommate style and i am anxious/ dismissive / avoidant. he does not seem to be aware of his volume so he is always shouting on the phone/ to himself, blasting tv, and stomping around the apartment with the heaviest footfalls i have ever heard. but it is mainly his conversation style that i struggle with. every minor interaction with him (passing him in the hall on the way to the bathroom) turns into a 15+ minute diatribe on his life/career. and i genuinely can barely get a word in edgewise, even an “mhm, “oh really?”. i am guessing that this is like his special interest (?) because it is all i have heard him talk about so far but it is just so draining to be trying to pee and have to deal with him rapidfire shouting at me solely about himself before i can even close the damn door. no matter how many times i say “i have to go do x right now,” he keeps going. and even when i finally escape to my room he knocks on my door SO disturbingly loud and shouts things at me through the door. i understand that i am supposed to have a conversation with him about all of these things and set rules. but i would feel really mean setting almost 30 rules only 2 days in, knowing more are going to unfold. i don’t think that’s fair to him at all. and of course i should be willing to compromise too, but even just putting up with his living style and hiding out for the past 2 days has been incredibly draining and i feel exhausted thinking about how i could meet him in the middle with this stuff. like for example i can tell he needs routine and order (totally understandable), but that means he needs to know what i’m doing/where i’m going/what ive been up to constantly and that is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. it makes me feel so unbelievably suffocated and enraged. and i feel bad that my need for privacy is causing him distress but i am not sure if i can compromise on this. i just don’t know if it’s worth it to break the lease, hurt his feelings, and risk a relationship with a coworker… i would hate to do that. but if i suck it up and stick it out the whole year, trying to set boundaries where i can, i know i am not going to be able to really breathe and feel at peace in my own home for a year since we seem like such polar opposites. i have made difficult living situations work in the past but this seems really extreme and i feel like an asshole but i’m really not sure if i’m cut out for this.  do you think it is possible for us to happily cohabitate?