Moving In Together: Are You Ready?
Cohabitation Check: 6 Signs You And Bae Are Ready To Shack Up - Page 5
Recent data from the University of Denver cites that some 70 percent of American couples will cohabit before marriage. What was once taboo or reserved for only “non-traditional” pairs has become quite commonplace. Are you planning that move with your sweetie? Make sure you take the time to consider the following before handing in the keys to your solo space!
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1) How Come, How Long
Do you have a plan for how long you’d like to live together before marriage? Are you planning to eventually marry, or have you not come to that conclusion yet? Make sure that both parties understand each others expectations of the scenario. If you are shacking up to save money, be sure to express that before picking out an expensive cable package, or paying extra for an apartment with a better view. If you want to use this as a trial run for wedlock, be sure your partner knows that before you find out that he actually rather not get married and is happy living this way for life.
2) Share The Load
Who’s doing the laundry? Do you expect to come home to dinner prepared when you work late? Speaking of, if you cook, do you want him to do the dishes? You need to have an idea as to what your day to day life is going to look like before signing on that dotted line.
3) Losing My Religion…Or My Family
Do either of you harbor any feelings about living together being “sinful”? If so…abort, abort, abort! You don’t want to sign a lease, only to have someone start feeling guilty and attempting to bounce out early. You also may want to consider how your folks are going to respond to this. If you are ‘grown grown’, then it’s all up to you. But if your parents are supporting any part of your lifestyle, then you need to know where they stand and if they will continue to help out.
4) What About Your Friends? (And His!)
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Are you the one who always hosts ladies night, while he’d prefer to socialize outside of the house? If one of you likes having company more than the other, you could very easily find yourself fighting over this. Make sure that you are both willing to compromise about guests, or your crew could be a witness to some bad times between the two of you.
5) What’s His (Home) Life Like?
If his apartment is in shambles now, don’t expect that he’ll be the cleanest guy ever when you live together. If she stays up until 4am every night on the computer, she’s not going to switch to your 11pm lights-out schedule at the drop of a hat. While compromise and adjustments can be made, you don’t become a new person when you move in with someone, so be sure that you are prepared for accepting your honey (and his aversion to hanging up his clothes) for who he is now!
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