From Date Nights to Dish Duty: 7 Things to Consider Before Living With Your Partner

The idea of living together with your partner is always exciting and there’s always the inclination to say yes right away when you wait for it for so long.

However, being in the same home as your significant other is certainly different from just having a romantic candlelight dinner for two.

Consider a few points before pushing forward with your plans.

Transitioning To Living With Your Partner

About 66% of married adults look at living together as a step towards marriage. It makes sense as cohabitation can serve as a genuine preview of what wedded life will be like. You’ll wake up together, sleep together and be around each other more often than before.

Many couples will have their own stories and outcomes when it comes to the subject of sharing a home with their loved one, but you and your partner are two different people. The success of living with your partner will depend on what works best for both of you.

Considerations for Living With Your Partner

Before living with your partner, try to be upfront and ask questions. This stage of your relationship is uncharted waters for both of you, so having the conversation is a great way to prepare both of you for the teamwork it takes to have a home together.

1. Identities

It’s natural to know your partner really well if you’re considering living with them, but have a re-evaluation of identities with one another. Will culture and religion be an issue? Are there any family problems to open up about? Are your core values and beliefs aligned with one another?

It’s also good to talk about certain habits you may want to let your partner know about since you’ll be in the same living space as them. Maybe you’re a morning person who prefers to sleep earlier, which means putting time limits on having guests around at night.

2. Finances

Finance is a necessary topic to avoid making wrong assumptions or forming disagreements about money. Especially when it comes to living with your lover, transparency about your income and debts is a must in anticipation of the expenses you two will have.

Have questions about what expectations you will have with mortgage or rent, appliances, decor, and home systems. A house’s energy bill can also be relatively high, with heating and cooling  likely coming to 43% of your total energy costs. Discuss how you and your loved one will fund everything.

3. Personal Space

Apart from physical touch, let’s talk about physical boundaries. Your home will be a shared space, but is it all accessible 24/7 for both of you? Some couples decide to have separate bedroom spaces, bathrooms, closets and such from one another to serve as their personal space and storage. Try to ask what your set up we’ll be.

4. Future Date Nights

Living with your sweetheart can often make the romance aspect of your relationship, so it’s important to have date nights to keep the park. Head out and go shopping with them or take them out to dinner. If it’s feeling too cold, a nice sip and paint night or video game session indoors is the way to go.

5. Housework Duty

Washing dishes, doing laundry, and more may be fun to do together, but it’s important to have some rules on who will be responsible for who. Will you divide the chores throughout the days, or will both of you do the chores for your own belongings? Who’s responsible for cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner?

6. Children and Pets

As living together is a step before marriage, it’s important to check whether your partner is in favor or opposed to having children or pets together. If you or your partner already has either of them, it’s also important to clarify whether they’re included in your new living arrangement.

7. Purpose and Timeline

Reassess the reason why you’re living together. Around 38% of cohabiting adults say they bring up the arrangement due to practical reasons. It’s good to know your partner’s insight and know whether there’s a time frame for how long you will live with one another.

Have the Moving-In Talks

Before setting a date for moving in with your partner, open up the topics you’re concerned about and discuss the general considerations above. Having these conversations can strengthen your relationship as you move to the next stage of life together.