Moving In Together

img @ the frisky

It’s been two weeks since you’ve seen the inside of your apartment, and all of a sudden, it’s the first of the month and you find yourself paying rent on a bedroom you rarely even see! At some point when you’re in a serious relationship, the question will arise: should we move in together? It saves money, of course, and provides you a new sort of closeness that could potentially lead to marriage!

However, couples should really examine their relationship and decide if it’s a good idea to make the commitment to live together. There are definitely pros and cons to sharing a living space, so here are a couple questions you should ask before you take the leap.

1. Are you both financially responsible?

Sometimes when couples move in together, there comes the issue of sharing a budget. Perhaps you are pretty stable, but you’ve seen your boyfriend put off the electric bill until they shut off his power. If you don’t want to get stuck paying two shares, it might be more financially ideal to keep your apartment and bills to yourself. However, if you both are good at keeping up with monthly costs, living together might be a great financial decision!

2. Are you okay with your mate’s bad habits?

When you spend a lot of time together, you might start to notice that your guy/girlfriend has some sort of annoying habits. Like your girlfriend chews really loud or your boyfriend forgets to rinse his dishes. These weird little habits are okay in small doses, but when you’re faced with them 24 hours a day, you might start to get seriously irritated. You don’t want a great relationship to go down the drain over a dirty plate!

3. Do you forsee a long term relationship?

Sometimes even casual relationships end up being pretty close, you might even hang out at each others’ houses every day. However, if you aren’t committed to a long term relationship, or to monogamy, moving in together probably isn’t the greatest idea. The monetary investment and emotional commitment of living together is pretty precarious, and you don’t want to walk in on him browsing Match.com while you’re making dinner! If you two aren’t planning on marriage, or at least some sort of long-term situation, keep your apartment. You’ll be glad you did.