Do you want to live together before you get married? Were you raised to believe living together before marriage was wrong, but you wonder if there's any merit in it? Is there a smaller chance of divorce is you live together first? The past few decades have seen more and more couples sidestep marriage and simply opt to live together.
Others think that living together before marriage can give them an edge.
Here are some of the things you can learn about each other and the relationship as you live together.
The Learning Curve Dating is that first step to learning about that special guy.
We find out about his likes and dislikes, his sense of humor, his ambitions.
But while this might all be pleasant and amusing, how does it translate into a marriage? What about all the other things you still know nothing about? Many are surprised to learn that the man they marry isn't quite the man they dated.
Sharing a Space I've often heard women saying, 'but we spend all our time together,' thinking that this makes for a strong union.
The time you spend together on dates is nothing like the time spent together once you begin to share the same living space.
You're ultra tidy, while he's leaves things lying around.
You're a morning bird, while he's a night owl.
He likes to have a big gourmet dinner at seven every night, while you've become accustomed to a quick bite to eat at five.
So how to you deal with all this? In living together you really see what this mate of your is like and there's little substitute that can teach you the same.
Money Pit Money woes often befall couples so it's important to learn, understand and perhaps even accept how the other sees money.
While dating, men may go all out and spend money they don't have on us.
At that time we're impressed and wowed, but when we start to share bills, expenses and rent, watching him blow all that money away on frivolities can start to be annoying, especially when money is tight.
Buying Time That dating period is filled with angst and undeniable passion.
We naively think that passion will live on and on.
It rarely does.
Estimations put the waning off of passion at about six months.
If you think you might really want to spend the rest of your life with this guy, you want to be with him all the time, but you do fear marriage might be a bit premature, moving in together can simply buy you a bit of time.
You'll learn all the above mention facts and you'll see if all that undeniable passion translates into an undeniably strong union.
Does living together before marriage guarantee you won't divorce? Of course not.
But it can give you a clearer picture of what to expect and it can make your feelings for your mate a lot more distinct.
This is when infatuations and crushes get separated from true love and devotion.
If you can make it through the unpleasant little quirks you might discover during your trial run of living together, you'll have a better chance of making a solid marriage out of it.