Moving In Together: What To Do First And How To Make It Work

After weathering a troublesome roommate situation for a year, Dave Sotelo, 26, was ready to move out. His girlfriend, Ngoc Nguyen, had the perfect solution: moving in together.

"Conveniently, an apartment in my four-unit building became available at the very same time," says Nguyen, 26.

There are obvious advantages to cohabitation, both emotional (living with the person you love) and financial (sharing expenses like rent).

The drawbacks are just as glaring, like adjusting to annoying personal habits and accommodating your loved one's passion for knickknacks that make your cringe.

One thing's for certain, experts say -- the more you discuss before you move in together, the more likely your relationship will succeed.

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Comments

[ThirdEye]

Another interesting point....I­f it doesn't feel right in the beginning, it's probably not going to get any better as time goes on.Your gut instinct can tell you quite a bit.

[DennyCrane]

What's amazing is that there still people who think living together before marriage is wrong. Part of being married means being able to live together. But if you've never lived together before getting married, then how do you know if you'll be able to after the wedding? Plus, you learn so much about each other when you're living together. You can be madly in love, but what happens if you can't stand living together? What if the other person thinks you're a slob or too much of a neat freak? What if one of you is unreliable when it comes to paying bills? If you're going to commit to spending your life with someone, better to know what to expect than be surprised after the wedding.