Moving in with your significant other is an important moment in every relationship. It means you two are serious about the future and you are ready to start making plans and materialise them.

However, it would be unrealistic to expect romantic gifts and long walks on daily basis. Living with a person you want to share the rest of your life with actually comes with a lot of unpleasant surprises. You might even find a bunch of irritating habits you never supposed you would have to face. Let’s discuss the matter in more details, though. If you are thinking about moving in with your boyfriend/ girlfriend, keep reading and get to know some of the pros and cons you will definitely experience:

• If you hate being on your own and you have always lived with roommates, living with your significant other will be a dream come true. You do stuff together, go to parties, go shopping and the best of all is that in the evening you always have someone to share your troubles with. You had a rough day at work? Alright, pour two glasses of wine and tell him/ her what is all the fuss about.
• Living with your boyfriend/ girlfriend means there is always someone you can count on. You can not find time to take the dog for a walk? You have been promising yourself to clean your windows on the balcony door and those fingerprints are driving you mad, but you are too pressed for time? You can not go to the grocery store after work? You can ask your girlfriend/ boyfriend to these small things that actually make a huge difference.
• There is another side of the coin, though and it is related to the purely domestic stuff. Various surveys claim that half of the couples have regular arguments over the cleanliness. In other words, if you love seeing your house spick and span and your significant other does nothing but mess, at one point you will not be able to tolerate that behaviour. Being eager to have a clean house does not mean you are a germaphobe or a cleaning freak, but admit it that seeing a huge spaghetti stain on your brand new carpet will drive you mad and after a few unsuccessful attempts to remove it on your own, you will spend some money on professional carpet cleaning. But hey, you will have someone to share the expenses with so we can count this part as an advantage.
• How often did you cook when you were on your own? You were probably the most regular customer of the takeaway chains and your dinner was predominantly pizza and home made sandwiches. Now you two prepare dinner and enjoy each other’s company. Various surveys put forward the idea that the activities you perform together, including cleaning, cooking and tidying up, strengthen your relationship.
• As for the financial aspect, living with your boyfriend/ girlfriend helps you save up from rent and utilities. Instead of paying rent for two small apartments, you can rent a larger, more spacious, cosy flat.
• Living at the same place as your significant other also saves money for transportation. Plus, you save time as you don’t have to commute to spend some time together.
• Before you start living with someone you are probably familiar only with his/ her positive personal traits. However, when you live together you get to know the good the bad and the ugly side of him/ her. Living with your boyfriend/ girlfriend is a two-bladed knife. You can fall in love with him/ her even more, but you may also realise you two are just too different to be together for a lifetime.
• However, everyone needs some privacy from time to time. Spending the entire day together may lead to unnecessary arguments. You might not like the way she folds your t-shirts, she might start yelling at you because you play a computer game instead of helping her with the house chores, etc. That’s why it is important to find the balance between being in a relationship and spending some time with your friends. Of course, your girlfriend/ boyfriend can also be your best friend, but there are some topics you’d better discuss with your friends. Your girlfriend is not willing to listen to a one-hour lecture about cars and vice versa your boyfriend would not be keen on listening you talking about make-up and fancy dresses you purchase online every other day.

To sum up, living with your significant other has its romantic aspect, but you should also be prepared to make a lot of compromises and avoid unnecessary arguments. If both of you are determined to adjust to the routine of the other and accept both the good and bad personal traits, your relationship will have a bright future. As the saying goes, a relationship is a union between two people who refuse to give up on each other.