Quote:
Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB
I won't be doing it until there's a ring on my finger and wedding plans are underway.
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I agree with this for me personally. The only man I lived with was my husband, and that was after we had become engaged. I don't think it was really to "test" anything because the bumps in the road would have been there before or after the ceremony and I think we were just as committed to eachother once we were engaged as we were after the ceremony. We moved in together for my summers & december break during law school because I had a 12-month lease where my law school was and I needed a place to live in his area... our only time together besides the every-other-weekend visits while classes were in session.
Before being engaged, I don't think it would have worked as well. Without that knowledge that the other person isn't going to say "enough" after a big fight, it just isn't the same. It isn't as honest, I guess, and there's just a whole lot more game playing that goes along with the whole "will we or won't we get married" mentality. I guess if you're not interested in getting married, living together probably can't hurt.
What was actually the most beneficial thing for us was that before I moved in, my husband (then boyfriend) had a roommate for about a year. He is an only child and had never lived with anyone but his parents (and had been living by himself for a few years). His roommate made him quite a bit less anal about things being done HIS way and more tolerant of all the little things that people do that can be annoying. He also realized that (shocker!) he actually did a couple things that bothered others! When I finally moved in instead... I was kind of a breath of fresh air, I think. Plus, of course, I cook a lot better than his roommate.