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Forum nameGeneral Discussion
Topic subject Living together before marriage: Is it a "must" for you?
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=12933440
12933440, Living together before marriage: Is it a "must" for you?
Posted by dew drops, Sun Nov-22-15 03:54 PM
A lot of people feel like they have to live together before getting married (or even engaged) because you *really* get to know someone after you live with him. While there are others who prefer not to because they say it's getting the benefits of marriage without the paper or it can make someone feel comfortable and not want to move towards marriage.


Which side are you on?
12933444, It's statistically more likely to fail that way.
Posted by Monkey Genius, Sun Nov-22-15 04:26 PM
Everybody thinks they're the exception, though.
12933454, i've heard of that study.
Posted by dew drops, Sun Nov-22-15 05:20 PM
what is presumed is that there religious factor affecting it though. people are least likely to move in prior to marriage do so out of religious beliefs and associated stigma, which in turns impacts their lower likelihood for divorce. while those who do move in together are less concerned about religious stigma and less concerned about the religious stigma regarding divorce.

i don't think that study looked at marriage satisfaction.
12933452, Yes.
Posted by denny, Sun Nov-22-15 05:01 PM
And I had to break up with someone cause of this difference. No way am I getting stuck with whatever the hell you got stored in your closet.
12933455, when i was younger, i was adamantly against "living in sin" for myself.
Posted by dew drops, Sun Nov-22-15 05:24 PM
i didn't judge others who did, but for me, i was dead set against it. i thought it would make a man get too comfortable. as i've had more experience (in life, dating, and living with other people) and a better understanding of myself, there's no way i'd marry a man without living with him for at least 6 months before marriage. i'm not even sure i'd accept a marriage proposal before living together.
12933467, yep
Posted by denny, Sun Nov-22-15 06:37 PM
Inversely to tradition....I'd be scared as hell if my daughters married a guy before sin living. That whole notion of making a man 'too comfortable' is so near-sighted imo. The whole benefit of sin living is you find out what each other are like BEFORE making deeper commitments. Ie if he gets complacent about health and finances because he's 'comfortable'.....don't we wanna know that BEFORE marraige?

For sons....the shit is even more important. The financial risk of marraige skews heavily towards males. FAct is...they have alot more to lose in financial terms.
12933457, there was no way i was getting married without cohabitation first
Posted by tomjohn29, Sun Nov-22-15 05:39 PM
12933458, nope. it's completely possible to stay at someone's place
Posted by ndibs, Sun Nov-22-15 05:41 PM
7 days a week or even a month or two or three or four at a time without giving up your own space.
12933471, but thats the whole point of living with someone before marriage
Posted by legsdiamond, Sun Nov-22-15 06:50 PM
when you have you own space it's easy to run back to it instead of being "trapped" and having to sleep/live with someone while fighting.

12933477, you do not have to run away because it's easy
Posted by ndibs, Sun Nov-22-15 07:09 PM
or settle for someone who does that.
12933705, point is when you live together there is no "well I'm going home"
Posted by legsdiamond, Mon Nov-23-15 11:54 AM
when you get in an argument or want some space.
12933744, right. people ignore this important aspect.
Posted by dew drops, Mon Nov-23-15 12:45 PM
when you live with someone, how you cope with anger, arguments, tension, etc will be display cause you can't escape to your own place AND you gotta lay next to the person in bed. when you're not living together, you can hide how you REALLY deal with these situations.

And if you find out once marriage and how they handle stressful situations doesn't sit well with you, then you're trapped.
12934140, You can live together and hide your emotions too.
Posted by ndibs, Tue Nov-24-15 12:37 AM
...you may have a lot more incentive to because you don't have your own place to go home to. You may also be financially dependent or interdependent on them if you're married. You may have a friend or a relative who's house you can stay at. So no not really.
12934139, My point is you can be mature and not do that
Posted by ndibs, Tue Nov-24-15 12:34 AM
>when you get in an argument or want some space.

Even when you have the option.

12934171, mature? lmao..you just admitted to arguing all day over soap on dishes...
Posted by legsdiamond, Tue Nov-24-15 08:00 AM
adults turn into bratty kids when they first start living together.

crumbs on a table, not closing the toothpaste tube, the way you told clothes...

shit is hilarious
12934183, not all day and nobody left.
Posted by ndibs, Tue Nov-24-15 08:55 AM
.
12933469, gotta test drive the car before i buy it
Posted by legsdiamond, Sun Nov-22-15 06:41 PM
12933501, yes
Posted by wluv, Sun Nov-22-15 09:20 PM
there is too much at stake if the incompatibility raises its ugly head 3 months in when you find out she likes to steal your sht or take late night binges out with her homeboy she's known for years or he has a mild drug habit he's been hiding from you for 2-1/2 years and thats a pet peeve of yours. Sht you might find out youre the weird one and he or she cant stand you and now you in court divvying up assets on some bs 3 months later.

You need to know who you really living with before taking the plunge instead of the person you see on the weekends.
12933515, i'm actually amazed I've made it this far and not cohabited
Posted by double negative, Sun Nov-22-15 10:25 PM
I dont know how ya'll do it.

i get it.

but I don't. Having to be "on" all the time.
thats some pressure.
12933518, RE: What if I don't want to get married again?
Posted by Austin, Sun Nov-22-15 10:34 PM
Once was enough, thanks.



"You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance."
—Ken Kesey

http://austinato.bandcamp.com

http://www.discogs.com/lists/Favorites-of-2015/222933
12933747, RE: What if I don't want to get married again?
Posted by dew drops, Mon Nov-23-15 12:47 PM
would you be okay having a long-term relationship while living in separate homes indefinitely?
12934132, RE: Enh, I'm too bitter right now to answer objectively.
Posted by Austin, Mon Nov-23-15 11:27 PM

"You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance."
—Ken Kesey

http://austinato.bandcamp.com

http://www.discogs.com/lists/Favorites-of-2015/222933
12933541, I'd co-habitate first...
Posted by Dyskoteknowlegy, Mon Nov-23-15 03:13 AM
I gotta see what you do with your tampons and toenail clippings before we jump the broom...
12933544, if she wont live in sin, we probably aren't compatable to begin with
Posted by Mynoriti, Mon Nov-23-15 05:24 AM
12933580, Nope.
Posted by Case_One, Mon Nov-23-15 09:39 AM

.
.
.
12933608, not if you in tx, ca or other common law states
Posted by boyd, Mon Nov-23-15 10:22 AM
but hell yeah we gots to live together first and foremost
12933644, why?
Posted by SoWhat, Mon Nov-23-15 11:07 AM
12933728, RE: why?
Posted by boyd, Mon Nov-23-15 12:34 PM
>


if you live a certain amount of years with your SO
they treat as if you were married
12933733, it's not that simple.
Posted by SoWhat, Mon Nov-23-15 12:38 PM
1. there's no common law marriage in California.

2. a common law marriage isn't just foisted upon a couple by the gov't after a certain amount of time spent in cohabitation. if anything certain state govts will recognize a 'common law marriage' only after the couple at issue claims the existence of such a 'marriage'. and there are several elements the couple must prove before the state will recognize the marriage. those elements vary by state.

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage_in_the_United_States#Legislation
12933746, i believe qualifying as common law has more
Posted by dew drops, Mon Nov-23-15 12:46 PM
qualifications than how long you've lived with someone.
12933645, not a 'must' but i'd prefer it.
Posted by SoWhat, Mon Nov-23-15 11:08 AM
12933740, nope. i did it before. i know what i'm capable of
Posted by teefiveten, Mon Nov-23-15 12:42 PM
as far as sharing space/living with someone

if i get married i plan to live out of my own crib until my wedding day because it's presumably the last time i'm living alone and I LOVE IT
12933753, RE: nope. i did it before. i know what i'm capable of
Posted by dew drops, Mon Nov-23-15 12:52 PM
so what would your living arrangement be once married? do you think you could withstand living with someone while married or would you have a non-traditional living situation?

there was a NYT article i saw about a married couple who lived in separate, but connected apartments. i think that can work for the right couple.
12933765, as long as there's a spare room for one of us
Posted by teefiveten, Mon Nov-23-15 12:59 PM
i'm good. that's really key
when i cohabbed my SO had a small office/spare room for himself and his stuff. i pretty much took over the living room with my DJ equipment so it was only fair he'd get his own office area

i don't have problems sharing a bed or a bathroom
12933748, I wouldn't have asked her to marry me without knowing that it'd work.
Posted by Frank Longo, Mon Nov-23-15 12:47 PM
We've lived together for years now. It works wonderfully.
12933774, The flip side is I think you're less likely to bounce from a bad situation
Posted by southphillyman, Mon Nov-23-15 01:07 PM
Since one of y'all have to move once you break up
The hassle of moving and cost savings may incentivize you to put up with more bullshit then usual
12934142, RE: The flip side is I think you're less likely to bounce from a bad situation
Posted by ndibs, Tue Nov-24-15 12:42 AM
>Since one of y'all have to move once you break up
>The hassle of moving and cost savings may incentivize you to
>put up with more bullshit then usual

And then ppl think about starting over and they just go ahead and marry someone less than ideal.
12934202, it's still cheaper/easier than divorce
Posted by gumz, Tue Nov-24-15 09:46 AM
so if you get to that crossroads it's better to do so before you're married

>The hassle of moving and cost savings may incentivize you to
>put up with more bullshit then usual
12934119, yes, I have to know who I am marrying
Posted by DJ007, Mon Nov-23-15 09:44 PM

_____________________________________________________
"You can win with certainty with the spirit of "one cut". "Musashi Miyamoto
12934159, Spinoff: Would you live with someone you wouldn't consider marrying?
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Tue Nov-24-15 06:45 AM

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
12934180, nope. for me, it would be pointless since I want to get married.
Posted by dew drops, Tue Nov-24-15 08:50 AM
12934203, nah
Posted by gumz, Tue Nov-24-15 09:46 AM
12934164, We didn't cohabitate before and it was rocky once we got married
Posted by bigkarma, Tue Nov-24-15 07:23 AM
but I don't think that anything that presented itself would have been a deal breaker if we had lived together first.

So I don't know.

I mean I was taken aback by the fact that she doesn't mind letting dishes sit in the sink all day, while I was raised that you clean the kitchen completely after every meal. Disturbing as I found that and a host of other little things, I not like I would have called off the engagement.
12934182, RE: We didn't cohabitate before and it was rocky once we got married
Posted by dew drops, Tue Nov-24-15 08:51 AM
was it rocky because you were adjusting to live together or other things related to being newly married?
12934207, It seems like a lot all at once.
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Tue Nov-24-15 09:52 AM

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
12934262, Both
Posted by bigkarma, Tue Nov-24-15 11:01 AM
I had lived on my own for a decade before getting married, and didn't realize how set in my ways I had become. All the little things involved in cohabiting got under my skin.

She had stayed over before, but living together is a different animal. And, the responsible of being married is even deeper.

Also all the little concessions of personal freedom that we don't think about at first mount up when you get married. I remember a few weeks in, I was over my boys crib watching football. I called and said i was heading out and did she want me to pick up something for dinner. I ended up staying longer than I said I would, and when I got home she was angry...and hungry. Seems like no big thing, but the early part of a marriage is FULL of little push/pull moments, until you establish a rhythm.

I imagine it would be easy to get all that out of the way before you get married, but then comes the issue of how much weight you put on all the little concessions.
12934201, it was...i'm glad we did it
Posted by gumz, Tue Nov-24-15 09:43 AM
i feel like there's an additional layer of getting to know someone that comes from living with them.
12934218, See me, come live with me... Two different story.
Posted by Seven, Tue Nov-24-15 10:09 AM
My mother always said that. It's crucial I think.
I think it helps to have at least lived with someone before (not necessarily) the same partner. Similar to what teef said above its more a way of learning about yourself and the adjustments you'd have to make when shaking up as opposed to being comfortable with the person.

People change. It's a risk anyway you slice it. Living with them doesn't always guarantee an easier marriage I think.