Moving in with your partner is certainly exciting, but navigating this new living arrangement can be tough. Whenever you and your partner choose to discuss moving in together, using these tips to help you through it will set you up for a lifetime of happiness in your new home.
1. Prepare Your Finances
Budgeting to move into a new home is no easy feat. Aside from getting the furniture together and planning any renovations or upgrades, you’ll still need to find and pay for the house itself. Finding the right place to settle down and start the next chapter of your life can be challenging. Do you want to live in a city? The suburbs? Do you want to live in a house or an apartment? These are all questions that you’ll need to consider with your partner as you begin your home search. Setting aside the funds for a down payment and a mortgage are big steps. Obtaining a home loan pre-approval can help you determine your budget before you begin the home-buying process. This way, you and your partner are able to consider homes with certain amenities, location aspects, and square footage all within your budget.
2. Discuss Your Lifestyles
Moving in together comes with a lot of ups and downs. It’s important to make sure that you and your partner live similar lifestyles and are able to make compromises, as this will make living together more enjoyable.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is something that many roommates, couples or not, can have disagreements about. Whether you’re clean, messy, or something in between, it’s crucial that you discuss this with your partner so you both know what to expect when you move in together. If you’re both on opposite ends of the spectrum, having some common ground rules in place will ease the transition and serve as a compromise for you both. Make sure to have a chat about sharing housekeeping responsibilities before deciding to move in together.
Sociability
Many couples have different social lifestyles. If you’re the type to stay in on weekends or go to bed early, it’s important to set this expectation with your partner. On the other hand, if your partner enjoys going out at night and on weekends with friends, develop a compromise to go out a couple of times a week rather than every night, or stay in during the week and go out on weekends. This goes for entertaining as well. If you enjoy having your different circles of friends and family over frequently, you and your partner should be on the same page about how much time you want to spend entertaining.
Financial
Discussing your financial lifestyle with a partner can be tricky. If you both come from different economic backgrounds, this conversation can be a bit difficult. When you move in together, you might want to consider having some joint accounts to cover things related to your home. This way, you can keep your personal spending separate and only share expenses for your move. You can choose a home that suits both your needs that’s well within your shared budget. If one of you makes significantly more money than the other, it’s important to compromise and choose a home that has the location, size, and amenities that you’re both looking for. If those things look different for each of you, it’ll help to find a middle ground during your home search and set a list of priorities that you can both agree on. This way, you can also have a list of things you’d each be okay sacrificing.
3. Talk About Family Planning
Your future as a family can look like many different things. Whether or not you decide to have children, this conversation will help establish both your and your partner’s expectations for the future. If one of you doesn’t want to have children naturally, there are many other ways to start a family such as surrogacy or adoption. Talking to your partner openly about your idea of the future will help alleviate any future conflicts that might come up around the topic. Once you have a solid grasp on each of your plans for the future, you can begin discussing the next steps if having children is something you decide to do soon. Many couples wait until they’re a bit older to have children so they can enjoy their twenties as a couple. All that matters is that whatever you decide works for both you and your partner.
4. Enjoy Moving in Together
Once you’ve begun settling into your home, you’ll be able to do all the fun things that come with it. If you and your partner are handy, you can start tackling any renovations or projects that you see fit. If your home is move-in ready, you can dedicate some time to decorating and organizing to give your space that picture-perfect look. Most importantly, you and your partner can enjoy some quality time together in your new home and begin this exciting next chapter of your relationship.
