In the past few decades, millions of couples of all ages have chosen to live together, either as a prelude to marriage or in place of marriage. I feel it is important to understand both the positive and the negative consequences of living with someone you love. There is a part of me that feels, after having seen so many dysfunctional and incompatible relationships over the years, that all couples should live together before deciding to get married.

Some of the benefits of living together:

You discover sides of your partner's personality you cannot know about unless you live together: There is no way you can get to know a person whom you see intermittently as well as if you lived together. It's a lot easier for someone to be on his best behavior for three hours during a date than it is for him to maintain that behavior day after day when you live under the same roof. When you live with someone you uncover habits, attitudes, and behaviors you never see otherwise. You see him in his natural habitat, his home, and thus become exposed to sides of his personality that may be hidden from you if you're just dating. You see them when they are tired, sick, angry, frustrated, and grumpy. Living together requires a sharing of power and control; it demands compromise and flexibility from both partners. You get exposure to the full range of their emotional reactions.

You discover how capable your partner is of true partnership: Living together requires a sharing of power and control; it demands compromise and flexibility from both partners, since you're merging the habits and desires of two unique individuals. You may not find out how willing or capable your mate is of true partnership until you commit to living together. Only when you have to make decisions together about finances, food, household responsibilities, acquisitions, etc. do you truly discover what kind of team player your partner is.

Some of the possible negative consequences of living together:

You can destroy the relationship by expecting too much from it when it's still developing: Although I personally feel living together with a mate can be a valuable experience at a certain stage of the relationship, I also feel that living together prematurely is a big mistake. Living together before your relationship has reached a significant level of commitment, maturity, and emotional stability can actually speed up the disintegration of the relationship. If your relationship isn't ready to handle the pressures of living together, it might fall apart under the strain brought about by living together prematurely.

You can avoid furthering your commitment to one another: You may have heard the saying, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free?" I think it was used by many of our mothers in their attempt to convince us that boys wouldn't marry us if we had sex with them, since they were already getting what they wanted. I've heard this same argument about living together-that if a man is living with you and enjoying the benefits of domestic life, he has no reason to ask you to marry him. I don't believe the solution is to refuse to move in with someone before you're engaged or married, unless that feels right to you. If you're considering living with someone but want the formal structure of marriage somewhere down the road, you need to discuss all this before you actually move in together in order to avoid any misunderstandings.

Meredith Rose is a relationship expert and writes dating/relationship blogs, articles and newsletters for women and men. She has helped hundreds of people find TRUE LOVE!

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Is it possible to engage in romance relationships outside wedlock? It is considered taboo, but how ironical. Many "happily married couples" are busy in dating relationships with one or several partners without the knowledge of their spouses. Affairs outside marriage relationships are generally frowned upon by the very same people who are in the practice. Talk of an ostrich burying it's head in the sand. Relationships outside marriage are a reality and they are with us. What prompts a person to leave the precincts of holy matrimony and venture into the unknown? Does it mean the pastures are greener outside there? Or have the pastures at home become unpalatable? Relationships are complex institutions and the marriage institution is no better. A marriage is full of Waterloos and if you miss one you are bound to encounter another. You tread with a lot of care and caution.

The sweetness of stolen waters is legendary. Otherwise why would a self respecting person who has a partner in a marriage union have romance relationships on the periphery? The fear of being caught or discovered by your partner while making love with another person is nerve raking. It makes the body to be highly alert. To be precise, the body is ready for flight. The whole body is drenched in adrenaline. This only serves to fuel sexual excitement in a person. The more the adrenaline the more sexual hormones are released. Sexual excitement, desire and urge surges to unprecedented levels. Sex at this juncture is just overwhelming, simply unbelievable. Not to be compared to the routine sex in marriage relationships. Sex in such dating relationships hardly fades from your memory. A journey through the path of sexual healing. No wonder it is so sweet to stray.

Unfulfilled expectations inside the marriage relationships is what makes many couples to search for better fodder. Relationships are mind games and you have to be at the top of the game at all times. If you fail to control the game well, it goes out of hand. Your partner must feel loved and appreciated. Make them feel that they are special to you and they mean a whole world to you. Always keep fueling their interest or someone else will catch their interest. If there is no romance they will look for romance relationships. If you do not keep re-inventing your relationship with new innovative things to keep the fire burning, they will be tempted to start new dating relationships. Be a person of surprise and mystery and your partner will always be hanging by your every word. Wondering which type of hat trick you are trying to cook this time.

In spite of all this, the bedroom remains the all time marriage relationships spoiler. The bedroom is the fireworks theater where all the passions are consummated. The highest levels of intimacy are expressed here. Lack of enough fire in the bedroom marks the beginning of romance relationships and other dating relationships as couples try to escape the coldness in the marital bedroom. In their quest to re-ignite their sex lives, they stray into strange beds which offer them sexual experiences that were lacking previously in the bedroom.

Francis K. Githinji Is A Online Dating Expert. His Latest Project Dating Relationships Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success, Or You Could Post Your Valued Comments On His Blog At Dating Relationships [http://www.tomydate.net?p=498]

Is it possible to engage in romance relationships outside wedlock? It is considered taboo, but how ironical. Many "happily married couples" are busy in dating relationships with one or several partners without the knowledge of their spouses. Affairs outside marriage relationships are generally frowned upon by the very same people who are in the practice. Talk of an ostrich burying it's head in the sand. Relationships outside marriage are a reality and they are with us. What prompts a person to leave the precincts of holy matrimony and venture into the unknown? Does it mean the pastures are greener outside there? Or have the pastures at home become unpalatable? Relationships are complex institutions and the marriage institution is no better. A marriage is full of Waterloos and if you miss one you are bound to encounter another. You tread with a lot of care and caution.

The sweetness of stolen waters is legendary. Otherwise why would a self respecting person who has a partner in a marriage union have romance relationships on the periphery? The fear of being caught or discovered by your partner while making love with another person is nerve raking. It makes the body to be highly alert. To be precise, the body is ready for flight. The whole body is drenched in adrenaline. This only serves to fuel sexual excitement in a person. The more the adrenaline the more sexual hormones are released. Sexual excitement, desire and urge surges to unprecedented levels. Sex at this juncture is just overwhelming, simply unbelievable. Not to be compared to the routine sex in marriage relationships. Sex in such dating relationships hardly fades from your memory. A journey through the path of sexual healing. No wonder it is so sweet to stray.

Unfulfilled expectations inside the marriage relationships is what makes many couples to search for better fodder. Relationships are mind games and you have to be at the top of the game at all times. If you fail to control the game well, it goes out of hand. Your partner must feel loved and appreciated. Make them feel that they are special to you and they mean a whole world to you. Always keep fueling their interest or someone else will catch their interest. If there is no romance they will look for romance relationships. If you do not keep re-inventing your relationship with new innovative things to keep the fire burning, they will be tempted to start new dating relationships. Be a person of surprise and mystery and your partner will always be hanging by your every word. Wondering which type of hat trick you are trying to cook this time.

In spite of all this, the bedroom remains the all time marriage relationships spoiler. The bedroom is the fireworks theater where all the passions are consummated. The highest levels of intimacy are expressed here. Lack of enough fire in the bedroom marks the beginning of romance relationships and other dating relationships as couples try to escape the coldness in the marital bedroom. In their quest to re-ignite their sex lives, they stray into strange beds which offer them sexual experiences that were lacking previously in the bedroom.

Francis K. Githinji Is A Online Dating Expert. His Latest Project Dating Relationships Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success, Or You Could Post Your Valued Comments On His Blog At Dating Relationships [http://www.tomydate.net?p=498]