The moment you realize that you and your significant other finally get to live together, all feels right in the world - and it should! I remember when I moved in with my longtime boyfriend nearly a year ago. I was ecstatic when I realized that I would no longer have to make the hour and a half commute on the weekends to see him. We now own a house together and I couldn't be happier.
While living with your significant other is wonderful, there are some not so wonderful parts of living together and that's just part of the reality of cohabiting. You learn more about each other and you learn how to effectively resolve your differences because you live with this person and have to see them every day.
Here are 10 ways your relationship changes when you move in together:
1. You learn how to effectively communicate
You thought you knew your SO well before you two moved in together... HA! You don't really get to know someone until you live with them. You pick up on their quirks, their feelings and their body language.
2. You get to know your SO on a whole new level
Yes, you will notice their odd and quirky little habits. You will know your SO and inside and out; you truly don't know a person until you live with them.
3. You are with them all the time
And I mean All. The. Time. They are the first person you see when you wake up and the last person you see before you fall asleep. When you're not at work, you are around each other nearly 24/7. It's great to be with your SO all the time, but you will both need your space and that's OK. It's normal and healthy to need space from time to time so you don't go postal on one another.
4. You will become annoyed by little dumb stuff
Yes, you will become annoyed over menial stuff such as whose turn it is to dishes, arguing over what kind of movie to watch or getting frustrated because they don't take care of their dirty plate right away. (Sorry, Michael). You have to learn how to let little things like that go or else they will eat at you and you'll get into petty arguments over stuff that really isn't worth arguing over. You learn how to pick your battles.
5. You are a team
As soon as you move in together, you become a team. When you are thinking about making a decision when it comes to your home, money or anything that will affect you both, it's important you talk to your SO before making a decision. What you say and do in regards to your life together affects them too. It's no longer just about you.
6. You'll learn to feel comfortable farting in front of them
Yes, you will both fart in front each other. No, it won't be pleasant. Yes, you'll get used to it and stop feeling embarrassed about it.
7. You realize that you can't sleep without them next to you
Sure, they'll get annoyed with you stealing the covers every night or vice versa, but on a night they're away, you'll realize that it's difficult to sleep without them next to you, even if they do snore, let out nasty farts or nearly push you off the bed.
8. You might not have sex as much
Yes, you will still have sex, but it might not be as frequent because you see each other every day and both of you are exhausted after a long day of work and other responsibilities. Just because you don't have sex as much doesn't mean the romance is dead; it just means that you're no longer in the honeymoon stage and you don't feel an urge to get it on constantly when you were living apart.
9. Dating activities change
You'll find that taking a trip to the grocery store or going on a casual outing turns into a date. You'll still go on "normal" dates such as dinner and a movie, but you'll discover that any time spent outside of the home can turn into a fun date or else you'll get annoyed at each other in ice cream aisle arguing over what brand or flavor to buy.
10. No matter how much you can annoy one another, there's nobody else you'd want to spend all of your time with
At the end of the day, there's nothing better than coming home to your SO and falling asleep in their arms at night; until you both you need to actually go to sleep so you roll over on your side and stomach because let's be real- nobody can fall asleep cuddling. Seriously though, there's no better feeling than spending all your time with the person you love.
