In This Guide
Choosing an area
Getting in
Leaving
Lettings agents
Living
Looking for property
Renting introduction
1. Who rents these days anyway?
2. Types of UK accommodation
3. Renting with your partner
4. Renting with your friends
5. Renting from your friends
6. Renting on your own
Tenancy agreements
Viewing property
Renting introduction
Renting with your partner
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Religious and moral reasons aside, no one can tell you whether you are ready to take the step of moving in with your partner. It will almost certainly signal some pretty major changes in your relationship and your life and no matter how much you think you are ready, you never quite know how you will deal with the changes and how they will affect you.
There are certainly some distinct advantages and disadvantages attached to living with your partner, here are just a few of each:
Many couples find that living together brings them even closer
and strengthens their relationship to a new level of closeness.
Those that don't are usually glad that they tried it out before
making the mistake of committing to buy a place together.
- Living with your partner can give you a real sense of belonging
and homeliness. You have a companion to share things with, someone
to talk to when you need them, someone to shout at when things
go wrong and someone to laugh with when you want to be silly.
You know who you are and where you live, which is quite useful
if you get stopped on the way home when drunk.
- In all seriousness, sharing your home and your life with your
partner means that you get to use possessions of theirs that
you haven't got yourself - their TV, stereo, kitchen equipment,
furniture and occasionally their clothes…
- You get to meet their mates, which is not only good for your
social life, but also makes it easier to keep tabs on what they
are doing.
- Cooking and chores are halved. Or they should be. They never
are. Many couples find they trade off, with one partner doing
more of say, the washing, cooking, cleaning and sorting out
the financial stuff, whilst the other takes care of making sure
that the place is messy and in a state of constant disrepair.
- Living with your partner is cheaper than living on your own,
because you only have to financially shoulder half of things
like council tax, bills or a TV licence. But you will still
always pay for dinner when you go out.
- You don't have to worry so much about security and being left
alone in the house, as you know she will always be there to
protect you. Or is it the other way around?
- Sex on tap. That speaks for itself and should not be under-rated.
- It does not necessarily make the relationship stronger. Deciding
to live together is the beginning of the end for many couples.
It has the capability of destroying an otherwise stable relationship
and turning an unstable relationship into a war zone.
- Tenancy agreements are not that easy to get out of. If you
sign up for a year and then split up after a couple of months,
it will be down to you to find suitable replacement tenants
or you may otherwise both be liable for the full year's rent.
- You have to put up with football for 300 days of the year.
Why she won't let you watch any more than that is a mystery…
- You can get the feeling that you don't really have your own
space. This may mean putting up with atrocious taste in music,
ugly wall decorations, low quality television viewing, 'quirky'
furniture or anything else that your loved one decides to impose
upon your life.
- You may end up doing his dirty laundry or cleaning up the
bathroom after he has had a little accident after a heavy night
out.
- You may end up making compromises you would really rather
not have to make, such as showering in the morning.
- Dependence is a funny thing. Once people become dependent
on each other, they often decide they want to be independent,
then once they are, they long for someone to share things with.
This circle of dissatisfaction may happen to you.
- At the end of the day, cats are less hassle.
The arguments for and against living with your partner can be
summarised as dependence v independence, both of which have their
upsides and downsides. You have to work out whether you are ready
to be in a relationship that will change beyond recognition, bringing
all sorts of new experiences and wonderful things, but that will
lead to being with someone so much that you sacrifice a portion
of your independence and have to make lots of compromises. Only
you can decide whether you are ready to make that jump.
If you can think of any more pros and cons of living with your partner, please let us know and we will have a good gossip about them and maybe add them to the site once we're done.
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