Living Together Q+A
Nick and I have lived together since the end of April of this year, but we’ve only recently moved into our own apartment (we posted an apartment tour – go check it out!).
For most of the last few months, we’ve lived with either friends or family, so it’s definitely been interesting to transition to living somewhere with just the two of us.
We love our apartment and having our own space, though! It’s been great, so we wanted to answer some questions and share a bit of advice on how to go about moving in together as a couple.
Whether you’re married, dating, or engaged, these questions are great to consider if you’re thinking about moving in together!
living together q+a
how did we prepare to live together?
To be completely honest, we didn’t do that much preparing… we knew we were going to start living together a few months after getting engaged, but we also knew that we wouldn’t be settled in one place until the middle of August due to our travel plans.
When we got to our new place in August, we prepped by buying a lot of stuff – a desk, chairs, hangers, storage items, etc. There were quite a few things we needed, so that’s a really big thing to consider before moving in together: what will we need to buy, and how much will that cost?
We also knew that we would need to have enough money for rent and utilities once we were settled in, so we were careful to keep at least 1 months’ bills in our accounts throughout the summer. But soon after we got back to our college town, we started working again, so that wasn’t something we had to worry about very long.
are our sleep schedules compatible?
Our sleep schedules, for the most part, are compatible. I do enjoy staying up a little late, but Nick prefers going to bed early. However, I usually go to bed around the same time as him just because I don’t like sleeping in that much, but I want to get a healthy amount of sleep.
There are nights, though, where Nick will go to bed at 9:00 and I’ll be up until midnight. I’m getting better at not doing that, though. (;
are our lifestyles compatible?
I would definitely say so. With both of us being working college students, it makes it a lot easier. We also both love to be active, and we’re both homebodies, so that’s nice.
Sometimes it’s tough when Nick has to spend a lot of time running and traveling with his team, but we make it work. (:
what were things we didn’t expect when we moved in together?
N: Nothing unexpected happened, so nothing.
M: Nick is a bit of a messy boy… and he used to tell me, “I live up to the expectations of those around me,” which I assumed would mean that he would live up to my standard of cleanliness and organization. That is not the case. He’s not that bad, but he does like leaving clothes and shoes out and NEVER shutting cabinet doors. (;
do we have a joint savings account?
We do… NOT! We decided against merging our money when we got married because we didn’t really see the point.
Nick didn’t want to merge our earnings because I work a lot more than he does, so he felt like that would be unfair to me, which I appreciate. (:
Maybe in the future when we are both working the same amount of hours we will, but who knows? It’s not really a big deal to either of us.
how do we split bills?
The only bills we have to take care of right now are rent and utilities, and we split them 50/50.
Usually, we split things such as groceries, gas, and home supplies 50/50. But if something we bought is just for one of us, such as energy drinks for Nick or extra Christmas decorations for me, whoever it’s for will pay for it all.
how are chores split?
We don’t have a set list of chores for our apartment, so neither of us has designated jobs. Most of the time, we do the chores we prefer.
For example, Nick makes almost every single dinner, and I do most of the dishes. He also does the laundry, and I take care of the tidying up/cleaning around the apartment.
how long will we be living in this apartment?
We’re planning to stay here until both of us are graduated, but we shall see… our plans are always subject to change.
Right now, Nick is planning to graduate in 2024 and I’m hoping to graduate in 2023, so we’ll likely be here another 2-2.5 years.
where will we live after graduation?
We have no idea. I still have to decide if I want to go to grad school right after I graduate, or if I want to wait a year or so. And Nick has to decide for sure when he’s going to graduate because that’s constantly up in the air.
I’m really hoping and praying that Nick falls in love with Florida on our honeymoon, because I’d love to live there someday. (;
If you’re contemplating moving in with your significant other, it’s important to think logistically about things, but don’t stress yourself out by overthinking it. Things might not work out exactly as you planned, but everything happens for a reason! (:
