by Holly Rogers

Created on: December 29, 2009

You have met the person of your dreams...or so it seems. You spend every second apart thinking of your new partner and could not imagine a more perfect relationship. It must be love, so why not move in together?

Moving in together early in a relationship comes with many pitfalls. The implications of such a decision are massive and it goes much further than simply not getting along once you move out. There are financial strains, personal risk and pressures from family and friends. It is rare that moving in together early in your relationship is a smooth path.

Often the early stage of a relationship is referred to as the 'honeymoon' phase. This is the stage where everything feels new and shiny. You crave each other's attention and the relationship feels extremely passionate and exciting. During this stage, most individuals are still only giving a limited view of themselves. This may be a subconscious attempt to avoid revealing any negative characteristics of our personality, therefore giving our new partners a very positive view overall. It is often at this stage of intense passion that most couples mistake these feelings for true love. While it may be true that the feelings have developed into love, your knowledge of this person is still limited and therefore it is a risky period to make any big decisions for the future of your relationship. As with a real honeymoon, this stage does end. It does not mean the relationship suddenly becomes negative, but the level of passion and intensity will decrease with time.

It takes a life time to know a person and even then you can never know everything about an individual. No matter how much time you spend with someone early on, the chances are there will still be a lot of very important information you have no idea about. It is also likely in this early stage that neither of you will want to touch on any sensitive, big issues that may have an impact on the relationship in the future. This is often due to the wish to extend the honeymoon, carefree period for as long as they can. However it will often mean that there is a lot of information you will not know about your new partner, that may impact on the relationship the future.

Finances are a very serious aspect of any relationship also. Moving in together means having the ability to budget joint finances and contribute an equal share to bills. To manage finances successfully, a couple will need to have a very in depth plan of attack and budget ready to go, but many couples rushing to move out early in their relationship will not have considered the financial implications of their relationship. This can be a major cause of stress and conflict once a couple is living together.

Families and friends may not agree with a couple rushing big steps of their relationship, such as moving out. They may feel negatively towards your partner as a result, which may cause serious conflict in the relationship. This is not due to their hatred fro your partner, but due to their protectiveness of you, therefore it is important to consider the impact of such conflicts also. Moving out does not just impact on you and your partner, but also on everyone around you.

In the end, true love will wait. If you think your relationship is worthy, there is no need to rush into steps. Instead, take your time and get to know each others habits, wants and needs before jumping into any big decisions. Life is not a race. Enjoy the stroll!

Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
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