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Deciding to move in together is such an exciting step in a relationship. It’s nerve-wracking and wonderful in all the best ways.

My boyfriend, Scott, and I were actually already living together when we decided to live together. Confusing, I know. But, we were living together as friends in a group house for about a year before we started dating. Then about a year after that, decided we wanted to live together just the two of us.

By the time we were apartment hunting, I felt like we had a lot of important conversations that properly prepared us for the transition and there were some clear signs we were ready to move in together.

Some of these you might have already discussed or be obvious, but some might be things you haven’t yet thought of, and could help the moving in together process go as smoothly as possible.

Housing Basics

1. Will we be renting or buying?

This will depend on a lot of factors: budgets, how long you plan to stay in the area, and what you both are interested in, just to start. I’d personally recommend not buying unless you’ve been together a little while, but that’s just me.

2. How long do you want your lease to be if renting?

Different places have different options or requirements ranging from very short term to very long term. Is this a location you plan on staying a while.

Often times you can save money with a longer lease. Scott and I saved a bit doing a 13 month lease versus a 12 month lease at our apartment complex.

3. Where are we going to live?

Think about distances to work, family, friends, gym, and favorite places to visit.

4. What kind of place?

House, apartment, townhouse?

5. How much space do we need?

You don’t need to take inventory of all your belongings, although that probably would help, but think about how many rooms do you think make sense? Bathrooms? Kitchen space? Closet space?

Scott and I ended up with an apartment that has 1.5 bathrooms, 1 bedroom, and a den. I wanted an additional room because as a writer and blogger I needed a designated office space.

The extra bathroom just happened to come with the apartment, but it has been SO SO nice in terms of having a little extra bathroom privacy (which was something that made me so nervous about moving in together!!!) If you’re an introvert you probably don’t want to pick a studio apartment.

If you’re looking to declutter before moving in together, these posts might help you out
10 Things You Need To Get Rid Of In Your Kitchen
8 Things You Need To Get Rid Of In Your Closet

Making It Ours

6. Who will provide what furniture/house things, and how will we go about getting the rest of what we need?

When I went out shopping for house things, I knew I had Scott’s permission to grab all the essentials (thank you Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off coupons!) We had an understanding that I wasn’t going to spend aimlessly, but it was fine for me to pick up some stuff.

For any bigger purchases I did on my own, I just sent Scott a quick text and he was usually fine with it. Open communication!

Other affordable places we shopped for various home related needs were Target, Amazon and Etsy! We got a beautiful handmade dining table from Etsy that we love!

7. Will we do the move ourselves or will we hire movers?

If you have a lot of big furniture pieces, it’s something to consider. Or just thinking about which friends will your bribe with good snacks to help you move.

8. How should we set the rooms up?

Usually, places are set up with a natural bedroom, living, dining room etc., but not always. And maybe you want to change it up a bit? Also, how will you layout your furniture?

9. How should we divide up the space or closet?

If you have a place with limited closet space, this is a conversation worth having. Especially if you’re like me and own way too many clothes.

10. How should we decorate?

How will you decorate? Does anyone have any particular preferences? What about spending preferences? Do you have any pieces of art that you absolutely love and must have hung up somewhere?

Money

11. How are we dividing up rent and utilities?

This could easily be in the housing basics category as well, because budgeting should be one of the first conversations you have.

Very important you be honest with how much you can truly afford, so you don’t end up committing yourself to a place above your price range.

I know money isn’t the most comfortable thing to talk about, but if you can’t talk about it, then you might not be ready to live together.

Is it a 50/50 split? If one person makes significantly more than the other, does 50/50 make the most sense? Or should a different percentage of payment come into play. Think about what makes you comfortable, and talk out what works best for the two of you.

12. Who is in charge of what bills?

Who will set them up? Who’s name will they be under? If you have multiple bills, will one person handle all of them, or will you split the responsibility? How will you go about paying each other back?

Scott and I use the Venmo app to split everything we need to, for us this includes utilities, groceries, and some dates, but we’ve discussed opening a joint account for these kinds of expenses.

13. What additional utilities do we need?

Internet is probably assumed, but what about cable? Is it worth the extra expense? Do you have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu? If so, do you really need cable?

Scott and I decided against cable, because we have Netflix, Amazon, and purchased an antenna to get basic cable – for most sports. Unfortunately, we can’t get baseball through basic cable, so we bought a little radio to listen to games.

14. Will we share groceries?

Who will do the shopping? How will we split the grocery bill? If we cook shared meals, how should we split those?

When we first moved in together, I did most of the shopping because Scott was busy studying for the CPA exam. I’d just figure out who owed what, and he would pay me on Venmo. For our shared meals, I’d split them.

After about 7 months living together though, I realized that he ate way more of the meals we split than I did, so we recently had a discussion about creating a joint account where I put in 40% and he puts in 60%.

15. Should we have a joint money account?

It may not be something you need, but it’s a good idea to have in the back of your mind. I thought about it from the beginning, but it was never all that necessary.

Now that we’re starting to make serious future plans, we are moving forward with creating a joint account for our joint expenses. I’m glad we waited though, because now that I’ve watched our expenses the last few months I have a better idea on how to set the account up.

Cooking and Cleaning

16. Will we eat meals together?

Scott and I eat most dinners together, a habit we formed when we lived together as friends previously, and sometimes I forget how much I love that habit.

It’s really nice to have this designated time we spend together, we’re both pretty good about putting our phones away for it too. Life can get really hectic, but we always have dinner.

17. Will someone cook or do most of the cooking?

Are there any kind of expectations from either person here?

18. How will we decide who does what chore?

This one I’m still figuring out. If you have decided rent won’t be a 50/50 split, then maybe who ever is paying less can pick up more of the chores. Trust me though, it is very worth having a discussion about this and getting some expectations out in the open.

Maybe a chore chart would work, or just designating certain chores for each other. Scott goes through periods of being much busier than I am, so it’s more on me to pick up the slack, but it’s really hard to keep up with it.

19. What’s your standard of living with cleanliness?

This ties into chore assignments. But if one person likes things squeaky clean, and the other doesn’t notice the mess, what will be the compromise there?

Personal Habits

20. What time do you normally go to bed?

Scott and I go to bed around the same time, but I stay up a little later. He is fine with me being on my phone, but prefers my light to be out, which is fine by me. But if you have totally different sleeping schedules, this is a conversation worth having.

21. What time do you wake up?

Do one of you wake up much earlier than the other? Will this wake the other? Earplugs and a sleeping mask might be a good investment.

22. What is your morning routine?

If you have similar wake times and both prefer to shower in the morning, make sure your coordinate before it’s 7 AM and you both are sleepy and need to shower.

23. What are your TV watching schedules?

If you both have something you HAVE to watch Tuesdays nights, how will you come to a compromise on who gets TV control?

The Relationship 

24. Are there any preferences or opinions on having guests over?

Do certain nights not work for you no matter what? Do you prefer a heads up of a couple hours, or days?

25. What if someone needs alone time?

Scott and I are both introverts, so we did discuss how to handle needing alone time. We agreed to just take it when we need it, and to not be hurt if the other person requests it. So far, it’s worked out totally fine because we already had that understanding to start off with.

26. How often should we make sure we go on a date?

I’ll be honest, Scott and I aren’t that great about making sure we have date nights. But between being homebodies, busy, and having our regular dinners every night together, it isn’t as necessary for us.

But what are you comfortable with? If you’re unable to have regular dinners together, do you want to make sure you have a regular date night once a week, every two weeks, once a month, etc.?

27. Pet peeves about each other?

If you’ve spent time at each other’s places then I’m sure you can name a few. This is a touchy question, but moving in together means you’re going to be around each other A LOT, so if something really gets under your skin, you might want to bring it up.

If you’re boyfriend burps a lot when you visit his place, be prepared for 10X more of this (learned from experience, sorry Scott.) Also, be prepared if your s/o has something to bring up!

28. How should we handle getting into fights

If you’ve been together a while, you probably have a good idea on how you two fight and resolve your conflicts. But, being in a shared space can intensify things a bit, so might be wise to devise some kind of game plan. If you’re someone who needs space after getting into a heated argument, make sure you’re clear about that.

Trust me, fights will happen. They will happen about the stupidest of things just because you now will be living together. After a bad day at work, the littlest thing might set you off. Make sure when the inevitable fight does happen, you’re fighting fair.

It can be easy to take things out on your significant other when you live together. Talking about this kind of stuff ahead of time can help stop it in its tracks, or help to resolve things a bit more easily. But don’t go into living together thinking “we won’t be that couple” because every couple is that couple.

29. What are the sexpectations for when you live together?

This was something that I was a little nervous about. I worried that the expectations would be really, really high, and I wouldn’t be able to meet them. But once I talked to Scott about it, we figured out how many nights a week would work for both of us, and then I didn’t need to worry about it.

30. Things that make you nervous about moving in together?

Get those little nerves and anxieties out in the open! They’re much easier to deal with that way. Perhaps your significant other will laugh and you’ll realize just how ridiculous it was for you to worry, or you’ll talk through it, and come up with a way for you to feel less nervous.

Straight up, I was most nervous about the bathroom and having to share one with a boy. Yep. Putting this on the internet. But, it’s true! In nearly all my living situations I had my own bathroom, so the nerves were real.

We talked about both things, a bunch of times, before the move in date. It helped SO much in easing my nerves, and I highly recommend doing that. Besides, if you have these worries and you can’t bring them up to your significant other, it might be too soon to move in together.

PS – If you had bathroom nerves like me, THIS might help you out a little.


Living together can be really hard, even for the happiest of couples. But it doesn’t have to be! Being able to have these conversations makes for a happier home and happier relationship.

So, I hope this was of some help to you. Really, I’m just trying to encourage open communication in your relationship, because above all, you absolutely NEED that to make living together work!

Leave me a comment below if you and your significant other are moving in together soon! Or if you already live together and you feel I’ve left some important questions out!

9 Comments on The 30 Questions You Must Ask Before Moving In Together

  1. This is such a great post! So many people don’t realize what moving in together actually means and what different things you need to take into account before doing so. This post definitely addresses so many of those things that need to be discussed before moving in with someone.
    🙂
    XOA!
    alexandraquinlan.blogspot.com

  2. This was so relevant for me at the moment because moving in is my biggest goal for 2018!We have been together for 6plus years and thankfully we have most of the things you mentioned cleared!The biggest challenge for us is saving up enough money to finish the house.Great post!

  3. This is a great post,you really covered the bases here.When my wife and I first moved in together,we were both older and knew that things were not always going to be great,and we were happily married for 23yrs,until her passing.I now have a long distance relationship,with a wonderful lady and we have started having some of these discussions.The funniest and strangest so far,has been the bathroom one.We will have only one bathroom,until we finish our new house,so as strange as it was,we are both on same page now.You really need to go into a relationship with an open mind,the spirit to share and the willingness to communicate.

    • So sorry to hear of your loss, but happy you are moving forward with this wonderful relationship. You’re right, an open mind is absolutely essential. Thank you so much for reading!

  4. My boyfriend and I were friends first for 5 yrs, we dated for 2 months and I got pregnant. We moved into rental property for a yr. Baby was born and we bought a house, however, we recieved down payment assistance and he chose not to put his name on the mortgage because of this…so he is paying closing costs, first yr house insurance, appraisal fee, and I, being on maternity leave, could only afford the 1000$ ernest check to pay…when we fight, he always says he is leaving, moving out…I have asked him to try to stop doing this cuz it scares me. If he were to actually move out..I would not be able to afford by myself and I would need to rent rooms in ordrr.to survive financially…how can I discuss this concern with him so that this doesn’t happen? True, he is putting up a lot of $ now, however, its MY name on the papers it’s my risk..he doesn’t get this..HELP!!!

    • Oh no, that sounds like a really tricky situation. So sorry you’re dealing with that! I’d just be as honest as possible, and try to sit down and talk to him not when you guys are fighting, and be calm. Tell him all of your concerns, how it really stresses you out that he threatens to move out when you guys are fighting. Ask him if he is seriously considering moving out, because if he is, you absolutely need to know so you can figure out how you would handle it, since it would be you put in a bad situation since your name is on the papers. You need to know if he is just saying those things in an argument to upset you, or he truly means it. If he’s just trying to upset you, that’s on the immature side, and he needs to figure out a calmer way to communicate to you when he’s upset or angry. I really hope the two of you can work it out! I always recommend couples counseling for tricky situations, if that’s an option.

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