Deciding Where to Live

One of the most difficult issues that couples in a long distance relationship have to deal with is where to live when they eventually decide to get married or live together. Ultimately, one person needs to sacrifice and give up living close to their friends and family and must also change or transfer their job.

So, how do you make such a difficult decision? Below, I describe some of the factors to take into consideration to help you and your mate come to a decision that you can both be happy with. The factors include: finances, family and friends, and quality of life.

Finances

The affect on your finances can be analyzed by taking a look at both of your living arrangements and job situations. For living arrangement, take into consideration if one of you already owns a home. If you do, this can be a big plus when you start your relationship living together. If both of you are renting, you may want to take a look at who is paying the lowest rent. For your job situation, find out if one of you has the ability to transfer to the new city. Transferring is a good option if you are both happy with your jobs and want the least amount of disruption. Also, take into consideration the ease of finding a job. For example, it will be very difficult for a person who owns his or her own business to move.

Family and Friends

Leaving family and friends is often the most difficult part of a move. The person moving needs to be comfortable with the idea of making new friends and not seeing his or her family as often. If one of you is already living away from family it will be easier for that person to move because they are not giving up as much. Encourage the mate who is moving by letting them know that you two will finally be together and that is what you both have wanted for a long time.

Quality of Life

This factor involves taking a look at the city where you will both live. Does the city offer all the aspects of life that you are looking for? For example, if one of you is an outdoorsy person, does the city offer those types of activities? Is the city a place where you both want to settle and raise a family? These are some questions to consider.

Putting all the factors together should hopefully help you and your mate decide on where to live. If you still can’t agree on who will move, you may want to consider the option of both of you moving to a completely new city.

Remember, the person who is doing the moving is making a big sacrifice for the relationship and should be supported as much as possible.