So you managed to find yourself a keeper. You’ve been together for a substantial amount of time, the big L word has long since been exchanged and you two are pretty much inseparable. You are one smitten kitten. You’ve even got the guy using the words “our” and “future” in the same sentence. In fact, you two are so annoyingly in love, that you’re spending way more time at his place than at your own.

At this point, you’re starting to question the practicality of paying rent on a place you barely see, but at the same time, moving in together is such a big deal.

So then … what are the pros and cons to that complicated middle ground that is ditching the girls and moving in with your man?

Pros:

You have a chance to see what married life would be like. It’s a scary thought, but that’s where lots of college relationships go, right? Can you balance the chores? Do you manage money the same? Can you tolerate his tendency to put empty milk cartons back in the fridge? It is essentially a test drive on all (ALL!) levels of compatibility, which is great because if that test drive fails, you can go your separate ways without having to formally divorce.

You get to see a side of him you might not see otherwise. You see him on his bad days, his good days … you’ll see the real, honest to goodness HIM and not just the “him” he shows you on dates and such. Read More »

I read an interesting article today about young people living with their grandparents after college graduation. Not only is it saving them thousands of dollars in rent, but their elderly relatives and extended family get a sense of security having someone else in the house. I’d bet a few home cooked meals every week probably aren’t too bad either.

But could you do it? I have two surviving grandparents who live approximately 1,300 miles away. While I love them to death, I tend to get frustrated when either one comes to visit for longer than a week. It could be one Grandma’s church sermons on DVD or the way her clothes smell like moth balls and White Diamonds. My other Grandmother usually enlists me to start ghostwriting her cookbook. We get about 2 pages in before she lays down for a nap and forgets about the project.

I think the novelty of sharing memories and getting buddy-buddy in the TV room would wear off pretty quick. No more loud-parties, early bed times and a digital divide as wide as a Grand Canyon would irritate me to no end. But if you’re thinking about giving it a try, the article’s author has a few tips: Read More »

As far as relationship milestones go, moving in together is right up there with getting engaged and having a child. It may not seem like such a huge deal initially, but it’s really one of the bigger make or break moments in a relationship.

Deciding to live with your significant other is essentially committing to a practice marriage; you will find out how often he wears the same pair of smelly socks, that he has a difficult time digesting Mexican food and calls his mom twice a day. This doesn’t mean there is something fundamentally wrong with him, you will just finally get to see all the not so shiny things about him–things that ultimately shouldn’t matter if you are in love.

After all, he’s going to know how scary you look in the morning, hear you fart, and discover that, indeed, you sometimes poop.

Being that its such a huge step, it goes without saying that moving in together is not something to be taken lightly. Here are some things to consider before taking the proverbial plunge. Read More »

After a four hour drive from New York to Maryland, I was ready to finally get back on campus.

My mom pulled up alongside my dorm building, and I climbed my way up the three flights of stairs, dumped my bag in front of my room, and then walked two doors down to give my girlfriend a welcome back kiss. It wasn’t until after a minute or so of “I missed you!”s that I actually went back downstairs to start unloading my trunk.

I promise you I’m not a guy infiltrating CollegeCandy for a sociological study on women. I’m a girl just like the rest of us…save for the whole bisexual thing, that is. Believe it or not, there are plenty of members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual) community on campuses across the country. Hell, there’s even a directory that has a list of colleges that have gay and lesbian organizations – and these are only the ones with paid staff. But even with places like these, meeting the right significant other is just as hard, if not harder. Read More »