They often say, ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’, and whilst there may be truth to this statement, some couples when living together may cite differently. Living with a partner can be a dream come true and make the bond between you stronger, but at the same time it’s a big test to a relationship.
Housing experts at Fastsalehomes.co.uktherefore acknowledge there can be disgruntled between couples who live together, so wanted to find out what are the most common living habits of British couples.
To find out, Fast Sale Homes put together a survey asking 847 couples questions about their experience of living with their significant other, and how it changes (or didn’t), their relationship.
Fastsalehomes.co.uk first established how soon couples took the next step of their relationship to living together. And while 43% of the couples surveyed said they only moved in together after one year of dating, 19% decided to take this leap straight away; within the first months of dating.
Interestingly, 5% of the couples surveyed said they have a more traditional outlook on life and won’t move in together before marriage.
When asked if the move improved their relationship, or made it worse, 81% responded positively, while 19% claimed their relationship had soured since the move.
After citing ‘house chores’ as the main reason for fighting between couples who live together (37%), the following rank thereafter:
Relationship issues (31%), money (25%) and finding the right TV programme to watch together at 21%.
‘Not cleaning after yourself’ is a significant irritating habit for 42% of couples, followed closely by ‘being messy’ with 40%.
‘Farting/burping’ annoys 31% of couples, while ‘leaving the toilet seat up’ (11%) and ‘taking ages to get ready’ (10%) is a pet peeve for some couples.
On a positive note, 42% of the respondents agree that seeing their partner every day is the part they love most about living with their partner.
On the other hand, we all can admit that the cost of living in the UK is very high, so there is no shame that 31% of the couples who took the survey admitted that ‘having someone to split the bills/rent/mortgage with’ is another driving force for choosing to move out with their partner.
