Moving in together: The logistical and professional considerations

Congratulations – you’re about to take the plunge. You’ve dated for ‘x’ months or ‘x’ years, and you’ve decided to commit and share your life under the same roof.

Following on from the above, it sounds rather unromantic to talk about logistics and your relative professions. This happens to be an important topic though, and one that many couples don’t discuss before it is too late. For example if you are both in jobs that require you to work from home, you need to make sure that this is possible in your new home.

This is the reason behind the following guide. We will now take a look at some of the logistical concerns you need to mull over as you prepare to move in together with your significant other.

His or hers?

It’s a simple question; will you move into her place or his? Or, will you go for a completely new life, and try and find somewhere new?

As we will soon come onto, there are some financial considerations with this. However, there are plenty of other logistics. For example, which is the better located? Quite often, you can’t please everyone, and one house is probably going to be nearer just one halves’ place of work. Of course, it doesn’t just come down to the distance traveled, and you might find that the excellent travel links mean that this isn’t so much of a problem.

Make sure you weigh up the pros and cons of all three options to cast your decision.

Do you both have room to work from home?

This is becoming more and more common, where couples are both in professions that require them to work from home. It is therefore advisable to take a look around your new home and consider where multiple tables and desks might sit, along with space for chairs. Then you should also think about Wifi, and make sure that wherever you might be working, both of you can access the internet easily.

It might be worth minimalizing your new home to ensure there is space for working from home and if you are both often working from home, then it is inevitable that you will be spending a lot of time in your new home. You will want more space and less clutter, and there’s a high chance that you’re not going to have the space after moving all your old belongings in. Maybe consider using self storage from a company like Safestore who offer secure storage options for you to clear space in your new home. This will allow you to at least store the items temporarily.

The financial considerations

Let’s leave one of the “touchiest” subjects until the very end. You’ve agreed a place to live and you know what items are going to live with you. The final piece of the jigsaw is just who is going to pay for it all?

On some occasions, this is utterly simple. After all, if you are moving in to a completely new place, then everything is usually split in half. However, if you are moving into an existing place where one of you already live, this is where things get complicated. Particularly if a mortgage is involved, you need to decide how this is split.

Some people will literally split everything in half, while others might separate the bills and mortgage payments. Regardless, financial disagreements can be a major cause of conflict, so this needs ironing out long before you move your belongings in.