Are cohabitating couples really happier overall than their married peers?
The Journal of Marriage and Family recently conducted a study which found that there are few advantages for married couples as far as psychological well-being, health or social ties, compared with unmarried couples living together. The study shows that while there are great benefits to marriage and cohabitation over the single life, these benefits weaken as couples depart the "honeymoon period."
I'm engaged to a man I have been living with for the past four years, and we're doing just fine.
After reading a recent study in Glamour which reexamined the long-propagated myth that couples who live together before marriage have a higher chance of divorce, I felt ridiculously triumphant, wagging my finger in a self-aggrandizing "I told you so" to society at large.
From sub-leasing to meeting the condo board, relationships and real estate have a lot in common.
In 2005, I briefly worked as a real estate agent in New York City, renting downtown luxury apartments to European pioneers, entitled college grads from Long Island, and investment bankers with trophy wives. The job, which I took merely as a means to support myself while pursuing more "noble" efforts as a rock musician, was truly f'ing miserable.
More people are delaying marriage or not marrying at all. But WHY? Look at this sad pretty bride!
Although we've written about marriage trends in the US, some recent articles about marriage in Asia got my attention. From all the way around the world, marriage is changing and becoming less important.
When he says, "let's live together," it means he's not fully committed.
The popular view is often not the truth, and cohabitation is one of those times. Living together prior to marriage is still one of the best predictors for divorce and if you have a child in that union prior to marriage you set them up for an unstable life. The latest research has found that for children, going through a divorce is more stable than being raised by a cohabitating couple. Many couples find someone with whom they can relate or have sex, and before you know what is happening they decide they will live together. They tell me or anyone listening that they want to make sure they are compatible.
"Why should he buy the cow if he can get the milk for free?" doesn't exactly fly anymore.
Have you ever had your parent or grandparent say something like, "Why should he buy the cow when he can get the milk for free?" It's so dehumanizing and silly, but of course they mean well, and you can't completely blame them — that was just their mentality growing up. Moving in together before you were Mr. and Mrs. just didn't happen. Now, it's practically all that happens. And guess what? Turns out, it's not hurting all of us "cows!"
An antiquated Florida law has cohabitating couples facing jail time.
Looking for a place to live with your boyfriend in Florida? There's a cozy one-room studio behind bars waiting for you. A state law that dates back to the 1800's condemns opposite-sex unmarried couples living under the same roof.
Research suggests that living with two unmarried parents may be as harmful to children as divorce.
Divorce rates are finally dropping, but that doesn't mean people are forging stronger family units. With fewer people getting married these days, the number of kids living in households with two unmarried parents is on the rise. And, according to new research released today by the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values, that may be as bad for kids as dealing with a parent's divorce.
College-aged couples are increasingly opting out of cohabitation in favor of sexy sleepovers.
A new study suggest that "adult sleepovers" without cohabitation are on the rise. According to the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, an increasing number of coupled twenty-somethings have struck the perfect balance between casual dating and cohabitation. The "stayover trend" involves spending three to seven nights per week together while maintaining separate homes
A new study says that education matters more than marriage in childhood development.
Are children of married couples more cognitively developed? According to a new study by the British Institute for Fiscal Studies, the answer is yes, but it's not because their parents are married.
How education and cohabitation affect income, marriage and divorce rates.
Pew Research Center has released a new analysis of census data that finds adults without a college degree are twice as likely to cohabit than those with a college degree.
