By Jocelyn Voo
CNN.com
(LifeWire) — After weathering a troublesome roommate situation for a year, Dave Sotelo, 26, was ready to move out. His girlfriend, Ngoc Nguyen, had the perfect solution: moving in together.
It’s better to find a new place to live than to move into one person’s established home, says expert.
"Conveniently, an apartment in my four-unit building became available at the very same time," says Nguyen, 26.
There are obvious advantages to cohabitation, both emotional (living with the person you love) and financial (sharing expenses like rent).
The drawbacks are just as glaring, like adjusting to annoying personal habits and accommodating your loved one’s passion for knickknacks that make your cringe.
One thing’s for certain, experts say — the more you discuss before you move in together, the more likely your relationship will succeed. Sotelo’s and Nguyen’s certainly has improved in the year and half they’ve lived together.
"We’re engaged!" Nguyen says happily. The wedding is scheduled for August 26.
The Albany, California, couple is in good company: According to The State of Our Unions 2007, a report by the National Marriage Project at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, "over half of all first marriages are now preceded by living together, compared to virtually none 50 years ago."
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