Cohabitation popular with college students

The Digital Collegian (Penn State) ^ | Thursday, January 23, 2003 | Camille Lamb

[stainlessbanner]

Everyone wants to be on "Real World"

[maxwell]

BWAHAHA... First thing that occurred to me was, how come they didn't interview any math/sci majors...

/rhetorical question

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[TheFilter]

LOL.

This is extremely common in the UK too. Why don't people just get married? Sheesh?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

You can't have it both ways.

If you don't want kids to engage in premarital sex, scrap the idea that getting married young is bad.

[areafiftyone]

THAT'S IT - I'm calling HABITAT FOR HUMANITY!!!

[maxwell]

Hahaha, I posted to a thread before SFR did... nanner nanner

[Dante3]

Judge Judy has often jumped on people shacking up, especially if there are children, and shown her disgust with it. Dr. Laura also has strongly advised against it.

Part of the problems is that the parents enable this behavior. One of my daughter's class-mates' mother actually paid for the couples rent and cleaned their apartment.

[maxwell]

Why don't people just get married?

Because not everybody can just call the Spouse Eliminator (TOLL FREE! 1-800-WHACK-A-SPOUSE! WE GUARANTEE CHEAP PAINLESS DEE-VORCES DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! CALL US TODAY AND WE'LL THROW IN A FREE GARLIC PRESS!)

[American Soldier]

I think well-intentioned conservatives are often twisting the idea of causation in order to make a point out of all these cohabitation articles that have been written in the last 5 years or so... I don't believe cohabitation causes relationships to fail per se, it just reveals that the two people were compatible enough to maintain a non-cohabitating relationship but were not compatible enough to actually lives together.

If anything I would guess it would prevent divorce, unless the case is that the two people would've developed a better relationship while spending more time apart, which I guess could be the case with certain couples.

[Lizavetta]

Shacking up doesn't work for many because the attitude going into it is "let's see if it works", and "I can leave if it ______ (fill in the blank)". When one makes the commitment of marriage, there's more of a desire (or at least there used to be) to find a way to make it work.

[Physicist]

"But my partner and I lived together as college students and 10 years later, we're still committed, together and happy. There's a lot of cause for hope."

Ditto for Mrs. P. and I. But in retrospect, we should have been married straight off the bat, since there was no scenario in which I would have let her go in any case. If I weren't her husband, I'd be her stalker.

It seems to me that cohabitations either work out, in which case the couple might as well have been married straight away, or don't work out, in which case both parties end up wishing they hadn't moved in together in the first place. But then again, how many people can say ahead of time which course it will take?

[maxwell]

I don't even know what the hell a garlic press IS.

[Callahan]

Actually, co-habitation increases the liklihood of divorce since couples who live together before getting officially hitched tend to place less value on the marriage "contract" and bail out when they hit a sore spot. I don't think it's a good thing for society in general, although that makes me a total hypocrite since I live with my girlfriend.

[Willie Green]

Shacking up doesn't work for many because the attitude going into it is "let's see if it works", and "I can leave if it ______ (fill in the blank)".

Yep, many guys view it as an economical way to get some nookie until someone "better" comes along. Don't have to shell out all that $$$ to take a girl out on a date first. Of course, things DO get a little awkward when one tries to bring a date back to the apartment.

Not that I have any personal experience in this matter,
just an observation based on old college acquaintences who did.

[MEGoody]

This is sad. Every study I've seen says that those who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce. (I know, that's counter-intuitive, but that's what the studies say.)

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I can't imagine shacking up in college or the parents condoning it. I would think that the kids wouldn't do it out of shame, but then again there is no shame anymore.

If I was a parent, if you want to shack up and play house, then you can pay your own tuition, room and board.

[NittanyLion]

I think an important variable is how long the relationship existed prior to cohabitation. Couples that live together immediately are very likely to break apart, while those who move in only after a protracted relationship are far less likely to break up. To deal with the issue without making those distinctions is probably not an accurate portrayal.

[weikel]

Divorce laws favor women way too much. Men should avoid marriage unless they want to have children in all circumstances.