I've never been big on couples living together before they get married. I always thought it was a "why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free" thing and also a potential religious issue. However, my views are quickly changing. I now think it seems like a good idea before marriage. Also, if we're already intimate, I guess living together doesn't make us that much worse in the eyes of God :P

Backstory: My parents own a house (I'll call it the rental house) in NJ which is divided into two apartments, one upstairs and one downstairs. It is about 5 minutes from their house. The upstairs is currently available since the tenants moved out today. My older brother currently rents out the bottom story but is currently in the process of buying his own house. He will be moved out most likely by May 1st. My parents are not going to rent out the rental house again because they are currently working on their house to prepare to put it on the market in September or so. They would then move into the rental house until they move to Florida in about 2 years. My room in my parent's house was destroyed in Huricane Irene. Therefore, during my breaks, I've been sleeping in a room with no real flooring, no heat, no air conditioning, and no furniture, which is not that bad but not ideal.

I will be going back to NJ for four months during my college summer break, starting around May 5th. My parents told me today that they would allow me to live in the upstairs apartment of their rental house for free since it will unoccupied anyway. I'm so excited!

The best part of it all is that I will have privacy. My mom said I could have my SO over whenever I wanted to; it would be my own space completely. Also, she doesn't really like my SO's family situation (it's complicated, his family steals from him) so she wants him to have a safe place to stay.

This essentially means that my SO and I will be able to live together during the whole summer! We would have a whole four months to figure out what it is like to live with one another and see if we fit on a daily basis. It's not completely like living on our own since we'll be staying there for free but it's a step in the right direction! My SO and I have been talking about marriage in the future (not yet, don't worry) so it will be a step in the right direction for that as well! I'm so excited to have this opportunity! :]