Marriage may not be at the top of my priorities but that doesn’t mean I haven’t given it a thought. If you’re about to get married to the love of your life, you’re probably floating on air right now—and quite busy with the wedding preparations. But before you become overly preoccupied with the venue, food, flowers, and other details of your wedding day, you may want to sit down with your future spouse to discuss your plans for what happens once the celebration is over. That way, you’ll be on the right track to creating a lasting and happy marriage.
Aside from managing shared finances and plans for adding to your family, perhaps the most pressing topic to ponder is your future home. Where will you live after getting married? Whether you plan to rent an apartment or take a housing loan to purchase a brand new house and lot or a condominium unit, you need to determine where you intend to put down your roots and start your new life together. If you need help making a decision, consider the following tips:
Know Your Priorities
Before coming up with a list of possible choices, it helps to identify your priorities first. Talk about the things that mean most to you individually and as a couple, so you know what to consider when looking for the ideal location. For instance, if maintaining close family ties is of utmost importance to you or your spouse, you may want to look at moving to an area where you can visit each other’s parents and families with minimal travel time and hassle.
Perhaps your partner wants to care for an aging or ailing parent, and you’re open to the idea. If that’s the case, you may want to explore the possibility of living with your in-laws temporarily instead of finding a separate place, as this setup may be more convenient and practical. Ultimately, you want you and your fiancé to spend time discussing your priorities so that you can determine the most sensible options that will benefit your married life moving forward.
Think About Your Future Goals
You also need to consider your future plans as a married couple before deciding where to live after exchanging vows, as it can impact your choice significantly. Let’s say you want to have children. Then, you should discuss what kind of environment you want to raise them in. Do you want them to grow up in a place surrounded by nature yet still close enough to enjoy the amenities and vibrancy of city life? If so, you may consider Bulacan, Laguna, Iloilo, Davao, and similar areas where they can experience the best of both urban and rural living. Besides the environment, you may need to consider proximity to good schools, crime rate, cost of living, and access to medical care when choosing the ideal location to raise kids.
Perhaps your goal is to save enough money to open a small business in the next three to five years. Or maybe you want to become a manager in your company. Whatever your career or professional objectives are, you may want to assess how your choice of residence can impact these goals. Consider commute times, transportation expenses, convenience, and similar factors when exploring areas for your future home.
Calculate Your Budget
Your budget is another major issue you need to settle as you determine where to live as a married couple. Even if you find the ideal location for your future home, you may not be able to move there unless you can afford the cost of living in your desired place.
Because money is an essential consideration, run the numbers with your fiancé to determine how much you can afford to spend. Remember that the expenses don’t stop with rent or mortgage. You should also factor in your daily expenses, such as transportation, utilities, groceries, and entertainment. These expenditures can amount to a lot of money, which can then affect the “affordability” of a given area.
Weigh the Pros and Cons
Chances are you already have several areas in mind after discussing and assessing your situation against different factors, such as your current and future needs, finances, and goals. To narrow down your choices or make the decision easier, you may want to weigh the pros and cons of living in each area.
This process is simple. Just write down the name of the place at the top of a two-column grid. Label the first column as “Pros” and the other as “Cons.” Then, list all the positive attributes of the location in the pros column and all the downsides in the cons column. Write everything that comes to mind. Once you have a pros and cons list for all your desired places, you and your partner can compare the areas and choose the best option more objectively.
Deciding where to live as a married couple may take a bit of work, as there are many things to consider and evaluate. However, the process can become more meaningful with the right mindset, open communication, and willingness to compromise. It can even serve as a lesson in finding common ground, which is valuable in building a stronger marital relationship. So, enjoy the process of finding the place you’ll soon call home.
