Living apart, together
IT’S officially termed “living apart together” or LAT, and is the practice of long-term, otherwise committed couples choosing to live apart rather than together.
And it has taken off in places like the United States, Sweden and Britain, among couples who have found meaningful benefits to living separately.
They’ve cited benefits like keeping the relationship exciting since they don’t share space 24/7, maintaining individual quirks that they would have had to compromise on when living together, and maintaining some sort of independence.
But while this situation has worked for some people, can it be adapted to unions locally?
We asked people, is it really possible to live in different houses and still maintain a healthy relationship?
MC:
I think it is a bad idea. I believe a man and a woman should live together to make it really work. And this is coming from me, a man — a man is going to cheat if [his woman is not there with him].
SH:
Nothing is impossible. I have been living apart from my man for a very long time now and we are pretty great. I think we have survived a lot of hardships together, being apart. Thing is, different persons have their own situations; in my case, because I am a Christian, I think it is best we stay apart until marriage.
Candace:
My man has to be beside me every night whether we are married or not. I definitely couldn’t live without my man living with me. I think it is just too much on a woman to wonder where her man is and what he is doing when he has his own living situation going on.
