living together
Do you think a couple should live together before getting married? Why?
Traditionally couples would start living together as a “trial marriage.” These days the trend is changing. In the UK and US unmarried couples who live together are the fastest growing demographic.
However, they have different reasons for living with their partner. Why do couples want to live together?
money
convenience
loneliness
It’s hard to make free time to see your partner if work is busy.
The number of millennials who work from home is rising.
Do you think AGE or MONEY is a bigger factor that affects them getting married?
Do you think a big wedding can lead to a more successful marriage?
A recent study found that couples who had bigger weddings (over 150 people) stayed together for longer.
Several studies conducted on unmarried couples living together found that MONEY is the biggest factor! If both people have low incomes, they are more likely to break up. Are you surprised by this?
In Japan a survey was conducted on relationships. 20,000 people from their 20’s to 60’s took part.
Japan’s survey results
Can you match the percentage to the people?
Single Men who don’t want to get married
Women who don’t want to get married
Men and women who want to get married
25.4%
26.5%
46.4%
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220614/p2g/00m/0na/034000c
- One in four singles in their 30s who have never been married in Japan said they have no desire to tie the knot, citing such reasons as concerns over a loss of freedom and associated housework and financial burdens, a government survey showed Tuesday.
The survey conducted last December to January, with responses from 20,000 people in their 20s to 60s, showed that 54.6 percent of men and 62.6 percent of women in their 30s were married, according to the white paper approved by the Cabinet.
Among singles who have never been married, 46.4 percent of both men and women in their 30s said they hope to tie the knot, while 26.5 percent of men and 25.4 percent of women want to remain single.
Among singles in their 20s, 19.3 percent of men and 14.0 percent of women gave that answer.
The most common reason cited by men and women in both age groups for not getting married was wanting to remain free.
By gender, more women than men said they do not want to shoulder the burden of housework, childcare and nursing care marriage often entails while more men than women cited a lack of financial ability and job insecurity as reasons for shunning marriage.
https://www.salon.com/2014/09/22/6_extremely_weird_facts_about_marriage_partner/
. A big wedding seems to boost the odds of a successful marriage.
Psychology researchers from the University of Denver studied 418 people as part of their Relationship Development Study, with a goal of sussing out elements that contributed to a successful marriage. Eleven percent of participants had no formal wedding ceremony, and of these, only 28 percent of the couples reported having a high-quality marriage.
On the other hand, 41 percent of couples that had formal weddings were happy in their marriages. The researchers opined that couples who were less happy or certain about being together might be less likely to want a big wedding, and they also noted that the decision to have a public ceremony symbolizes a commitment which may influence the mindset of couples. According to the study, the bigger the wedding, the better the couples reported the marriage to be: 47 percent of couples that had 150 or more guests had good marriages, compared with only 31 percent of those who had 50 or fewer guests.
Sources:
https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/most-of-japan%E2%80%99s-new-adults-hope-to-fall-in-love-and-get-married-according-to-recent-survey-1
https://www.forbes.com/sites/naomicahn/2021/01/15/why-marriage-and-divorce-rates-are-dropping-during-the-pandemic/?sh=2aba407556c2
https://www.salon.com/2014/09/22/6_extremely_weird_facts_about_marriage_partner/
https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/gov%27t-reveals-the-five-prefectures-with-highest-divorce-rates