Should or should not unmarried couples live together? This is a question asked of many people. Some people will say yes, and others will say no. Personally, I say no to unmarried couples living together.
Two unmarried people, of the opposite-sex, living together, is known as cohabitation. In the 60's and 70's cohabiting couples were known as simply "anti-marriage." Today cohabiting couples see cohabiting not as being "anti-marriage," but most of them see cohabiting as "anti-divorce." So, today peoples fear of divorce has led them to see cohabitation as a "trial marriage" that will serve as protection from a marriage that will result in divorce.
People for cohabitation compare it to a new car. They ask the question, if you were going to buy a new car and you see that it looks good and has nice features, but you do not know how well it drives, are you going to test drive it before buying it? Of course almost everyone would answer this question yes, because to test drive a car before buying it would be the practical thing to do. However, research has proven this theory wrong. Research has proven that couples who have lived together before marriage are more likely to disagree on such things as; entertainment, household chores, finances and are more likely to become sexually involved. In the past three decades, during the same time as the rise of couples living together before marriage, the rate of divorce has skyrocketed. This is enough proof that so-called trial marriages are not successful.
Although there is no real reason for cohabitation, there is a long range of explanation people use who do live together unmarried. Some are seeking an alternative to traditional marriage, not wanting to feel trapped or feel that they will have more freedom to come and go by not being married. Some say that a marriage license is only a piece of paper that will not make their marriage stronger or that it will not make any difference in their relationship.