Cohabitation and Marriages

Sociology Project

Live-In Relationships and Marriages

In today's society there are two forms of relationships, cohabitation and marriages. Although cohabitation is more common in the western society it happens a lot here too. In America, it is usually accepted more in high class society settings. You just have to figure out which lifestyle is better suited for you. There are pros and cons to both sides. Live-in relationships or cohabitation arrangements are being viewed as the easier route to take. Most people want to avoid a lifelong commitment to one person because they accept the fact that people and their needs change with time. In addition, live-in relationships do not require a person to be bound to another person legally and is free to live his or her life without the feeling of any sense of responsibility. This arrangement sounds very appealing to people who are either scared of getting married or who do not believe in the concept of marriage. Some pros for living in cohabitation are freedom; you do not have any obligations and one does not have to give up any rights. Responsibility; you are only responsible for yourself. Easy to break up; you do not have legal hassles. Rehearsal for married life; you know each other's common interest and views. Some cons are familiarity without security; your partner may get bored and want to start fresh or the love they have may fade when the two get to know each other more. The divorce rate for live in couples are higher than for couples that didn't live together prior. Also cohabitation affects the cohabitors' children they may could have helped financially or been a parental role to. Marriage is an institution created by our forefathers where two adults of the opposite sex agree to a life time agreement which is socially and legally accepted. Some pros for marriage are physical health benefits; if your spouse has it then it's provided for you and your kids. More financially stable; taking care of each other and joint bank accounts. Also marriage is good for your mental and physical health. Some cons are you can inherit their past struggles; financially, ex's, etc. Higher taxes you have to pay out to the IRS. And also if you get divorced it can become expensive and time consuming. A Marriage offers a very different kind of love, commitment, stability, and personal growth that is unmatched by a live-in relationship. Couples in live-in relationships can almost never feel so secure in their relationship because there is no commitment to the relationship or towards each other. In addition, couples do not know whether there will ever be a long-term commitment in a live-in relationship. Therefore, no matter what, a person in such sort of a relationship can never feel completely secure or sure about his or her partner. Although marriage presents an array