So what you're saying is: we aren't gonna live together anymore?

Have you ever dated someone for so long you ended up living together? I'm sure many of you have, but what if you moved or something came up and in the end…

you weren't living together anymore…

Now I'm not saying bad things happen or whatever, I'm just saying your not living together anymore. Well if it hasn't happened  or if you think it may in the future, let me introduce you.

This is Tom and I (Kelley), we are a couple and we don't live together anymore. Tom is 25 and I am 23, we have been dating 5 years and have lived together for 3 of those years. But currently we are not living together and still dating. You may be asking yourself "why is that?", and since I don't mind talking about myself I'll give you a little insight. 

After I graduated college in Atlanta, we got in a situation where we had to move back to our home state of Michigan. Now since either of us had a car, or any real amount of savings. We had to do what most 20 something's hate to do, move back in with mom and dad…

Needless to say neither of us were happy about that, but we were happy to be home. Now we had talked for about this for a month or so, on how we were going to live. Was I going to move in with him? Him with me? What were we going to do? His parents had moved into a new home, so he would no longer be walking distance from me. 

So… we asked ourselves how are we going to do this? 

We equally decided to move into our separate houses, alone. Now instead of being walking distance, he would now be a 25-30 minute drive away. I liked to look at this like reliving the early years of dating! (exciting I know) 

But it's been almost a year since then, and I figure there has to be more like us! Or could be more like us, and I know something like this could have the potential to break a relationship apart. Well Tom and I have come up with some tips and advice to coup with this rocky path.

So lets start!

*KELLEY*

Visit/Stay over when you can, and don't feel guilty if you can't. Things will come up, it may be work, school, family event thingy. Just try to understand your both working on different schedules now. 

Plan a date night once a month! And make it special! Go to a fancy place, dress up! It'll be fun and may rekindle some flames that have gone out due to the stress. 

I usually work on things I had forgotten that I wanted to do. I've noticed my goals where no longer there. We now had our goals. So now that I have space and time to think, I work on my goals. And work on ways that when we have living back together not to forget about my goals, but to make my goals work with our goals.

Sadly I've noticed how I let my looks go. This didn't make me happy. So now I get to work on that again. :P

I also like to plan things for when I visit. Cooking together? Maybe go for a walk? Watch a movie? And it also tends to make those small things feel a little more special, now that they are not easily done anymore. 

Remembering all the things you took for granted, little and big. And then when your back living together, don't forget them.

*TOM*

Contact everyday. text. letters. emails. sticky notes. social media. We pretty much text all day! And remember to send cute pictures! Like this! 

Grabbed of internet

Try to see each other when you can and try to make time for the other person. 

Don't stress out over not living together, just a minor set back. Things will get better.  

Stress = problems/ stress/ fights/ needy-ness. 

Do things that make you happy, that don't involve your partner. So you don't dwell on the fact that your not living together. 

Just remember this is a temporary set back. As long as you continue to plan things should work out. 

And that is all the advise we have! If there is a will, there is way! We plan on moving back together and are taking those steps. 

Just remember you are young and this is not forever.