Everything around us is set up to prevent us from accumulating wealth. More and more people rent because they can’t buy a house. Families increasingly need two or even three cars. The practice of fixing appliances or shoes is gone, pushing people to buy new ones all the time.
In the midst of all that, there are incredible suckers who facilitate their own despoliation by foregoing the biggest financial benefit of being in a relationship. Not having to pay two sets of rent and utilities is one of the few remaining ways we have to shore up our financial situation. But it’s easier to profit off us if we are unattached and alone. We are exhorted to remain unattached and alone (under the guise of freedom and choice, as always) because this makes us easier to fleece. And as absolute dummies, we agree.
Also, these people do not love each other because sharing the day-to-day life is one of the most enjoyable parts of being in love.
Clarissa's Blog 
thank you for this! I needed to hear this as a long term boyfriend has asked for this arrangement, and we have been having it for a few months, but it doesn’t really make sense to me as he still wants to spend all his free time outside work and days off work with me. Why not live together then if I am sleeping over most nights of the week anyway?
we are both Ukrainian and this is super odd in our culture. He mentioned he is unhappy with this his life and this is the reason why he would want to do this temporarily.
I have mentioned to him that he can have his cake and it eat it too but I will likely have cold feet from this arrangement as I do not feel loved.
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Ukrainian! I like you already. Please, keep coming, I’d really love to see more Ukrainians around here.
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I wonder about all the downvotes you are getting for this. As someone who went through maintaining two households in two different states due to a work situation, I completely agree with you. Paying two rents, and having to have a double of almost everything is not great. I’m not sure why someone would do that without need. We have done what we needed to do at that time. It took a while, but we successfully resolved our situation and combined the households.
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We also started out as a long-distance relationship, and it was very hard.
People don’t like it when one points it out that “freedom and choice” are often “impoverishment and control.” It goes against everything they have been told their whole lives.
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“it’s easier to profit off us if we are unattached and alone”
It’s also easier to maintain people in a pre-adult stage… keeping relationships in the ‘going steady’ stage rather than committing.
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Exactly, it’s the eternal adolescence of a neoliberal subject who is constantly in the process of becoming without ever getting anywhere. The endless journey. The unceasing transformation.
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Who is downvoting these and not leaving a comment, I wonder? Go on, explain your point of view in the comments. I am genuinely curious why living apart together would be desirable if you are in love.
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Gotta maximize the number of houses people occupy to keep real estate prices up, so boomers can continue to finance their retirements with reverse mortgages.
We *do not have* a housing shortage in the US, but housing prices act that way because we do stupid (excrement) like this.
We have millions of people living in houses 3x as large as they need.
I got a chirpy email this week from one of the house-listing sites that spam me all the time now, framing this as “the golden age of guest bedrooms” (I said something vulgar at the screen when I saw that one).
The second people realize, or are forced to realize, that paying more than a third of your take-home pay on rent in an inflationary economy can’t continue, and we hit some critical mass of people moving themselves and their kids in with aging parents, cramming into used RVs because they can’t rent anymore, combining households in other uncomfortable ways… the real-estate-goes-up-forever dream collapses.
I can’t wait.
If your woman is maintaining her own household apart from yours, she’s your mistress.
If you’re somebody’s mistress, and they’re not supporting you financially, you’re getting bilked, and you need to re-assess your business strategy.
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