There are plenty of studies on both sides of the cohabitation debate. While it is not a conversation that most people would have during the phone dating part of the dating process, after successfully using a phone dating hotline to find your life partner, it may be eventually something that you consider.
First off, many of the older studies that take on the cohabitation question and state that marriages fail at higher rates when cohabitation is involved are outdated and do not focus on some of the important variables like age and finances. Sometimes, when people in relationships move in together, it is because they are either young and impulsive (and passionate and excited) or because they need to save money due to financial difficulties or the costs associated with long-distance relationships. These relationships may have other problems, but after cohabitating and getting comfortable (or not) with the situation marriage may be the next step they go. The issues that they had are unsurprisingly (to everyone else) still there even after they get married. A solid relationship is important regardless of where you each live.
So, what are the benefits? The benefits of cohabitation are that you can experience the person that you are dating and how they might be in at-home life, before marriage. Taking an objective look at the relationship, while not focusing on things like early relationship passion and how much easier it is to live with someone else financially, can give you a lot of information about what it is like to be with someone more often.
You will learn how they solve problems, how they deal with conflict, and how they deal with money. Money can be an essential aspect of dating that many people do not learn without cohabitating. Unfortunately, money is one of the biggest reasons that relationships and marriages fail.
Getting more information about how the people you care about work can be beneficial, but make sure both people in the relationship are starting to cohabitate not out of need, but out of a mutual desire to move towards the future in a logical, open-minded, and communication-oriented way.
