The Rules of Love, 3rd Edition

RULE 17

Check you both have the same shared goals

There’s this couple I know. They fell in love, got married, had kids. They lived in London, and he had a job that entailed quite a lot of travel to Cornwall, three or four hours away. After a few years, the requirements of the job changed, and he had to spend a lot more time in Cornwall, so he told his wife it was probably time they moved down there permanently. Turns out this was always his long-term plan, but he hadn’t thought to discuss it with her earlier. Mind you, it should have been obvious it would make sense, and she’d never mentioned to him that she couldn’t contemplate moving out of London. Stalemate.

The moral here is don’t wait until you’re married with kids to have these conversations. ...