Choosing the person (or type of person) you want to spend the rest of your life with is truly empowering and exciting. To make the right decision, you want to listen to your heart and use your head as well. It's of course important to be in love with someone, but you also want to think about some practical things as well because you're planning to spend the rest of your life with that person. Don't worry - we've rounded up some tips to help you figure out what type of person is really right for you.
Decide what kind of lifestyle you want. This decision is a major one, but fortunately, it's usually pretty clear how you want your partner to live once you start spending long periods of time with him or her. You and your partner should have consistent ideas about how you want to spend your free time, how you want to interact with your friends, and what kinds of physical amenities you want to pursue. Although you don't have to like the same things your partner does, you shouldn't disagree about things that require major decisions or commitments.
For example, a couple who likes to watch pro wrestling on Monday nights and one of them likes to watch nature documentaries at the same time will probably be able to make things work (especially if they agree to buy a DVR). On the other hand, if one partner wants to buy a home and the other doesn't, or one partner wants to be a "slingshot" and the other doesn't, these are major barriers to long-term happiness.
Decide where you want to live. Sometimes, location is the key to a couple's happiness. People often want to live close to friends or relatives who are very close to them, or to live in places where certain types of activities can be done. If both partners are not satisfied with living in the same place, this may (at least) make it necessary to spend a lot of time traveling.
Decide if you want children or not. This decision is very important - perhaps the most important decision you will make with your partner. Despite this, an astonishing number of couples fail to discuss this enough before attempting to commit to a lifelong relationship. Raising a child can be the most rewarding thing you do, but it's also an enormous responsibility, a huge financial commitment, and a decision to spend at least 18 years or so (maybe more) directly responsible for your child's care, so it's not something to deal with lightly.
Decide how important your culture and religion are to you. Many people's cultural or religious traditions are a big part of their lives - others are atheist or atheist and have little to no culture or tradition. Both lifestyles are equally valid, but for some partners, someone on the other end of the spectrum may not be a viable long-term option. Before you commit to someone, it's important to have an honest idea about whether or not it's important for your partner to be like you in this aspect of life.
To be clear, people of different races, religions, and cultures are perfectly capable of having happy, lifelong relationships. For example, in the United States, couples of different races are more common today than ever before.
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