1. Enjoy Your Time Together

One of the ways living apart can benefit your relationship is by making your time together quality time. Because you're not always together, you will make the effort to get the most out of the times when you are. In a long-term relationship where you live together, you'll probably spend most of your time doing household chores or watching TV …

2. Own Space

Everybody needs their own space, however small - but that's not so easy when you live with a partner. If you're used to independent living there can be a lot of annoying things about sharing your space. It's especially hard to adjust to living with someone if you're used to living alone; this often happens to older people who find a new relationship after divorce or separation.

3. Different Strokes

Many people would be shocked at the thought of living apart from their partner - isn't that defeating the point of being in a relationship? But relationships are increasingly less traditional. If you secretly really like the idea of living in separate homes then it's an idea worth exploring. What's important is that your situation works for you both, not what anyone else expects.

4. Career

Sometimes you are forced to live apart for job reasons. But this can actually work to your advantage, as if you are happy in your job then you are going to be more content overall. But if you take a job that you're not keen on, you won't be as happy. If it's necessary to live apart for a time, it's not the end of your relationship - there are many ways to keep your love alive.

5. Less Annoyance

However much we love our partner, there are bound to be things about them that drive us insane. We only become aware of most of these once we start living with them. So living apart could be an advantage, because we won't be exposed to those annoyances as much!

6. Time for Yourself

Having time to yourself can really be quite enjoyable. So if you find yourself living apart when you'd rather live together, it's a chance to do lots of things that you enjoy, so make the most of the opportunity.

7. Less Mundane

However much you love someone, seeing their unwashed self in the morning and laundry on the floor is enough to kill the passion. Living apart means that you're less exposed to the mundane facets of a relationship. So it could be argued that living in separate homes will keep the magic alive longer!

Of course, this is not a cheap option; running two households is likely to be more expensive. It also needs to be something that you both want; if one of you secretly doesn't want to commit then it's a problem. But it can work very well. Would you rather have separate rooms - or separate houses?