An Ambiguous Commitment: Moving In to a Cohabiting Relationship*

The rise of unmarried cohabitation is a major social trend in western industrial societies but there is little research on how the transition from single to cohabiting life is experienced or understood. This paper is based on an in-depth qualitative study of 15 young Australian heterosexual couples. For the couples in this study, moving in together was an ambiguous commitment rather than a trial marriage; a transition fuelled by pragmatism rather than romance. The cohabiters minimised their agency when they discussed their decision to move in. In stark contrast to marriage, moving in was played down in the public arena and ritual was avoided. It is argued that the ambiguity surrounding moving in reflects the rapidly changing and uncertain context of partnering and marriage at the end of the millennium.