In case you needed one more piece of evidence that household and family dynamics are changing, here’s a relationship arrangement that you may not have heard of but that’s seemingly growing in popularity: living apart together.

Essentially, it’s when a couple is together, but has decided to live in two separate places, which could mean down the street, in another neighbourhood, or in a completely different borough.

This may sound odd, but:

“The arrangement has surprising appeal, perhaps because it protects against the constant churning in people’s domestic lives,” said Mr. Klinenberg, a sociology professor at New York University. “Many people who live alone are in relationships that are quite meaningful. And the arrangement is especially attractive in New York, which has such a thriving public culture and little stigma about how people live their lives.”

This certainly reinforces the trend towards more and more people living alone – creating an obvious impact on housing typologies. But it’s not something I see as being desirable. Perhaps because I haven’t been divorced 3 times and become sufficiently jaded towards the institution of marriage.

What do you think of this? Would you do it?