We Don't Have to

Highflyer and I have been together for almost 6 months now and have had plenty of opportunity to check one another for compatibility on many different levels. We have even spent a whole week together, day and night, so passed the "vacation test" with flying colours. We soon realised that we have different ideas about how and where we want to live. While he resides in a semi-detached house with a tiny garden in suburbia, I live in a medium-sized flat without any outdoor space on a busy street in a central-ish area of Vienna. Although I would not mind a rooftop terrace, I am very happy about leading an urban life and having to commute to work by car is one of my nightmares. Even though we have spent 90% of our time together at my place, Highflyer would not want to swap his house for a city flat and I would not dream of making him do so. I told him recently that I am actually very content with this situation because I liked having two different spaces and looking forward to seeing one another without having to compromise. He agreed and said that the best thing about it was that there's nothing to force us to compromise out of financial or other considerations. We each like our personal space that we chose according to our personal preferences and we don't have to make any sacrifices. Sometimes, being a middle-aged (!) adult does have perks...