place from July to April The second stage of data collection targeted middle-class cohabitors, also defined predominantly by educational attainment—a college degree. The 31 middle-class couples were recruited primarily through fliers posted in high-end grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants, as well as a posting on an online community bulletin board.

Participants in the middle-class sample were interviewed between April and June The four college-educated partners in the working-class couples were not holding jobs that required a college degree. The partners assigned to our middle-class group who did not have a college degree, in contrast, all were either financially established as owners or managers of businesses at the time of the interview or from well-off middle-class families.

All respondents were between the ages of 18 and 36, the prime familymore accelerated among the working class, half of whom moved in Coresidential dating typically includes an intention to marry their partners within the first 6 months, compared with less than a quarter of the middle-class couples.

Overall, nearly three-quarters of the working-class sample moved in within a year of becoming romantically involved. Middle-class couples demonstrated a much more tempered entrance into their shared living arrangements—over half were romantically involved for over a year prior to moving in together.

Cohabiting women who marry typically...

Respondents often mentioned reasons motivating their entrance into shared living as they discussed how their relationships unfolded. They were also asked an open-ended question about why they had moved in with their partner. Several reasons for moving in with a partner were frequently offered, though generally one or