Relationships & Real Estate

As I listened to Paul, a twenty-something friend of a friend, ramble about how difficult it is being single, I zoned out for a few minutes. Are people staying in relationships because there may not be anything else suitable available?

Like the real estate market in Ireland, the dating market is experiencing a dry spell. Investing in a new relationship, which requires years of hard work, is like moving into a second-hand house. First you have to pay stamp duty. In relationships, this is equivalent to splashing out on those novelty beginning-of-relationship gifts. You have to strip the wallpaper--just like removing the remains of your new significant other's previous relationship. Only then can you start to redecorate to your taste, because like a second hand house, your new significant other comes with some traits you know you can't live with.

"You're so lucky to be in a relationship", claimed Paul. I suddenly felt like I'd bought my way into the market mere months before it had taken a price hike--before a relationship was unattainable. Selling now would be a risk, right? It's not like I'm unhappy in my relationship anyway. Like the 3-bed dormer bungalow I live in, it's comfortable, warm and despite the fact that I feel suffocated from time-to-time, there's a certain sentimentality that comes with it.

According to Paul, no-one wants to commit these days. This confirmed my ideology that the dating game is just like the property market. As soon as things slow down, and properties of interest are nowhere to be seen, people freeze. No-one wants to commit to something, have to pay for it and maintain the upkeep, only to realise that they've made a bad purchase years later when the market picks up.

Unfortunately, no-one knows how long the dry spell will last, and so some will move away, in hope of better opportunities overseas, just like 1980's Ireland. Some will remain, and rent, never truly making an investment, but rather buying time, and a temporary roof, while a decision is being formed.

Whatever you decide to do, always keep one eye on the real estate market, and the other on potential significant other's, for you never know who else has an appointment for a viewing.