4 signs you're ready to move in with your partner — even if it feels too soon

• Moving in together can be exciting but also comes with challenges.
• A couples therapist shared what couples should be prepared for before moving in together.

For most people, moving in together is one of the biggest relationship milestones. But knowing when to do it can be tricky, as every couple's timeline is different.

Even if you're in a healthy relationship, there are still some things you need to be aligned on to make cohabitation work. April Eldemire, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, told Insider that relationships tend to fall apart when couples that move in together "either don't have the foundation established or haven't worked through issues."

Moving in before you're ready can make underlying problems more pronounced. "You find out that when you move in together, you're actually polar opposites or so different that it's clashing or you're fighting all the time," she said.

To avoid that, she recommended sitting down and making sure you've talked through a range of topics first, from your finances to what you hope your future looks like. Here's how to know when you're ready, even if you haven't been dating for a long time.

1. You generally know where the relationship is going

Before anything else, Eldemire said it's important to envision the general future you want together.

"Ultimately, what do you want out of the relationship?" she said. "Where is the relationship going?"

It doesn't have to necessarily be geared towards marriage — it's fine to just want to live together and see where it goes, but you should still have some future goals aligned.

For example, she said you'll want to talk about adding other family members into the mix. What will happen if one of you has an aging or sick parent — will they live with you? What about kids or pets?

Even just knowing who's going to be coming over regularly can be good to talk about. "I think a lot of couples fight about this," Eldemire said. "One partner feels like there's just maybe too much socializing or they're hosting too much."

2. You've had honest talks about your finances

Moving in together can help save money on rent, but it can be a financial risk in other ways if you've never talked candidly about money.

In most couples, Eldemire said that one person is more of a spender and the other is more of a saver, so it's good to talk about your different views on money.

"Especially in modern day relationships, there's got to feel like there's some fairness and some equal balance," she said. For example, if one person ends up making the bulk of the money you share, the other might take on more housework or chores to help out.

Additionally, she recommended discussing whether you want to have a household budget or a joint bank account "to determine how much you're putting in each month and who has access to it," she said.

3. You're prepared for your sex life to possibly change

While moving in together is very exciting, it will likely bring up conflicts you didn't see coming.

One of the most common ones is a change in intimacy, according to Eldemire. "You're not just dating and having that infatuation phase," she said. "You actually have responsibilities and you're living your lives now, and so intimacy might look a little bit different."

It's good to go into moving in together with the expectation that things might shift — and be ready to talk about them when they do.

4. You communicate through conflict well

While you can't anticipate every issue that will come up, you can prepare yourselves for having tough conversations as they arise.

Eldemire said that couples can shy away from these talks because they're afraid of what the other person will say or "they're worried that they might not be in total alignment, but they love the person so much that they're willing to overlook those things." But that's not healthy.

"You have to go in with open eyes," she said.