Being in a relationship and living together is a whole thing you know? You naturally end up doing a lot of stuff together and it’s great because (hopefully) you love each other’s company and want to spend time together even if a lot of what you do will be mundane stuff like grocery shopping, to the post office, the pet store, other errands that need to be taken care of. Sure eating out/in is a thing and some of them could be your date night thing but what I’ve found is intentionally making a plan and doing something together is so important to maintain connection in a relationship.
Partners of any kind
And here’s the thing – this is for both couples and roommates. When I had a roommate before Nick and I moved in together, she and I had to make the effort to make plans with each other even though we lived together and saw each other all the time. We didn’t do it for a while when we first moved in and it was not good for us. Because being coinhabitants of the same space and actually having a relationship with someone are two different things to tackle as a person. Having a time that you both mindfully cut out for each other totally changes the energy of when you hang out. You just connect and vibe more. Especially if y’all are doing something fun.
So that’s what Nick and I do. Once a week we schedule a day just for the two of us where we prioritise each other. It’s become so important and nice for our relationship. And trust me, it’s not like we’re going out and spending money all the time (even $20 a person can sometimes be painful when you have student loans) so truly, free dates are really where it’s at y’all.
So what to do?
One of my favourite things to do is find random things in the city that are kind of touristy and plan a whole day around that and the area it’s in. I’m talking about things like sightseeing you know? It’s always fun and the people watching is ideal.
Right now we’re both doing the 60 days sober journey so we stopped by a cute restaurant in the area and just sat at the bar and had a mocktail – you may not be in a place to spend money on a meal but you can always stop by for a drink and enjoy the atmosphere.
For food, instead, go to an inexpensive place in the area - since the Waterwall is by the Galleria Mall we ended up eating at Chili’s (it felt like such a high school date that we both had never gotten so it was kind of perfect also their 2 for $25 deal is amazing + they’ve expanded their menu).
So you really don’t have to dry out your wallet just because you want to spend once a week having a day out with your roomie (boo or otherwise).
Cute FREE ideas for a date (romantic and platonic!!!)
⚙︎ Find a sightseeing destination in your area - anything that people highlight and showcase to those coming to visit. You may have both been there already but going together and just enjoying the views and each other’s company. Cheeky tip: play pretend tourists for the day because why not?
⚙︎ Go to a park – bring a blanket and books, a speaker or share headphones like its 2008, pack some food or just something to sip on and be a cuddly cute dream
⚙︎ Go for a walk around a certain part of your town – take pictures, make a scavenger hunt for yourselves or just hit your steps count for the day
⚙︎ Lookup free events in your area – free live music shows, free entrance days at museums/art galleries, film screenings at bars (just get a tonic with a lime if you want to have a drink and want to keep yourself at zero spendings)
⚙︎ Go to the mall – play pretend and go to those high-end stores and manifest your dream life if that’s something that you want or just go try random stuff on - play a game where you choose a theme (woodstock/hunger games/futuristic humans/etc) and pick out clothes for each other to try on according to it
Do you have any outing ideas that are free/inexpensive? Share below!
Until next time,
Be present in the now and have a free and lovely time together~