Never mind what you learned from Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast. Romantic relationships rarely extend easily from one tier of society to another. Financial and educational disparities are prone to keep people apart, as are religious differences. Does this mean that people from alternate classes never meet and fall in love? Not at all. Sometimes, opposites really do attract.
How and where people meet
It used to be that couples typically met each other for the first time through work or mutual friends. This is because people are likelier to encounter one another (and hook up) when they have mutually shared interests, including choice of employment. This tendency means that most couples comprise two persons with similar economic backgrounds, explain relationship experts at Pew Research Center.
In the 21st century, people meet in decidedly different ways. The internet can be thanked for leveling the playing -and meeting- ground for people from a remarkable variety of socioeconomic classes. These days, social media and online dating sites provide a meeting ground for all sorts of people from all sorts of places. Some dating sites cater to women and men from very different socioeconomic tiers. For younger women seeking older men of means, these sites can be very rewarding. Likewise, younger men can find enchanting older women with mutual interests and extra money to spend.
Respect smooths the differences
Nobody wants to be in a relationship without mutual respect. “Mixed collar” relationships can and do work out, but only when the partners let go of the idea of changing the other. Unconditional love is imperative in any marriage or love relationship. When partners are of unequal financial status, this may be of even bigger importance, explains Mic magazine.
Of course, speed bumps are to be expected in any coupling of two adults. One of the most argued about topics is money. This happens whether or not two people have differing financial histories. Navigating a love relationship when personal outlooks on cash oppose may be difficult at times, but it’s not impossible.
Encouraging a spouse to further their education or show more ambition in their career can be done, but do it with respect. Putting down a spouse by making snide comments is never helpful. In mixed-class couples, it can be perceived as hypocritical. Offer advice when asked, but do pay attention to the way you present it, recommends The Atlantic.
If you happen to make less money than your romantic partner, you can keep things sweet and equitable in your own way. Let your better half pay for a meal out when it’s their turn, and lovingly prepare a homemade dinner when it’s your turn. If and when you decide to move in together, contribute fair percentages of your income toward rent, utilities, and other household expenses. Let your date pay for movie night every other weekend. When it’s your turn, prepare a living room picnic, switch on Netflix, and enjoy a fun evening with your most-special someone.
Before you become intimate
When two adults, no matter their economic or educational status, are attracted to one another, sparks are likely to fly. For this reason, everyone who thinks they might become romantically involved with anyone else should be tested for STDs regularly. A sexually transmitted disease is not a good thing to share with anyone, especially a new partner. Fortunately, getting tested and assuring your own sexual health is simple and painless. In fact, you can find a place to get tested near you right now.
Sometimes, things just won’t work
If you find yourself feeling tense all the time because your partner earns less than you, you may be with the wrong partner. If your spouse spends the day playing video games while you spend the day at the office working hard, you may be in the wrong relationship, advises Corporette magazine.
Before you get too entangled with anyone, it’s important to discuss your goals and dreams. How do you both imagine the future? Does she want kids, but he balks at the idea? Despite economic or class differences, two partners who can discuss what they want rationally and positively stand a far better chance of making it than a coupling wherein one of both partners hide things from the other.
When two people are in harmony, money makes less difference than some might think. Creative couples without a lot of dollars to spend on nights out painting the town find ways to make at-home times special and satisfying.
Liam Hancock is writing about relationships and dating in today’s fast paced world. He was married for 20 years before love came to an abrupt end and he found himself back in the dating game.