Say them out loud early, in plain terms: "I need an hour when I get in before I'm any use to anyone." "I like to see my friends on Thursdays and it isn't about you." Framed in advance, these read as self-knowledge. Discovered later, they read as rejection.
How long should you date before living together?
There is no number that protects anyone, and couples who have waited years still get surprised by each other's relationship with the thermostat. What matters more than duration is whether you have seen each other under strain — illness, a bad work month, a family crisis, a cancelled holiday — because that is when a person's real defaults show up. If everything so far has been weekends and restaurants, spend a few longer stretches together first, ideally in one another's actual homes rather than somewhere neutral and lovely.
What if one of us owns the place and the other doesn't?
Name the imbalance rather than politely stepping around it, because it shapes the power in the house whether you discuss it or not. Agree what the person moving in contributes, what they are entitled to change, and — the awkward one — what would happen if you separated, including how much notice each of you would give the other. Writing that down feels grim on a Sunday afternoon, but it is a kindness to your future selves, and if the property side is significant it is worth getting proper legal advice rather than relying on goodwill.
