@Gnomeshatecheese @EmmyNoether I do feel like I remember seeing an article once where a couple did that. It looked like they had custom houses built from scratch that were separate properties but linked by a bridge. And then I've also seen people bringing up questions like... "If I want a separate bedroom from my partner, is that a bad thing?" Or generally trying to express that while they enjoyed having a partner, they do wish they had their own spaces. I figure that's where terms like "man cave" and, more recently, the "she shed" came about lol.

And yeah, when I tell people about these residences and (great location, cheap rent, private sleeping room) they instantly dismiss the option when I also say "But you can't bring in alcohol or men or make noise past 10pm or (technically) hang anything on the walls or have visitors past the lobby." My sister also detests noise from others. She wouldn't even let me live with her for a couple months when I landed a summer job in her city! I'm still quite bitter about that.

I'd also like to clarify that I don't think the romantic partnership arrangement is a farce or the complete result of outside factors and the even sometimes small but pivotal role of brain chemicals. I'm just also inclined to think that my own internal sense of normal isn't particularly unique so the absence of seeing that reflected around me I attribute to social learning and just the general way society has been structured.

Certainly by my mid twenties, I was looking around very caught off guard by the consistency with which everyone was making the same overarching life choices even if such choices seemingly lacked much notable enthusiasm.