Miss Gorilla
I've always been a committed person. I've been dating my boyfriend for nearly a year, and in the past I've been in other relationships that lasted even longer. I'd like to think that my SO and I have fun together; however, sometimes I wonder how we can keep it exciting for a long amount of time.
Don't get me wrong: I'm still as in love with him as the day we met. Casual can be a good thing, and we've settled into a very comfortable routine that I truly value most of the time. But there are still a few setbacks that I'm not sure how to avoid. We're both very passionate and curious people. We love exploring and trying new things as much as possible. If time and money were not obstacles for us, our options would be limitless. This just isn't the case. We live in an incredibly expensive city and we both work all the time. On the brink of a summer that is full of possibilities, it seemed like a good time to spruce things up a bit. After talking about out situation, we agreed that we needed to work on keeping things fresh and not relying on pizza and Netflix to get us through the nights.
What can we do? We're both relatively broke, but we want to dedicate the time and money necessary to keeping our relationship healthy and interesting. What methods do you use to avoid becoming bored in your relationship?
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Comments (26)
A couple of ideas:
With friends- A games night with friends (like poker, old board games, maybe video games if you guys dig that)- Do an afternoon picnic or BBQ potluck, play some ultimate frisbee
- Same thing as the second, only take it to the beach
Alone- Look for $1 movie theaters (they show older movies, but some are pretty good actually), then go out for dinner afterwards- Maybe have a quiet day together on the beach- Have a night where the two of you guys cook something together that maybe one of you is good at and can 'teach' the other person
Just some ideas.
Maybe try to find things that won't require too much money. State parks could be good if there are any near you. They offer nice places to go hiking if that kind of thing fits you. Maybe camping. Maybe throw a barbaque party with some close friends. Have a crazy photoshoot where the other has to wear outfits picked by the other.
there are a lot of things you can do, last night my guy and I had a party with our friends and had a lot of fun setting it up, cooking our pizza and cooking with each other. we set up a radio with a mixed CD and only spent about 15 bucks on materials and asked our guests to BYOB. It worked out wonderfully!
Doing things for other can bring you together, maybee volunteering or to drive to a local park or beach, thats cheap honestly. =)
If you're both broke, how about saving up together for a trip? That way, you have something to look forward to and some place to put the small bits of extra money.
Strolling at the beach or the park at night is always fun. If we think back to the more simplier things in life, those were the things that were free or inexpensive. Like going to the park and sitting on swings, or going over to a friends house to hang out, window shopping or even going to the library was fun. I think as adults, our minds just become more complex and we tend to make it harder on ourselves. We dont need to go skydiving or jet skiing in order to have fun. Maybe take some courses together? Like cooking, or woodworking or even scrapbooking. I know some hardware stores or craft stores will host do-it-yourself events either for free or a very minimal charge. Good luck!
You could have romantic little picnics in a little park - same thing on a local beach.
Or you go to a park somewhere and look at clouds. Maybe it seems a little juvenile for a serious relationship like yours, but I would adore doing these types of things with my SO (:
you can MAKE things for each other; desserts, food, little videos of random giggles and such. i know that sounds cheesy but like the comment about a picnic on the beach or the park, the most important thing is that you guys spend quality time together and not infront of the tv and eating junk.
like what kor girl suggested, do little stuff for each other, it's not the monetary value that counts, it's the thought girl!
you should go on a mega cheap holiday! look up nice places to stay, buy a cheap tent and go camping for the weekend, some place with good restaraunts and clubs, and maybe even ask friends to come along? i'm not the outdoorsy type, but with some alcohol, some good clubs and friends, i find camping hilarious and a great cheap get away :) x
Do crazy things! I love doing silly stuff, especially since I'm in college and it's more acceptable for us to be doing stupid things at this age.
My guy friend and I raked a humongous pile of leaves in the center of campus where everyone could see, and we jumped into it. SO fun. Snowball fights, playing on the swingsets, real picnics with sandwiches and baskets and everything. We got about 30 balloons once from a charity we were helping out, and we carried them around campus, asking every person if they wanted one. The homeless people were probably the most excited to get one. 
We loved occasionally doing strange, random things that some people might stare at.
True. The things we want to do always cost a lot of money (bowling, movies, restaurants, etc). But we work around it ... or try.
You can try cooking together. It's actually quite fun. Or play board games/card games and make up crazy rules. Go to the park or the beach. Or even take a walk in the neighborhood. You can window-shop at the mall. Make a video together or something. Lip-synch to a song.
There's lots of things you can do :D
beach if your near one?
Bike riding, going to the beach (or lake or something like that), go for a drive when it gets cooler outside & you can roll the windows down. I'm really not sure either, but those are the only ideas I have!
I'm loving the comments and tips!
@brianbsquared@xanga - Board games are pretty fun. Jenga is pretty awesome... I play it with some friends as a drinking game sometimes too. Haha.
Ive been with my bf for 2 years and we r still together
we r.. broke too HAHA~ well not broke but money would be a problem
but we NEVER get bored! like why not cook together? be silly sometimes
serious = boredom x)
OH BTW! my bf and i are both VERY competitive! so why not challenge each other sometimes?
Film videos together! Play hide and seek... childhood games always work =) Taking a nap too works. =) Playing video games...
some things i've been doing with the bf of two years:
- teaching each other our respective languages
- going out on walks, exploring the area
- he taught me how to play the guitar =)
- currently we're reading a book aloud. we each take a chapter. ahaha.
- squash games
- the other day we worked on a crossword all night.
we both have relatively good income for our age so we do go out every now and then. i prefer these little things to the trips we take though =)
I definitely think being serious=boredom!
I love going on double dates, or having a game night with friends, or cooking dinner together an having a romantic night in. There's so many summer activities that are fun, too. :)
there's a lot you can do living in an expensive city without using money. i live in an expensive city myself where everything cost an arm and a leg, but i never let that hinder me still having a good time with anyone are taking biking or hiking on a trail, go see live music, go walking downtown at night, etc. sometimes going on a date doesn't always mean that you will be spending money.
i agree with mewithoutu- there are even more free opportunities in a big city! you can go to outdoor music fests, or head to a cultural attraction- a day at the zoo or museum only costs maybe $10-$15, and you get a whole day of entertainment!
Some of the best dates I've been on over the past year involved playing board games in coffee shops (e.g. Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, Life, etc.). It amounts to a grand total of about $8 (under the pretenses that you do not require the largest cup of decaf-skim-extra hot-whatever that they offer).
The bf and I have been together for 5+ years. We still love the same now to when we first met. I've found that on weeks that I go off and do my own stuff that when we do see each other, we are much happier.