I believe you should live with your partner for a while to see how they "really" are before getting married. I think living with women in general is a mistake though.
I've only lived with a few girlfriends over the years, most of them a short period of a few months, but i always had my own place. We just kind of took turns staying at each others place, but they always felt more comfortable at their place. I learned that living with someone for 2-3 months is very eye opening because they can't really fake anything or hide anything. You get to see who they really are quickly. For an independent person like me it's often a difficult experience. I don't want to be connected at the hip with someone 24/7, it seems silly to me.
The thing i noticed about living together, is that it only takes one or two bad events to happen and it's never the same. Seen it happen a dozen times; you get in a fight over something marginally important and the next 5-6 weeks are just pure hell; just have to wait until someone gets over it, even if you admit defeat and settle the argument, it's still "there" for a long time. My best friend's wife thought he was cheating on her 2 years ago, no proof or anything, she just thought he was acting strange. Still to this day she won't sleep in the same bed with him and believes he cheated on her. My friend never did anything wrong, he said he came home drunk one night and she just started accusing him of things. He just blew it off and she thinks because of this he's guilty. She has no proof or evidence of anything at all, no name or time they got together, she just has a "feeling". Their daily lives suck, they live in the same house but are just friends, it's retarded.
I can go on and on, since i'm the last single guy anyone knows at my age, i'm like the one person everyone goes to with issues. I find it funny because i've never been married but all my friends say i give the best advice. I'm just logical, if it doesn't make sense to be with someone, don't bother.
My brother just got married and adopted her daughter. He fell in love and got married within 18 months, i warned him to let it play out for a while. They just bought a house together; he calls me almost every single Friday night after he's had a few beers and does nothing but complain. It's so bad i've gotten to where i'll be stressed out by the things he's telling me. People change so quickly when they get comfortable, it's both men and women. But i'll tell you the women have a way to lure you in with bait and then once your hooked they do a 180, every single time.