Is it worth living together before getting married?

I think the question already contains a somewhat flawed assumption, like there's some single answer that works for everyone. Honestly, it depends way more on who you are and what the relationship is like than on general rules. That said, yeah, living together before getting married makes a lot of sense for most people. The thing is you discover stuff that's impossible to know just from dating: how the person handles money, whether they have cleaning habits completely opposite to yours, how you two resolve conflicts when you're actually tired and stressed, all that. It's not romantic, but it's realistic. I know a lot of people who got married without living together first and had nasty surprises that could've been avoided.

Now, there are also people who for their beliefs or family situation don't want to do this, and that's fine too. The important thing is that it's a conscious decision from both of you, not because of family pressure or because "it's what you do". And if you do it, I'd advise taking it seriously: it's not just playing house. Talk about expectations, about money, about what each of you expects from this stage. I've seen couples who moved in together because rent was cheaper and then had to deal with issues they'd never discussed. So if you're going to do it, do it properly.

My point is simply this: most of the marriages I know that went badly would've been avoidable if the kids had spent a few years living together first. It's not a guarantee of anything, but it cuts down the risk of nasty surprises quite a bit.

Living together first is basically a patience test dressed up as romance - seeing if you can share space, bills, and the bathroom without ending up killing each other. One practical thing nobody tells you: try spending a whole week at each other's place BEFORE signing anything, like actually doing it, sleeping there, grocery shopping together, dealing with boring routines. That gives you way more info than thinking everything's perfect for a weekend. At the end of the day it's not about getting married or not - it's about actually knowing someone, no filter.