Relationships in Indonesia: How long you should wait before meeting your partner's family and more

Relationships are often marked by milestones: the first time you exchange “I love you”s, meeting the parents, all the way up to the major life events of engagement, marriage, and children. But when should you be hitting these milestones? A new YouGov survey asked 1,055 people in Indonesia about the ideal timeline for taking those important steps.

How long should you wait before saying “I love you”?

Seven in ten online Indonesians would be open to saying these three little words before hitting the one-year mark in new relationship (70%), with the highest proportion of people saying that it is acceptable to express affection in this way as early as one to two weeks (33%).

How long should you wait before meeting your partner’s parents or going on a couple’s vacation?

Majority are happy to introduce a new partner to their parents and close family (78%) or go on a couple’s vacation (70%) at the one-year mark or earlier, with most within this group thinking it is appropriate to cross either of these milestones within one or two weeks of dating a new partner.

When it comes to vacationing, men (63%) are eight percentage points more likely than women (55%) to say going on a trip together can happen sometime within the first year of a new relationship.

How long should you wait before moving in or buying a house with a partner?

Generally, people in Indonesia think couples should wait at least a year before buying a home together, with the largest proportion of people waiting for at least four years (25%). One in ten think this milestone should only be crossed after marriage (12%).

How long should you wait before getting engaged or married?

When is the best time to put a ring on it? Majority say the earliest appropriate time is after a couple has been together for a year. A small proportion are more trigger-happy – they think a couple can get engaged (35%) or married (20%) sometime before reaching the one-year milestone of the relationship.