Table of Contents
Here are five more ways to tell whether summer love is real love.

6. If his or her plans for the rest of the year don't include you, it's not real love.
If your summer lover plans to go back to his or her everyday life at the end of the summer, you may still be able to have an enjoyable summer fling, but you don't have the basis for an ongoing romantic relationship. On the other hand, if one or both of you are swept off your feet and need to make new plans, going about changes in lifestyle and life location in an orderly fashion is one sign a long-term coupling will work.
7. The more often you go out, the more involved you are in his or her world.
Not a few summer romances center around staying home and having sex. If your summer love takes you out into his or her life, so that you begin to meet his or her friends and begin to enjoy his or her away-from-home activities, there is a greater chance that the love affair will last. Does your lover include you in his or her regular life, or keep the two separate? Take your cue there.
8. You can talk about money, politics, and religion.
It is not for no reason at all that people avoid discussing money, politics, and religion on first dates and in casual relationships. They often just aren't worth fighting about. But if you have very clear financial plans, you are sure of your political persuasion, and you have religion in your life that you can't live without, you need to discuss these matters with your partner. If you can't come to an agreement that allows you to enjoy your relationship now, you probably won't come to a meeting of the minds later.
9. He or she changes Facebook status to "in a relationship."
In our online world, Facebook status counts for a lot. "In a relationship" is telling the world that he or she is publicly committed to you. That is, assuming that the relationship is the one with you.
10. Friends with benefits enjoy a variety of benefits.
When summer love is the real thing, the couple begin to enjoy the same leisure activities, and not just the activities in the boudoir. Taking a walk together, taking a bike ride together, pursuing hobbies or joining clubs together are a sign of a stable and on-going relationship. Even if it is just walking the dog together, any kind of activity other than sex, eating, and personal maintenance is a sign of a relationship that can go somewhere, and a relationship in which you won't get bored as the years go by.
- Acevedo BP, Aron A, Fisher HE, Brown LL. Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Feb. 7(2):145-59. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq092. Epub 2011 Jan 5.
- Photo courtesy of Lauren Nelson by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/lulieboo/5879806448/
- Photo courtesy of Andrew Imanaka by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/pandrewnguyen/4883907883/
Your thoughts on this