5 year work permit and wanting to eventually switch to unmarried partner visa...

I am 2 months into a 5 year work permit...things are going great so far...and for those of you wondering, my passport has been returned by the police. 
I know its a long way off to be worrying about this but Im wanting to eventually switch to an unmarried partner visa sometime during the 5 years.
I do not live with my partner now but will do at some point..Im just not sure when Im going to need to start preparing for this as I dont want to move in with my partner right away. In other words should I leave it for another 2 years to live together...or should we live together sooner rather than later??? Im also aware I would need to go home for this...but to be honest I just want to get this done and dusted and get my ILR...

Apologies if my post is scatter-brained but I dont really know how much rules are going to change and if theyre going to make it more difficult in future for people in my situation seeing as theyre now making people go home to switch over. Maybe the sooner we live together, the better???

I feel like Ive already had a bad deal with immigration as this is my second work permit after working for a different company for 3 years and have basically had to start over again...not to mention it was initially refused because they made a mistake. Im not a big fan of the work permit for these reasons and I dont like the fact that I am tied to one job when Id like to move to Brighton with my partner in the future but I guess its a means to an end if I want to live here.
Any help would be appreciated.

I don't really think anyone on here can answer your question other than you - I mean the main question is should I move in with my partner now or later, right?

That said, and maybe I'm being too clinical here, but the sooner you move in with your partner, the sooner you'll know whether you can live together, leading to one of two things - you'll be able to apply for unmarried partner sooner, or you'll realise it isn't going to work and you'll be able to move on with your life and maybe find the right person.

I think tannersarms boiled it down well.

As far as what the future hold, that is for any of us to devine.  We know the Government wants to reset the settlement clock if someone changes from economic to family based immigration.  Switching to some family visa categories don't require you to leave the country.  In most cases if you are here legally in the UK, you can get a Certificate of Approval to marry if that is in your future or switch to an Unmarried Partner if that is your preferred mechanism.  But I agree with tanners in that you have to pull the plaster off at some point and see if it will work out, so why not now?  Life is too short!

Obviously it's a really good idea to keep an eye on your immigration options, but it's equally important - perhaps more so - to do what's best for the relationship.

After a couple of years on my student visa, I had to leave my housing and could have moved in with my partner...but he wasn't ready for that step.  A year later, we had a trial run that turned permanent.  Yeah, I could have pressured him earlier - and I'd be a citizen now if I had! - but that would have caused serious relationship issues, possibly fatal ones.

So my advice would be to talk all this over with your partner.