How long was your shortest relationship?

How do you end a long term relationship? Am I doing the the right thing?

• I am a 25 year old female and have been with my 27 year old boyfriend for 3 years now. I have been very happy up until now. Right now I am not happy and it has been building up for awhile. We do not live together. I live with my mom while I finish school and he lives with his parents in a town 40 minutes away. He works in his dad's construction business. He always says he can't wait to live with me. In the past he says he doesn't want to waste money on rent so he is saving to buy a house. But lately I am realizing how long this may take. And I think we should rent together first to see if we can even live together. I think we should find something in the middle of our current locations and start a life together. We need to learn how to struggle a little in order to build a life together. He, on the other hand, prefers not to struggle and wants to make things as easy as possible. He thinks rent is too much and i have student loans to pay off so we should pay those off first. I, on the other hand, feel like we have hit a road block. We live at our parents house and I am sick of it. I want to move somewhere new and start fresh. He thinks it is wrong to move away from family. Recently, I started looking into going to a school in colorado for a semester on exchange with my school in california. My sister lives there and just had a baby so i thought it would be good for me since I've never lived away from my hometown. I love it there and would love to move there one day. I have also always wanted to live by myself and have my own place. Well, I brought it up with my boyfriend and he said I would have to choose him or the semeser away.. He thinks it would ruin our relationship and I would be selfish if I chose to go. I think it would only make us stronger and if I didn't go, i would regret it. I think it is wrong to tell someone that they can't do something, especially in a relationship. What should I do? I am so confused. I love him but I don't think he has the same veiwpoint that I have. Lately we are fighting about the same things, mainly how I don't ever listen to what he has to say or trust what he says. I told him I would never just agree on something if I didn't really believe it. The more we fight about things, the more I am seeing the differences we have. Latley i've even been imagining what it would be like to be with someone new. Are all the signs telling me I should move on? Or is this a normal part of being in a relationship? I am so confused because I do love him, but I do not want to live the life he wants me to live. How do I go about this? He seems to sense something is up. I know I have been acting differently towards him and he keeps asking me if I'm bored. It seems like he is talking more about the future and tonight he said he wants our parents to meet. I feel like whenever he talks about the future now, I am not as excited as i used to be. I feel like **** because he keeps telling me how much he loves me and I know my response does not sound genuine. I feel like I'm lying to him but I'm not ready to let go. I need some insight....

• Answer:

  You are not ready to settle down. Tell him that. Be honest but kind.