Dear Meredith,

I’m in a long-distance relationship with a man who I feel is the one. We met through mutual family friends three years ago when he was visiting my city, and we became close friends. We talked often, but we were both in different relationships, cities, and points in our lives. We were truly just friends, albeit with sparks we did not act on. Six months ago, he came out to my city again. We were finally single at the same time and things just clicked. We started dating long-distance, admitted to falling for each other, and have seen each other twice (for a period of two weeks each) since we admitted our feelings.

He lives in England and we agreed that to have a serious future together, one of us would have to move. I recently finished grad school and am unable to move without compromising my career. He was able to obtain a fellowship in my city that will enhance his career. He has never lived in my city, but has visited it several times and has often talked about living in America as a long-term goal. I realize that he would have continued to work in England if I was not in the picture.

We’ve been discussing living together when he moves here. He wants to live together, and I am leaning toward it, but I’m worried about taking this step too soon. The two-week periods of living in each other’s apartments were easy, but I don’t know if that means we’re ready. We both see a future together and are serious about one another. I live in an expensive city and we are both in our late 20s. I was wondering if it is a good idea to move in together once a long-distance relationship is brought together in the same city.

– Atlantic Ocean distance