I’m a 26m, have 4 siblings (2 older, 2 younger), who I consider my best friends. I wouldn’t trade my family for the world & I’m eternally grateful for the way I’ve grown up. My parents afforded me so much & I was fortunate to go to school to get a degree, and I currently live in NYC with one of my brothers. It’s been a blast, but I was recently let go from my job ~2 weeks ago. I hated the job, so I’ve been trying to reframe my mindset that this is a good thing & I’ll find something better.
That said, I’ve been in NYC since my graduation from college ~3 years ago. I was initially trying to stay home to be in the same location as my girlfriend for ~1 year post-grad (not live with her, just be in the same place), but my parents said this would be a bad career choice & pushed me to move to the big city. Luckily, it worked out — my girlfriend understood & we’d still regularly visit one another… fast forward to now, though. I believe it’s the right time for me to move in with my girlfriend & it’s something that excites me, so I’ve been looking for a job in the Northeast Metro city that she’s moving to (not NYC). I’m planning on asking her to marry me within the next ~2-3 years or so. While I’m excited about the move, I know that my parents will be skeptical about moving in with a girlfriend prior to an engagement. My older brother just did it this past year and they gave him some flack despite him being 2 years older than me, so I know it’s inevitable. They didn’t cut him off or fracture the relationship, but I know they didn’t necessarily approve of it.
I know the answer is going to be “you’re an adult, do what you want,” but I was wondering if anyone has had similar circumstances and how they effectively navigated them? I love my parents, I know they love me, and they’ve been very welcoming of my girlfriend, but I can’t escape the feeling of “disappointing” them. My whole life has been trying to make them proud, and I can’t really shake that feeling.