Hey everybody, first time poster. First let me say, I am a guy, I don't see myself getting engaged anytime soon, but I figure being part of this website will get me a head start, and I know it's usually girls who do this kind of stuff, so it will be quite a surprise for the lucky lady!
Anyways, a background on me. I have been dating my current girlfriend for almost 2 months. There has been something there for almost 8 months, but we only started officially dating in February. Let me start off by saying that I am NOT planning on proposing to her soon or anything like that. We don't know each other even close to how much you would need to know one another to get married. We are still in the "honeymoon" phase of just starting dating.
Here is my problem though. I am 23, and I had planned to be married and start a family by the time I was 25-26. If that were the case, assuming a year-long engagement, I would have to propose in a year or so.
My gf and I have not had any sort of "future plans" discussion because we have only been dating for two months. This is more a general question, but thought I would explain my case to make it more clear. How long do you think one should be in a relationship before getting married? If I know and feel that somebody is "the one" and we are on the same level with families and life plans, etc. what's the difference between dating them for 10-12 months and 5-6 years?
I just ask because I feel like getting engaged to someone after only dating them for a year or even less is frowned upon, and the people around me would just assume that we are rushing into something we are not ready for.
Anyways, like I said, I'm not planning on proposing anytime soon. I'm just starting to think 3-5 years ahead, and if I want to carry out my life plan, I would have to get that done in a year or so. I just wanted to get your thoughts on how long a relationship has to last before it's deemed socially "acceptable" to get engaged.
Thanks a lot guys!