well to be fair, anything cell phone related can be really expensive internationally. if he's a little unhappy, it's understandable. 5 months is a long time and long distance contact isn't the greatest. however, MM is right. if he cares about you as much as he should, he should be thinking about you in this and you can always find a way to do long distance if you have to. it's definitely possible. decide what's best for your own life first and then factor him into it, and be fair about his feelings but don't let it be all about him. if you really want this, a boyfriend who's worth it will support you and be happy for you.

It is difficult especially if it's the first time you'll be away from someone you love. When my SO told me he might be away for 3-5 months (actually he said it might be a year), I ended up crying. I felt bad for reacting that way knowing he's really just following his dream, but at the same time, I was glad to let him know it's not going to be easy for me.

In the end, I needed to learn how to express how supportive I am despite the fact that being away from him takes a bit of getting used to (I still am not, actually!). However, I'm taking this as a challenge to know how strong our relationship is.

Go and study abroad, and give him time to adjust to the fact that you still want to pursue your dreams. Take it as a time for your relationship to mature or wither; distance can make or break the two of you. Like Paulo Coelho said in 'The Alchemist', "Love should never hinder a man from pursuing his personal legend" (or something like that).

This is either going to make you or break you. My BF used to (still does but not to the same extent) travel ALOT ALOT ALOT with his job - for long periods. He may have been gone 2 months or 2 years. It is HARD. Your bf has every right to be upset. He probably feels abandoned - like he is being left behind - its a natural feeling. I mean its hard.. its really really hard. But at the end of the day, if you love somebody and you want to be with them? Its totally worth it. Somewhere in there he IS happy for you but at this moment he is probably freaking out thinking you are moving on without him, that he'll never see you again, that your relationship, his world as he knows it is going to change MASSIVELY and it will never be the same. Crazy, irrational thoughts. Its scary. At the same time - You definitely shouldn't feel guilty for this great opportunity that has come into your life. I don't think you should turn this down. Studying abroad is the best thing I have ever done and I would highly recommend it to everyone if they had the chance! (I have also been the person that has left a relationship behind - so i guess i get it from both perspectives.) Before you go - and it is essential to do this BEFORE you go - get together and put down a plan of when you are going visit one another. What helped us was that when we were leaving each other we always knew when exactly we would see each other again - it makes saying goodbye that much easier. We took turns visiting or planned to meet in a different country halfway and if it didn't work out that way we always said "if you can't come, I'll go". Normally we couldn't go any longer than 6wks without a visit (which is terribly hard when you live halfway around the world from each other). I happen to know alot of people that are in LDRS through the industry we both work in and I do know one married couple in your situation that only met up twice while he was away working for 1 year - so I guess it just depends on the nature of your relationship and what you are financially capable to commit to. Personally even two months without actually BEING in the presence of my BF was just too hard - I could feel us growing apart .. the phone calls dwindled.. there was distance and there were arguments. Speaking of which - arguments suck when you are in a long distance relationship - I won't divulge but you will see what I mean. Skype is GREAT. For me it was always a big financial strain and time consuming strain having a LDR. I had to plan EVERYTHING around my long distance relationship and it is almost like you are living a half life. One foot here and one foot in another country. Working for a boss who was in a long distance marriage (yep same industry) I got extremely lucky as he was very understanding and sometimes I was able to visit for up to 2 months at times taking my work with me. Its always that bit easier on the one who leaves - you have a massive adventure ahead of you with plenty to keep you occupied. The one who stays is still living the same routines but living them alone - which is a big adjustment. Be sensitive but be firm about your decision to take this opportunity. And most of all STAY positive.. for the both of you. As long as you both know that there is an end to the long distance it gives you something to look forward to. Good luck with your studies and I hope you enjoyed it as much as i did :)

I'm gonna have to (loosely) quote Lady Gaga on this one: "If you're trying to choose between your man and your career, consider this--your career will never wake up one morning and tell you it doesn't love you anymore."

Go on the trip. Please. If you give up an opportunity like this for a guy, you'll probably end up regretting it forever. No matter how long you've been with someone, the relationship could be over tomorrow. Or next month, or next year. But the experiences you'll have abroad will last you forever.

Besides, five months isn't that long of a time in the grand scheme of things. He is, like you said, being pouty. One of my best friend's boyfriends (they're super serious) just got back from studying abroad, and even though it was tough on her, she lived. If your relationship is strong enough, something like this shouldn't get in the way.

If your man had that same opportunity he would be on the next flight to study abroad because some man are selfish like that and only care about themselves and women need to do the same before they miss out on wonderful opportunities and have regrets later on in life because im telling you now your man wont have any when he looks back at his life

my bf has been on vacation for three weeks, and even though he'll be back in a week i'm super impatient to see him. but even though i was sad to see him leave, i was happy that he had an opportunity to go home and spend time with his family and friends and relax. while long distance is annoying, it's doable. your bf should be proud of you and willing to do what it takes to keep the relationship strong while you're away. please go on the trip :)

I won't speak about your boyfriend, but consider this: If you don't take the chance now, you might never have another one in the future. Do you think you will be able to live with not going and never ever resent him for making you stay? You might end up blaming him for your perceived failures if you get to feel that way.

I don't know about this one. As a guy who is in a committed relationship with a woman who had the option of studying abroad but said no, I gotta say that is was one of the best moments of my life haha. I didn't pressure her to stay, though I did get initially upset when she told me, who wouldn't? For the first week we fought about it frequently and it all amounted to two things: a) The experience of seeing the outside world and b) She was a little afraid of starting her life. In the end we came to an agreement that we would go with my daughter overseas for two months as I had a lot of vacation time saved up haha. She was very happy with that decision as she got to see the same country except without school to worry about so we could also travel around the rest of Europe. In fact, it was in Europe that I proposed and we got engaged.

Point is: I see a lot of people saying "Do it, you never know if you can ever have a chance like it again." But I think the same applies to your romantic life. I don't think a guy has to stay around and if he doesn't then he isn't worth a bag of salt, or doesn't love his girlfriend. It's a choice between "Could I go to Europe/Asia/etc for a prolonged visit later in life on my own terms?" and "Could I be happy when I come home and find that my boyfriend also ended up with a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' and decided to leave?".

This is not to advance a career or get better education. You can get the same education at home and advance even faster usually. When I studied abroad I had reduced classes (as everyone else did) and a lot of those classes ended up not counting towards my degree program. So once I got home I ended up having to do a whole year extra and actually slowing down my advancement. Most people I know who studied abroad had to do an extra semester at least once they got back to their university. Studying abroad is used to see the world. I always feel bad for boyfriends and girlfriends who are pretty much told "Even though this is going to cost me twice what university normally costs, and I will most likely have to take an extra semester/year once I get home, I want to experience the world without you by my side and likely meet some European guy/girl who tickles my fancy and screw around." In all honesty, no BS, I know seven people who studied abroad, six of them cheated on their SO, the seventh didn't have an SO.

I know I sound like the most pessimistic person alive but there are a lot of bad things that can come from leaving. If a person is alright with a relationship ending for the chance to study abroad, more power to you, but if a person is unsure then I would sit down and really think hard about it.

I agree that you should go on the trip, but I disagree with MM acting like it's not a big deal. It IS a big deal and it's going to be VERY HARD for you and your man! That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it - you should - it just means you should be sensitive to his feelings and don't downplay them.

Skype. That's how my bf of 3yrs and I did it when i went abroad for 4 months.

Skype.