Carrie - I am glad that you were open enough to allow yourself to be with him along enough to observe these different experiences. I get the romaticizing part as it's easy to do when many of the boxes are easy to check off.

And yes, you don't need anyone to support you. Today I wrote about making a list of desirable qualities we want in a partner and you sure have a few things you can write in that column. The one item in your "non-negotiable" column will be the cheapness. :)