Thanks for your honesty, guys. This info was what I was really looking for.

I did a little google-ing and found some generally recent stats and articles on this stuff. Although I'm not entirely sure how much of this material is published or well researched, I found out some interesting info:

I found out that in "In France and Germany cohabiting couples have a slightly lower risk of divorce."
[http://marriage.about.com/od/cohabit...ohabfacts.htm]

I also learned that "In the U.S., cohabiting couples taking premarital education courses or counseling are not at a higher risk for divorce." [same source] This probably implies that these couples have marriage-level commitment. It could also mean the couples are motivated to problem solve if they are unable to do it on their own, but they may not necessarily be marriage-level committed.

Portions of the research which tries to explain 'why' cohabiting doesn't work sometimes fails to draw similarities with my relationship problems. I hear a lot of generalizations about how couples cohabit simply because they'll have an 'open-roomate' situation which requires no commitment. This is making the assumption that there is no commitment between any cohabiting couples, and that this is just another example of promiscious behavior which they believe is immoral and needs to be stopped. Clearly, there are a lot of moral judgements/assumptions being passed about the 'why' part on all cohibiting couples. None of these moral generalization have anything to do with my relationship.

However, there are less morally modivated claims out there that might apply better. They report that in America, married woman who cohabit before marriage feel the quality of their relationship is far lower than those woman who didn't cohabit before their marriage. There are a few 'causation' type reasons for this. One mentions that being in a "regular relationship" mindset as opposed to a "marriage in mind" mindset when you move in together will determine the success of your marriage. They say that whichever level your relationship is at when you move in together is not likely to foster higher commitment, and that those who move in together with a "regular relationship" mindset are more likely to enter marriage with that same mindset. Why these mindsets don't change isn't addressed, but they say that with alll couples

However:
"...They also point out that the risk of divorce is even higher if you don't live together more than three years prior to marriage. The longer you live together prior to marriage, the less the risk of divorce until after 8 years of living together, when the risk of divorce is equal to those who have not lived together. " [http://www.marriagebuilders.com/grap...5025b_qa.html]

So, it sounds like the timing and the level of committment is what really determines future marital success.

My boyfriend and I can't even conceptualize the idea of marriage anytime soon. However, we've openly told eachother that we hope to end up together for the long haul. But, the direction our lives are going is very uncertain. Everything going on outside our relationship is insanly unstable. [Hell, sometimes we're unstable people]. We have no set goals for the long term as a couple, or as individuals. All we can do right now is take things as they come. However, I'm only 20, and he's only 24, so it's not irrational for us to feel this way. But this probably means we ought to reconsider living together when we transfer.

So here are our problems is we don't live together [especially if we transfer to a school in the city]:
-$$$$$
-We are going to be very busy, and we won't be able to see eachother very often. If we end up living across town from one another again, and if transportation is crappy + expensive or unreliable, how do we keep up with our relationship?
-What happens if we end up with a ****** roommate, or living in a loud building, and we are stuck with a lease and cannot sublet [my family will not allow me to sublet apartments]. Should we consider staying with the other person? If so, how should we do things differently than we do now? We sleep in the same bed, share a room, share everything.
-What if our current problems remain unaddressed and don't change, even if we don't live together.

Also, I feel like theses studies fail address couples on a more individualized basis.....Such as:
If a couple spent almost the same amount of time together as if they lived with one another, except the only difference would be that they would sleep in separate apartments, would that make a difference in their relationship?
What if the couple has one person working at night, and the other working during the day?
What if the couple has excellent communication skills, and they have an easy time problem solving and compromising?
What if the couple is an adult couple?
What if the couple is young?....or even teen?

Does anyone know anything about these? I know if you're a teen you're more likely to get divorced period, and that if you have good communication skills and don't mind compromising then you'll more than likely be well off, but what about the others? Where's the line drawn?