Is this a good idea or a bad one?

[crzycoookies]

Soo... I haven't posted on here much, not even the old forum. But Jonathan and I have been together for 6 months. I roomed with his neighbors for a month in Aug-Sept, and he came to visit me for a week on our 6 month anni. He lives in Miami, FL.. I live in Michigan. I'm 16 years old, as of earlier this year no longer in school because I decided the traditional public H.S. wasn't for me. I tried to get into a local alternative education place, that just gives you your work and you don't actually sit in a class room, but I was too late to enroll so I have to wait until next school year..
Well, I've been talking to him, and my mom, and things may change soon. The distance that is. I want to go to Job Corps. My mom encourages me to do so. If I go there I will be able to earn my diploma and do career training. For me it is a great idea because I want to be able to get a job soon, and I just generally tend to work at a more advanced pace, or want to work at a more advanced pace, than just high school lets me. Jonathan still lives with his parents. He is 21. He works at a night club as a bottle runner. He currently works 2 nights a week as it is "slow season" but he says during the busy season he can work up to 7 nights a week. I think average is 5 nights as that is what he was working for the majority of the time I have been in a relationship with him.
Soo with the Job Corps thing.. if I go to a local one, I will have to live on site, with other roomies(I don't really like that idea), and they won't let me have a computer. My only communication with Jonathan will be via cell phone. I am realllyyyy scared that that will ruin us. He said he'd miss me too much to let me do that. Option 2, is that if I move to Miami, Jonathan can get us an apartment while I go. He said he is ready to do that. He is kinda worried about finances though. I'm starting to worry too.
Worst case scenario we can't afford to have the apartment and I just start living on site at the Job Corps, which I would REALLY rather not do because like I said the roomies, and I am also planning on bringing my beloved fur-children and slime-children with me.(a dog, cat, and an aquarium with some frogs). If I had to live on site I would have to get rid of them. But my main worry is that if money starts to get stressful, it will ruin our relationship. Job Corps should be giving me a "living allowance", alone with his pay, but we are still not sure if that will be enough.
Can anyone give me some advice?

[Laura]

Well... it depends on HOW strained the financial situation would be. If you could get a part-time job or two (assuming you'd have the time?), that would ease the financial worries a little bit. The fact that you're being realistic is a good start: at least you won't make any silly decisions which a hell of a lot of people our age would. If you'd have to get rid of your slimy-fur-children to live on-site, I'd say avoid at all costs! It doesn't sound ideal with the lack of computer and the roomies, if you don't like the idea of roomies. You want to be somewhere you're going to be happy. Have you explored any other options? (Not entirely sure how America/Canada work - student loans and such?)
Also, try looking round for bargains in terms of flats/studios/apartments and gauge how much the rent or whatever will be, and maybe check up on roughly how much costs will generally come to per month in terms of bills and food, etc?
You sound like you have your feet planted firmly on the ground and I think you'll make the right choice. Make sure you look into all of your options, that's the only good advice I can really give. Good luck!

[Roberta]

Hmm... Well the first thing I think you should be aware of is that living in Miami is not cheap. I live in Miami and trust me when I say that any money that you'll get from this job corps probably won't pay the rent. You might want to do a little bit of research and try to get an estimate of how much living on your own would cost. Living with Johnathan might make things slightly easier financially, but money will probably still be tight. I'm afraid this will put a lot of stress on your relationship. Also, I don't know if your family is opposed to the idea of you living with him, but if they are, this might not even be an option. I know it's probably your least favorite option, but you should probably live on site at the job corps, at least until you can get settled and save some money. You can always try and find an apartment in a year or two. Ask your family if they can care for your pets in the mean time and invest in some unlimited texting/e-mail for your phone in the place of a computer. I think it's very wise of you for considering all of these options before jumping into this. =) I hope I was able to help! Good luck to you both!

[Yaaamiii]

Adding on to what Roberta said, you also need to think about all of it, not just renting a place. Yes, Miami is expensive to live in. It's a very big touristic city so of course they are going to charge more for things. Food is fairly expensive; you don't get much with a 20 dollar bill. Things like the electricity alone can come up to be costly. If he's only working 2 nights a week (for now) it may be hard to keep up. I agree with Roberta, your relationship may very well come up with stress that probably wasn't there before. Remember to think of everything beforehand...don't rush into things. :P Best of luck!