Do not give up what you have until you are absolutely sure you are bettering your present situation. Date but stay living separately. I am sure you can have sleepovers at each others places. That way you will get to know whether or not you can deal with the other persons idiosyncrasies. I can't see the pet thing being worked around so make sure that is in your Profile if you are using a dating site. I am not looking for a partner nor am I a so called moral person. I am looking for sex and am having a lot of fun. A few of my men have been long term and the others are occasional. One man did ask me if we could be exclusive and I said no and why. He accepted my reasons and comes to see me at least once a week. It is working well for me. I am going out more often now because I found a club where I could meet other transwomen so my translife is expanding even at my age. I am being complimented by men, women and other transwomen for my appearance and my openness. My sexual needs are being met and my social needs are also being met. If by some chance I do meet the man for me then so be it but I am not looking for him nor do I actually think I will meet him. I am living one day at a time. I have two other outlets that keep me going too. I play a lot of hockey, as a guy, and afterwards there is beer and food so I am having a social life. I did come out to about 8 players of one group I play with so we do talk about it at times but not often. The other outlet is a cyber world called Second Life (SL). I go there most evenings and I started out as a pre-op transwoman but am now a woman for all intents and purposes. I live a very happy life there and especially since I bought a better computer over a year ago. It is a great place for those who live alone and can't get out much and you can create a beautiful young looking avatar. Because of my lack of finances because I was married before I have worked as a stripper for most of my time in SL. The money I made, in their currency, allowed me to buy clothes and a rent a place to live. I am now a DJ at the club I was a stripper at. Drama still occurs there because people are still people. I state all this just to tell you how I have been coping with living alone. It is not for most but maybe you can find something I do or think helpful. Bonnie PS When I say I am not a moral person it is because many of the men are married. To me that is not my issue it is the men's. I did not go looking for them they found me.