ready for engagement

[troian_jane]

my boyfriend and I have been dating two years officially, and then some unofficial months before. We do not live together, but see each other when we can. When either of us are sick we take care of each other until we feel better, I have serious back problems and he makes sure he helps out in every way possible. We love each other very much, and we have talked about future marriage.
However- we are both ready now, and we want a long engagement. is now a good time to get engaged? or are long engagements frowned upon and joked about ? no more than 3 years. would really like some opinions on this
I'm in college, and he has a stable job with great outlook

[shanon91]

I would say complete ure studies get a job and then get engaged

[Londres70]

Only you two would know if it is a good time to get engaged; no one else can answer that question.  I would recommend you do finish college and start work PRIOR to getting married.  

"Long engagements frowned upon?"  Hmmmm........not really frowned upon but more of a joke to some people.  I knew a couple that was "engaged" for 10 years; I worked with the woman.  She would walk around with her ring on talking about how pretty her ring was.  I think that was a little extreme.  After this length of time it would seem the chances of this couple getting married were nearly 0.  BTW:  they NEVER got married.  

So, with that being said, in my opinion, 3-5 years engaged is a decent amount of time, however, that is up to you all as well.