Falling in love, but emigrating soon

I've been lurking on these forums for a while. I enjoyed reading it, and have gotten some really good tips. But I'm now in a confusing situation, and I couldn't find any thread on it, so I decided to sign up to start a thread. I would like your opinions and experiences on the following:

I've known this guy for over a year, we work together. We were friends almost immediately. I started to get feelings for him, and at times I believed he returned those feelings. Nothing ever happened though. He is 17, which is 5 years younger than me. It is all legal where I'm from, but I'm used to dating guys 5 years older, not younger. It is possible he is still a virgin, which I wouldn't mind, but I don't know how to handle that. Because we work together I figured it could get too awkward, so I never did anything with my feelings. But now they're getting stronger. Another girl at works likes him as well, and the idea of him with a girl other then me hurts. However, I intend to emigrate to England in six months time. It might not the other side of the world, but still it is another country. I will meet a lot of new people there, and he will meet a lot of new people when he goes off to college.

What would you do in a situation like this? Is my idea I could create a long-term relationship with a 17 y.o. irrational and wishful thinking? Can international relationships work?

 

Right now all you have is a friendship not a relationship. The two of you have to decide what you want first. He may not want anything more than a friendship. Distance makes all relationships hard but not impossible. You need to talk to him. Good Luck to you.

 

I would break the news early on (now) and see if said person feels the same way... not really thinking about half a year into the future. Plus, what's the harm in giving someone a spin?

 

Yeah, I guess so. Seems so simple an answer, talk to him. My head makes it a lot more difficult then it is probably .

 

My advice is to move on, He's young and not even in college yet, so he's maybe just playing in the field and want to date other women his age and experience the college life.

unless you know he's falling for you too.