Don't know how to break up with live-in boyfriend

[Confused in Brooklyn]

Hey everyone- I've been dealing with this situation for a while and don't know where else to turn... hopefully someone here will have had a similar experience...

I'm 24 and I've been living with my boyfriend for a little over a year. We met right at college graudation and then basically moved in with each other in Brooklyn cause all of our friends got scattered around the country and it was nice to have someone to hang on to. Now, however, I've settled into the city a bit and met some people, and am really enjoying everything. I got a good job shortly after arriving in the city, and am supporting myself fully (yay!).

HOWEVER... the boyfriend has not. He doesn't leave the apartment ever, can't hold down a job, and the only reason he has the money for rent is because his parents send it to him. The things that made me think he was cute at first just drive me crazy now, and all of the attraction has gone. All I can think about is dating other people!

 

SO there are two issues at stake: 1 is that he doesn't really know how I feel. It's not like he's been abusive or mean or anything of the sort, he's just not really doing much of anything and driving me crazy hanging around the place all the time... so I feel bad having all this resentment towards him.

 

The second issue is the important one: we just signed a one-year lease on the most fabulous apartment I have ever laid eyes on. We signed it with my best friend (I lived with just him, then my friend got a job and moved out with us- it was a comprimise to moving out entirely the first time) not 2 months ago. I technically found it, but all of our names are on the lease, and it's set up in such a way that it's great for 1 person and a couple- but 3 seperate people would be tricky, esp. if 2 were just broken up. If it were different circumstances I would be long gone, but anyone who's dealt with the NYC real estate market knows that sweet, cheap apartments don't come by easily (plus there's no way I could leave the lease). I'd ask him to leave but I'd feel bad, plus my friend and I would have a hard time making up the rent.

 

ACK, after writing that out everything seems so much worse! sorry to be long-winded, but it's just a very frustrating situation and I don't see any easy way out of it