The Next Dating Level.
The question of when to take a relationship to the next level is one that many people struggle with, be it after a period of online dating or after a serious relationship has started to grow. The reason for this is because there is not cut and dry answer. Based on your current situation you will have to determine if you want to take your dating relationship to the next step, or if it is even a good idea.
The first step to taking your relationship up to the next level is to make sure that it would benefit both parties involved. In other words if one person does not want to move forward then it is not a good idea. Forcing somebody into this sort of decision is not going to take anything to the next level; it is going to make things worse.
If both parties feel comfortable with moving forward in a relationship the next step is to determine where to move onto. Some people that have just been dating for a little while will decide to take their relationship to exclusivity. This is the most common step after a few dates or more. But for couples that have been in a relationship for a long time, the next step may be to get engaged. Again, this is something that must be timed out accordingly so that both parties are thinking on the same level.
Sometimes taking a relationship up a notch is more difficult then some people would imagine. Regardless of how well you think you know somebody, the fact of the matter is that they may like the current state of the relationship. In this case their may be conflicting opinions on where to move to next. This is when communication is a key to keeping things in order.
Regardless of how you and your partner feel, the most important thing to remember is that a relationship should never be ended over a fight about how to move onto the next step. Moving forward is only a natural part of the process; discussions on this are going to come up. Just remember that if you have a disagreement that it should end there. Giving up the past over an argument stemming from this is not worth it.
In time your relationship will move on to the next level. As both parties begin to become comfortable with one another a natural progression will occur. Sure, you will have to put some time and effort into it, but as time goes by relationships move forward.
Overall, taking things to the next level is something that a lot of couples have trouble with. As long as the lines of communication stay open and both people in the remationship are on the same page there should never be any major problems in this area of dating.