Rant: "Why are you guys not engaged yet?"

So something keeps happening to me ... OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I keep finding myself in these uncomfortable conversations where someone asks me when the bf and I are getting married, which is usually followed by "how come you guys aren't engaged yet?" Sometimes this even turns into a suggestion by the individual that I rethink his commitment to me and whether or not he even believes in marriage (a if I would not know this!?) - that I may have to leave the relationship if I ever want to get married and have children. IT KEEPS HAPPENING and I can't wrap my head around this. 

I get it that we have been together for almost six years and live together. I am 27, he is 29 so why aren't we married yet? Many of our friends are married and are getting married so why aren't we at least engaged? 

I want to be clear that I have absolutely no problem with people asking us if we see ourselves eventually getting married or if I think a proposal is in the works soon. That's cool ... there is no judgement there, just simply a display of human curiosity. I get it. Social norms would indicate that we should be married or at least engaged by this point so it's completely understandable that someone would ask about this HOWEVER what I can't understand is why some people think it's their place to make assumptions about our beliefs about marriage and when we should be married let alone judge the bf, his commitment to me and our relationship as a whole. It makes me uncomfortable and sometimes leads me to feel insecure about my relationship, in the sense that I start to think that we should be engaged at this point and that maybe something is seriously wrong with our relationship .. THEN I remember how wonderful the bf is and how nothing in his actions or words has or should ever lead me to question his commitment to me. I don't need a diamond on my finger to know that (although it seems like other people do). I also come back to reality and remember why we have decided to not get married yet (in my case getting engaged will be a mutual decision not something that just happens to be sprung up on me).

Also, why am I the only one out of the two of us that seems to get these questions? Is it because I am female? Why is no one asking him why we aren't engaged yet? Weird!? .. well not really. Also worth mentioning is that these questions always come from other women. Why is that?

I just think people should think a little bit more about this topic prior to asking such questions .. and whether or not they are being judgemental. I would also consider the financial commitment that is often associated with getting married and factor that into the equation. Perhaps the couple cannot afford to get married in the way they want to get married at this moment? Also maybe planning a wedding could be stressful for some people and they simply cannot see themselves doing this anytime soon? Maybe they have other competing priorities at the moment, such as school, career etc.?

FOR ME (and I know I can say for US) we both believe in marriage but that doesn't mean we wanted to get married at 25 or even prior to feeling settled and stable in other parts of our lives. For me, I have dedicated a lot of time and effort (7 years of university and 3 degrees to be exact) to making sure I have a career, a job that I love and am financially stable on my own. Finally, I can say I have accomplished this. There is no way I could see myself getting married let alone having children prior to accomplishing this BUT THAT'S JUST ME! Also, I think I can say for the both of us that finances and time have been an issue. We do not want to have to turn to others to financially support our wedding and frankly have not wanted to spend our money or time on planning a wedding. For me, working four full days a week and completing a masters degree while planning a wedding would not have been fun or even worth the stress it would have caused!

When I finally get married, I want to be able to afford it (be financially stable) and be able to take the time to enjoy the planning process. I want to do it my way and when I want to do it BUT THAT'S JUST ME!

What about people who have children out of wedlock or couples who choose to never get married?
Is it our place to judge their parenting abilities or quality of their relationship?

That's my rant. 

Any opinions on this issue? Did you or are you experiencing this too? We all know that I have many thoughts and opinions about this but I'd like to hear from you :) Maybe I'm just being too sensitive but all this is really starting to annoy me haha!