What do I do? - Comments

That's a tricky one. I'd let them know I had a boyfriend who lived a while away that I hadn't met but not talk about meeting up with him for a while. Because that's probably the part they'd be uncomfortable with, you meeting a "stranger on the internet". Obviously it'd come up but I dunno, tell them you'll cross that bridge when it comes. Let them know you'd obviously like to meet him but you want to be careful about it. Surely, that's all they want to hear.

You should definitely bring up all those points to your parents. I would have him definitely come to where you live the first time, let them meet him and get a feel for the situation and then open it back up for discussion. Maybe you can get a friend to take a trip to NYC with you and that would make your mom feel more comfortable.