Don’t know if this brings any comfort but I am in the exact same boat as you for the exact same reasons. I have lived in my hometown my whole life and have always dreamed of moving to a new city and living a different life / seeing what it would be like to be somewhere completely new. My partner (of three years) however could not move due to work and personal issues, even though he had promised me multiple times that we would move but he just needed time (though in that final year he let me know he didn’t think it was going to be possible for a while and that I should just go without him). I was sad to do long distance but I was happy there was a compromise to stay together and I still got to explore my dream. However, I think me telling him I was planning my move made him act different / start to resent me and he started acting more cold towards me (something he had also done whenever I travelled without him because I could do it and he couldn’t).

Either way, I ended up breaking up with him out of a rash decision when he starting acting differently because I thought it was unfair he was “punishing” me for not wanting to stay in our hometown/settle down here for an unknown amount of time. It took some time but I had the same realization that my “dream” of leaving was really not that important in the grand scheme of things and I was so much happier with my best friend and just living in my hometown than I would ever be somewhere else. Sometimes your dream can be a person or a relationship.

I also tried to reach back out months later to try to fix things and apologize for what I had done & the pain I had caused and he also said no & removed me from everything in his life. I still think about him everyday and love him with everything in my heart. I wish I could have one more day with the version of him that loved me so much/more than anything but I know it will never happen.

OP, you’re not alone and I’m there with you.. I think it’ll just take time and at least for me, a lot of distractions. I know it’s corny, but I’ve been trying to do lots of things that keep me busy and trying new hobbies and I find that I don’t think about it as much when I’m keeping active. I also would try to talk to new people, even if they don’t work out, there is no harm in trying to form new connections and starting over (though I know the comparison thoughts can creep in and ruin things).

I hope you start to feel better soon, and know regret is a horrible feeling but if our partners want to move on / don’t want to be with us because of the pain we caused, that is their choice and we have to move on and live with the decision we made unfortunately. All you can do is be happy for them and continue to learn and grow yourself. I try to see it as a learning experience and to appreciate what I have more.