Ugh, I feel your angst.  Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that this is a good news/bad news thing.

There's really nothing like a first relationship; most of us remember our first relationship forever.  And there are a few people who actually remain with their first serious boyfriend and get married and have kids and go the whole nine yards.  But the bad news is that they are VERY much the exception.  Even if you and your boyfriend weren't separated by schools, the odds are very much that you would have eventually gone your separate ways. And, as I've said a few times before, college is a very broadening experience, where new people are met, new situations are faced, and new relationships are experienced.

But why worry about something that may not happen?  Sure you guys can split up, but you can also have a lot of fun in the near future; it's what everybody faces.  Why not talk it over with your boyfriend and get his feelings on it?  I certainly think it's a good thing to try to keep in touch with him.  I find email is a great way to not be obtrusive and yet keep in touch with all of my friends that I don't see every day.  Feelings between good friends usually don't disappear in a day, and if you change your thinking just a little, it might be fun to share the experiences of your more mature, higher educated college guy, and he may want to maintain his special connection with someone back home.  And in the meantime, you can both continue to grow and worry about the other things in life like making money, just like the rest of us adults.