Living together?

I have been dating the same guy for seven years. Since high school and all through college. We are in a really good place, both starting our careers and we want to soon move in together. My problem is I want to be engaged or at least on track to be engaged first. He says he wants to live together first but that just makes me feel like it is an audition. I don't want to start investing so much into something that might not go anywhere. Am I going about this the wrong way? He is the person I do want to marry, but I feel he needs more to validate it in his end.