I have little to no love relationship experience, but one thing I can tell anyone is that everyone is different and have their own VALID reasons. Why I am not in a relationship is simple, I personally at this point am not looking for one until I have a better salary.
Don't take this the wrong way.. I was exactly where you were..
But you're looking for forever.
Most of the time young people don't want forever.. they want to just relax, have fun and forget about it unless you're somehow worthy of a repeat because you had good chemistry.
Think of it on a logarithmic scale.
0 - indifferent
0.1 - friend zone
1 - 1 night stand
10 - friend with benefits
100 - boyfriend
1000 - serious relationship
And don't ever pay for a woman to take her out on a date. If she's really into you, she'll either pay for you or split the bill for the meal and drinks.
The most important word you have to learn to say to a woman is no!
Oh could you buy me the margarita? No!
Oh could you do this for me? No!
Oh I'm so beautiful. Do you love me? No!
You're not a doormat!
Just in that.. you'll do 100x better at socializing and dating.