For a man, marriage is generally a huge financial burden. And if you want to get out of it, it's financially fatal to most.
NYS isn't a common law state, so it's best to have a live-in GF vs. a wife. You can get out of a bad situation with a lot less financial loss. It's just common sense economics. Just don't introduce any children into the dynamic.
Now, if your goal is to raise a family, you really should get married, but you have to really think about giving your life away, because that's essentially what you're doing. Your wife and kids' lives and finances will ALWAYS come before your own, that's what's expected of you as a married man in today's culture. You are perpetually in last place when married with children. Some men can live like this, many cannot.
It's much easier for women. They just need to find a man who brings in a decent salary, get pregnant, and they own his finances for 26 years, don't have to hold a job, don't have to get married, and can use the legal system to keep the father of their child away from them, AND get money from him. That's like the best deal you can get in modern western culture when it comes to free money.