Being in a long-distance relationship can sometimes be really tough and difficult. Whether your date was someone local who has moved away, or someone you have never met but hopes to; here is some practical advice and tips on how to make a long-distance relationship work.
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Do Long-Distance Relationship Work?
No one enters into a relationship with a desire for it to be a long-distance relationship. But sometimes it still does. Plugs, jobs, or other conditions that make you unable to see when you want to.
Sure, it feels hard at first, but with the right attitude, long-distance can work just as well – and even make your relationship grow stronger.
Many of us believe that long-distance relationships are never going to work out. It because a long-distance relationship has many problems.
However, today’s modern relationships are no longer bound by location. It’s possible to fall in love with and even seriously date, someone without having ever met them face to face.
In a study, it turned out that the long-distance couple experienced more intimate relationships than the other couples. This is because they were forced to communicate more clearly to overcome the communication problems that technologies such as telephone, SMS, and video chat still entail.
How to Make a Long-Distance Relationship Work:
1. Continue to spend time together
It’s easy to invite your significant other out for a quick cup of coffee or a night of Netflix when you live close together. When you are thousands of miles apart, or even in vastly different time zones, it becomes a lot harder to spend quality time together.
If you want to make your long-distance relationship work, make that time. Schedule FaceTime dates with each other, stay in contact with text or by email and phone, and make a point of being there for each other. It may be a little harder to arrange your schedules so you can be together, but those moments are important.
2. Send care packages
Especially if the person you are dating is away due to work, a care package can make all the difference in letting them know you care. Gifts are fun ways to stay in contact with each other, and remember what it is you love so much about each other. It is also a romantic idea for maintaining a healthy long-distance relationship.
Include letters and pictures, as well as goodies you know they will love. A letter they can feel and hold is worth twice as much as the email you popped off the same morning.
Just the fact that you know what their favorite brand of candy is, or that you would love a Linkin’ Park T-shirt even though it is so old school, can help reach across that long-distance and touch their hearts. This ultimately will make your long-distance relationship strong.
3. Don’t lose yourself to the relationship
Of course, when you are in love, it is normal and healthy to want to spend lots of time with the person you are in love with. That doesn’t mean you should sacrifice other parts of your life, however. Even if you think you have a great reason for not getting out there and living the rest of your life, things change.
You might not bother making friends or interacting with others because you’ll be moving to where your significant other is, so why bother? But what if your plans fall through, and the days you’ve been counting downturn into months or years? What if your online relationship falls through, and they break up with you?
It’s important to value your relationship and put effort into it, but not at the expense of your real life. You wouldn’t give up everything you love and are passionate about for a real-life relationship, why do so for an online one?
Make friends, pursue hobbies, and be yourself in real life too. If nothing else, you’ll have more to talk about the next time you log into Skype to be with your significant other.
4. Don’t take advantage
Don’t take advantage of the fact your relationship is long distance. If you know your partner won’t like you going to a bar while they’re gone, and you do it intentionally simply because you know they are gone and probably won’t find out, you are on a slippery road.
Staying honest with a long-distance relationship is probably one of the most important rules, and also one of the hardest parts of a relationship.
It’s just plain easier to cheat when your partner is thousands of miles away, and cheating doesn’t just mean having sex with another person. If you’re intentionally sneaking around indulging in behaviors you know your partner wouldn’t tolerate if you were together, your relationship may already be on the rocks.
Instead, tell your partner flat out if you plan to do something they may not like, even if that means dealing with the discomfort of their disapproval.
Also, be clear of your expectations with another person. If your partner hates the smell of tuna and you plan to have a fish fest as soon as they are gone—they probably won’t care.
If you plan on learning how to rock climb without safety ropes and you know they are a stickler for safety, they probably will. It’s still best to tell them about your intentions and be clear in your communication.
If they can trust you to update them on actions you know they’ll find less than thrilling; they can trust you to be honest about other things too.
5. Trust them in your absence
As we said earlier, it is easier to cheat when they know you can’t suddenly walk in the door. It does no good to be suspicious, and constantly trying to catch them through the internet isn’t going to help your relationship. So, before starting a long-distance relationship you should trust your partner in your absence.
Accept the fact that if they wanted to, they could, and either trust that they won’t or find someone else. The hardest part about a long-distance relationship is that the bridge of trust has to be a pretty strong one to hold up over thousands of miles. If you can’t trust them, it is better, to be honest with this and find someone else, than to keep trying to ‘catch’ them.
Online relationships can be pretty difficult to maintain. When you can’t reach out and touch someone, figuring out how to maintain closeness can put a heavy strain on all but the strongest relationships. If you find yourself separated from your partner, and you truly love them, it is well worth making the extra effort to keep the relationship up.
The good news is, of course, that long-distance relationships are easier to maintain than ever thanks to technology such as facetime and skype. If you both care about each other, you can build on the solid foundation of love that you have together, and keep your affection for each other strong until you can be back together again.
Gifts for Long Distance Relationship
Being in a long-distance relationship can be hard for both parties. It can be difficult to maintain a close relationship when you don’t get to see each other too often. So, it is important to consider choosing a romantic gift for your long-distance partner to keep love alive in the relationship. Whether you send the gift by mail or give it at the end of a weekend together, there are plenty of gift items to choose from.
1. Road trip gift basket
If you live close enough to your boyfriend that he drives to your town sometimes, consider putting together a road trip gift basket that will make those car trips more enjoyable.
Include all sorts of things he enjoys, such as sweet or salty snacks, mixed CDs with his favorite music, books on CD, a gift card for his favorite drive-through restaurant or cafe chain, and a gas card.
This gift will show him how much you appreciate his coming to see you and that you care about him.
2. Remarks
Count the days until you will be able to see your girlfriend again. Then choose a selection of note cards and envelopes and write her a note that she can open every day you are apart.
Write about how you feel about her, things that you will do during the time you are apart, and the things you will look forward to doing when you see each other again. Give the notes to her before you planning to visit or email them to her.
3. Scrapbook
Create a scrapbook for your boyfriend that he can watch when you are apart. Choose pictures that you have taken throughout your relationship and create scrapbook pages where you write memories from the time the picture was taken.
Include pages about different holidays, holidays, dates, and things you’ve done together. He will be able to look through the scrapbook and read what you have written when you are apart so that he can feel close to you.
4. Video
It may be difficult not to see your partner’s face for a long time. When you will not be able to see your girlfriend for a long time, help her see you.
Create a video with the camera or computer to talk to her, tell her how you feel about her and other things you want her to know. Mail or email the video to her so she can watch it and feel like she is near you. You can read more about long-distance gift ideas here.
Pro Tips for a Long-Distance Relationship
Sure, it feels hard at first, but with the right attitude, long-distance can work just as well – and even make your relationship grow stronger. Here are a few pro tips that will lift your distance relationship.
1. Accept that you live in a distance relationship
I think it will be very hard to live in a distant relationship and constantly remind each other of what it could be like.
Sure you like to dream about what life would look like, for example, if you lived together, but to point out every day how hard it is to be apart and how hard it is with distance, I just think it wears more than it does good.
2. Set the basic rules
Not super hard, but an important part of making you both feel safe and feel good in the relationship. Set realistic and sound rules and make sure you agree on how often you should be heard and seen so that expectations are not overflowed.
3. Meet each other friends
It is also important to feel that you are involved in each other’s lives. Check out your partner’s job, favorite picnic, gym, and meet their friends so you have a face on them when they talk. It makes you feel more involved.
4. Have a plan
Decide when to meet next time, whether it is near or far away. For me, it helps tremendously to know how many days are left before we see each other again.
Plan what the next six months will look like so you know when to see you next time, and the time after that. It gives you both a sense of security, something to look forward to, and a sense of common plans.
I also think it is good to discuss and plan how long you intend to have a distance relationship and when you could solve it so that you can live together or at least in the same country or even city.
5. Check out series together
Always have one or two series that you can only see together. Turn on skype, get the popcorn, and have TV date remotely. Then you have something in common to look forward to, laugh at, and talk about.
Long-Distance Relationship Quotes
Still, need motivation for long-distance relationships? Well, in this section we will mention a few long-distance relationship quotes that will boost your mood and energy.
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it – Thomas Fuller
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart – Helen Keller
If love cannot stand the test of time, then it has failed the test of love. – Bernard Byer
The simple lack of her is more to me than others’ presence – Edward Thomas
Love is what you’ve been through with somebody. – James Thurber
You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having. – Frank Lloyd Wright
Sometimes I just sit in front of the computer dreaming. I have food in front of me but no appetite to eat it. All because my heart misses you and my mind is dreaming about you. – Sandra Toms
Missing someone gets easier everyday because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will. – Unknown
We are the perfect couple, we’re just not in the perfect situation. – Unknown
If the only place where I could see you was in my dreams, I’d sleep forever. – Unknown
You can read more long-distance relationship quotes here.
