7 Undeniable Facts about Long Distance Relationships ...

Cris

The facts about long distance relationships, which I included in this post, are all based on personal experience. My husband and I lived in two different countries for more than a year before my big move. Being in a long distance relationship is a rollercoaster ride that puts to test your mental, emotional, physical, and (YES!) financial strengths. Here are seven undeniable facts about long distance relationships that I picked up from my experience:

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1. It's Expensive

If you ask me which among all facts about long distance relationships I dislike the most, I would say it's the cost that goes with it. Phone bills, airfares, accommodation, and everything in between all add up to that ballooning cost that ate up our monthly paychecks. Long distance relationships are expensive especially when you are decided on meeting on a regular basis.

2. Skype Becomes Your Best Friend

Or any video chat application convenient and efficient for both of you. In our case, it was Skype, Facebook, and Yahoo! Messenger. My husband used to ask me this question several times: "How on earth did people survive long distance relationships thousands of decades ago?" My answer: "Pen and paper. And they were more patient then..."

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3. It Can Get Boring

What else do we need to talk about? Two people in a long distance relationship have the tendency to update each other of what happened in their lives on a daily basis to the point where there is too much familiarity that may cause boredom. It can be boring especially when you only see each other on that screen that sometimes, freezes or hangs up due to poor internet connection.

4. It Requires Patience

But boredom shouldn't be a deterring factor for you to build a great relationship. One thing that my long distance relationship taught me was that it requires unlimited dosage of patience. You wouldn't be with the person if you don't love or care for him/her, right? Patience, my dear, patience. You need loads of it.

5. It Makes You Creative

Because you are not physically together, you come up with several ways to surprise him/her or to make him/her feel special. My friend who's based in the US orders lunch online for his boyfriend who's based in Singapore. Thank heavens for technology and debit/credit card. My husband would send me bouquets of roses and greeting cards when I was living in the Philippines and he was based in China. He wrote me love letters everyday, while I would send him audio files of me reading my love letters to him.

6. It Needs a Lot of Trust

If trust is an issue for two people who are physically together, what about for two individuals living on separate continents? For a long distance relationship to work, you have to trust your partner. Have faith in both of your sacrifices in keeping the love burning even when you are thousands of miles apart.

7. It Needs a Promise to Be Physically Together Someday

Because what's the point of being in a long distance relationship if you can't be physically together in the end? There has to be that end goal to be in one place together at a certain point in time. Either you move or he/she moves, but that decision has to be made. Personally, I don't think that a long distance relationship should go on if there is no plan for you to stay put, together, in one place in the near future.

Overall, being in a long distance relationship needs a lot of hard work. You put in more energy to make the relationship work. It can be both exciting and frustrating but trust me, you will gladly look back on these days and smile at what a journey it has been all in the name of love. What do you think about long distance relationship?

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My bf and I are in a long distance relationship. I only live an 1hr flight away but it def is straining on our wallets. But we just have to push through for a couple more months!

My boyfriend have lived in the same area since we've been dating. This morning he left Arizona with his family on a four day journey to North Carolina and my heart is broken. I need help. I don't know if we can make it. We get so mad at each other... And we lack a lot of trust.

Agreed Dian I'm also in a LDR with my be after dating for almost 2 years!!! And love him more and more each day!!! It's all about patience! Especially if you know that he's the one!!! :)

My boyfriend lived in California and I'm in Michigan. We were together a little over a year until we met the first time. And under our circumstances, it was incredible how it all worked out. He moved in the day we first met! Haha. He did have to go back and do three months of college because he was already a student and he couldn't transfer. But nonetheless, all his stuff was either with me or at his dorm lol. And then that December, he came back and didn't need to leave at all. He also visited for my birthday in November and sent over more of his items. And now we are going on 3 years being together :) and it just gets better and better.

It's so hard! :(

Been in a long distance vague "friendship" with a navy guy. But our frienship got messed up so it's kinda hard to accept things because both of us have been left hanging with "what if's".

It's very hard indeed.. From costs, to getting bored because you shared so much.. The only advice I'd have to give is stay strong. Stay resilient. If you believe you have a real chance to be with this person, forever, so be it. If it doesn't work out, you can always be sure that in the end you gave it your best. I recently moved in with my long distance BF (who only happened to be about six hours away) but it was still hurtful at times due to distance. We'd been dating for a year with visits for a year and just closed the distance gap :)

Met this guy 8 years ago while he was visiting his sister in my country for a month.He lives 2 hr flight away. Like any other Long distance story we fell in love instantly and tried to make things work. We were both college students back then. Money was a definite issue. It also strained our social lives cos the thought of him enjoying his weekend without me just sux! We broke up a yr aftr when i got a scholarship to study in UK as it was DOUBLE the distance it was going nowhere. We managed to stay friends and chatted at least once a month..we were even open about our dating lives n who we were seeing back then. Basically he was an ex turned best friend. Fast forward today, we both graduated, got stable jobs,our future is more certain....we make the effort to fly to each other and marriage is in the cards So my best advice: patience and timing. I appreciate my partner cos he couldve pulled out or walk away anytime but he managed to stay. LDR makes u find ur true soulmate.

Being in an LDR is like strapping yourself to a wooden stake and dropping a match at your feet.