Long Distance Relationship - My Personal Tips

Long distance relationships are not something anyone aspires to have, but for a variety of reasons, it happens. The first thing anyone will tell you is that they are hard. Very hard. And usually you read a lot of advice about clearly setting your expectations, and how to stay involved in each others life. I used none of this. As someone who 3,000 miles away from their boyfriend for nearly 3 years and did finally get married, I hope that my experience, and those of my friends will help you.

My personal definition of a long distance relationship is one in which you cannot drive to spend the weekend together. If you are one of the people fortunate enough to be in a relationship like that, you do not get to commiserate with those of us who have spent months separated from their significant others. It makes us angry, and you would understand that if you were in our shoes.

Trust each other. If you are constantly suspicious the relationship is doomed. This is true in all relationships, but a more difficult demon in long distance relationships. Under the best possible conditions you will have been dating seriously for a while before you or your significant other has to move. If this is the case, you have the advantage of prior trust and commitment, but if either of you is anything like me, fear of marriage will spring up. I realized early on that if we were staying together, despite the huge distance, that must mean that we both see in each other someone we would, at some point, consider marrying. The thought of marriage came up in my mind earlier than it would have otherwise, and scared the heck out of me for a while, but I got over it, and part of that was communicating my feelings to my significant other.