Make Your Long Distance Friendship Work

If you think long distance relationships are hard, try having a long distance friendship. Life will take you, and your friends, in all sorts of directions and you may find yourself living an unreasonable number of mile away from your closest bud. When these happens, don’t despair. There are quite a number of simple ways to make a long distance friendship work.

Make The Best Out Of Every Phone Call

Chances are either one of you would get really busy at some point in time. Or, maybe your schedules and time zones will clash, and you won’t be able to pick up when the other person calls. If this is the case, set up a day and time of the week when you can enjoy an hour of conversation. Even if you can’t do it every week, biweekly or monthly is fine. Just ensure you make time to actually talk about what’s going on in each other’s’ lives.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

As you know, we live in a very digital age. It’s so easy to keep in touch with people now that we sometimes take it granted. When you and your friend are hundreds of miles apart, technology can help you “hang out” without actually being there. You can use Google hangouts and Skype to go on dates or see movies together and send each other snaps via Snapchat, so you always know what you’re up to. And then there’s Twitter, Facebook, and even Pinterest where you can shamelessly stalk your friends and follow all their updates.

Talk About Everything

Even if you get tired of me saying “communication is key” in all my relationship articles, I’ll still keep saying it. So much good can come from letting your friend know how you feel; whether it’s sadness over not getting to talk all the time, or pining over a new crush. It keeps your emotional links strong so you don’t end up growing apart.

Plan (Surprise) Visits When You Can

I know travel is expensive and not everyone can afford this option, but it’s something you might have to do once in a while. Even you only do it once a year, getting together will go a long way in keeping your friendships alive. You’ll also get to make new memories. You could plan a surprise trip and show up for your friend when he/she is going through a tough time and literally just turn their mood around. Of course, showing up unannounced at someone’s doorstep is dependent on how well you know that person and their lifestyle.

Don’t Wait or Overthink It

Some friends are perfectly fine not speaking to each other for ages and then picking back up like nothing happened. However, this doesn’t apply to everyone. And even if it applies for you, it doesn’t mean you should put off getting in touch with your friend when he/she crosses your mind. Instead of wondering what the person is doing, pick up your phone and call or text.

It’s hard when you want to rant to someone about something or share some good news over an awesome meal, but the person you want to talk to is miles away. Being in a long distance friendship requires a lot of work, and all the parties involved need to put in some serious effort. But, the good news is, if your friendship is worth it, you’ll make it work.