How to Maintain a Long Distance Relationship

A long distance relationship is probably one of the most trying types of relationships to maintain. Anyone who has been involved in one can attest to its difficulty. It can be done, but it requires patience, understanding, time and effort. So if you’re more of the “summertime fling” type, this how-to is not for you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Discuss expectations. What do you hope to get out of this relationship? Is your heart set on a life-long commitment, or do you want to wait to see how things go? Discuss these expectations with the person you’re seeing so there isn’t any confusion or hurt feelings in the end.
2. Communicate honestly and clearly. In a long distance relationship, communication is essential since seeing the other person can be a rare occurrence. Concerns, questions and problems need to be addressed in order to keep this thing going.
3. Make time with each other a priority. Communicating by phone, letters and email is great, but face-time is necessary to make any type of relationship work. Make sure you get that person-to-person contact when you can, otherwise the relationship can whither rather quickly.
4. Make allowances for minor misunderstandings. When the majority of a relationship is spent on the phone, there will be times when meanings and intentions are misconstrued. Understand that you’re not always communicating in the most effective way possible when you only converse by phone or email, and this will result in some misunderstandings.
5. Treat each other and the relationship with respect. There are going to be difficult times, but remember to be respectful of the other person and what you have with them. It will save you both a lot of heartache.