How many of us have long distance relationships….with friends?
Probably a lot!
My best friend lives in OKC, 2 of my other best friends live in London and New Jersey. Thankfully I have 2 best friends in Dallas as well but its hard to have close friends so far away.
My bff Ashley will be in town in 11 day(!!!!) for George Strait’s finally concert and we unintentionally started a Summer Concert tradition in 2011! That summer saw New Kids on the Block and BSB, the next summer we attempted to see Brad Paisley(got rained out) and last summer it was New Kids, Boyz 2 Men and 98 degrees! It’s fun to have that tradition to look forward to and find a concert we are excited to see every summer. Usually not in the same city either which is fun. This year I am lucky because Ashley being my maid of honor in my wedding will be in Dallas several times. Laura and Ally are also bridesmaids in my wedding so I get to see them in October and Ally in July for my bachelorette party weekend.
Michele and Taylor live here and even though I have the luxury of seeing them whenever I want. Lives being busy friendships sometime aren’t the biggest priority they could be.
However I want to focus more today on my long distance relationships with friends and how I maintain them.
Ally being in London isn’t someone I can call anytime day or night. For obvious crazy cell phone bill reasons.
But we can skype, email, chat on social media and text. It has kept our friendship close since she has been gone and I am so grateful.
Laura and I have hardly lived in the same city since we graduated high school. She went to college in Austin, lived in Dallas for a few years, then went to grad school at Duke and now lives in New Jersey. Laura and I have a very unique friendship in which we can go months without talking and nothing is different. I know if I need her she is there and vise versa. I know that I can text Laura and inside joke from 12 years ago and she will laugh just as hard. I know that I can call her, text her, email her, etc and she will respond right away.
Ashley who lives the closest and I talk nearly every single day. We watch TV shows together on the phone since we cant in person. We text constantly and of course our mutual love of blogging and social media comes in handy.
I cant say enough great things about my friends and even though some of them are far away. I am forever thankful for having them in my life.
Do you have any long distance friendships? How do you maintain them?
I know this struggle, my best friends and I basically scattered across this state and nation when we left for undergrad and some of us are still living out of state. That coupled with the new friends I’ve made over the years have only encouraged me to find ways to stay in touch with everyone. I love the 5 minute Skype dates we do as well as random email chains we get started. Those are always fun. Oh! There is a way you can call your friend in London without incurring major charges. I’m going to assume both of you have smartphones (I know you have an iPhone), but if she has an iPhone or Android device (like me!) the both of you can download the app Viber and call each other for free! I use it all the time to call my friends in London and the calls come through crystal clear. I swear by that app.
YES! I have many a friends in the Coast Guard who are never near by. It isn’t easy but we all love each other at the end of the day. Skype, texting, and phone calls are a must!
A decent amount of my friendships are long distance, as many of my college friends and I went different ways after college. I have some friends from high school that are still in the area, but I don’t really stay in contact with many of the people from high school as a personal preference. Of course, I definitely have a few friends from high school that I am still very close with. I do the same things as you do – Skype, FaceTime, Facebook, Social Media or call/text. I find if you are willing to put the effort in on both sides, you can definitely still maintain the friendship even if they are far away!
I really need to write a blog post on this, because like you, most of my friends are long distance!
My best friend and I haven’t lived in the same town since high school either, but we have managed to maintain an excellent long-distance relationship. MOHs in each other’s weddings, Godmothers to our kids and we just got to take a 40th bday cruise together in March. I love that lady and I know she loves me too!
Long-distance friendships are hard! I moved 600 miles away from my hometown 5 years ago, and it has been challenging keeping up with people. I am actually moving back there next week and can’t wait to reconnect with people. Of course, I will now be living far from the friends I’ve made over the past 5 years, so I’ll have a new set of long-distance friends to keep up with. I’m thankful for social media, because it sure makes it easier to keep in touch.
My best friends are all long distance, spread out across the country as well! One thing is for sure though, you know you have great friends when you can live so far away, not see each other in months, and reunite like nothing’s changed!