Can Long-Distance Dating Work?

By K.C. Morgan

When you meet someone that you have a real connection and real chemistry with, it seems almost like a miracle. When you find out that same someone has to live far away from you, it seems doomed. But, is it? The truth about long distance dating is this: it can work, but only in the short term.

The Internet has opened up a whole new realm of long distance dating, making separated relationships a mainstream diversion for the lovelorn. With any relationship, there are dating hurdles to overcome. With long distance dating, there are a few more. Problems you’ll probably encounter with a long distance relationship include:

Jealousy. Usually a factor in all relationships, jealousy often becomes more acute when there’s a real distance between the two of you. The only way to cope with jealousy is through trust – the cornerstone of any healthy relationship.

Loneliness. When your sweetie is far away, you’re going to suffer all kinds of lonely pains. Holidays are especially tough, and being around other couples will make the wound seem to hurt a little more. Combat this by maintaining an active social life with your friends, spending time with single people, and spending plenty of time communicating with your partner via phone, letters, and e-mail.

Expenses. If you expect to see each other in the flesh at all (and you should, as often as possible, just to keep the chemistry alive), you’re going to rack up a lot of travel expenses. The burden of travel is something that should be shared by both parties, to make it a little more doable. Creative budgeting and saving (and making travel arrangements several weeks in advance) can help cut down on these expenses, and make it easier for you two to spend real time together.


No matter how well you two make the long distance thing work, it’s a situation that can’t go on for ever. If you want to enjoy a true, committed relationship, the two of you have to at least live in the same city eventually. Long distance dating only works in the short term, because at some point you’re both going to want more. Before it all falls apart, you’re going to have to consider a more permanent solution to the distance between the two of you. Otherwise, you’re really just wasting your time on something that can’t possibly last. After all…you don’t want to get married by proxy, do you?