Long Distance Relationships

 As of September 2017, my boyfriend of 18 months and I both went to university, him in Cardiff and me in Southampton, there is a 2 hour 30 minute train journey now between us. I know that for a lot of people, that isn't that far at all, however when we are back home we are a 10 minute drive away from each other so when we moved, it was really hard to adjust to. So, I thought I'd write a bit about how we keep our relationship as good as it can be when we don't see each other for a while. Enjoy and I hope this helps anyone else in a similar situation.




1. FaceTime/Skype is the best thing to exist.
      It definitely isn't the same as seeing a loved one in person, however, it's the best we have. We normally try and FaceTime at least once a day depending on how busy we are. Whether this is just 5 minutes before we go to bed, or 3 hours where we just sit and chat, it's always so nice to hear his voice and feel like we've had a good catch up.

2. Planning to see each other in advance.
      Although we don't have the same schedule, I'm extremely lucky to have a zero hours contract at work so on weekends we are free to see each other. We definitely do not see each other every weekend as we both have our friends at uni that we want to spend time with as well. However, we try and see each other every 2 to 3 weeks whether that is going to each others university halls or deciding to both come home and see our families too. Although it can be expensive and travelling is my least favourite thing to do in the world, it makes it so worth it to get a few days together.

3. Trusting each other.

      A long distance relationship is never going to work without completely trusting the other person. This definitely comes with time, however it is one of the most important things in a relationship in general and I am definitely lucky to have someone who I trust with everything. One of the ways to build trust is through communication, just tell each other what you're thinking and feeling and your worries and trust will begin to build.

4. Try and enjoy your time apart.
      Being apart gives you a chance to really miss them and appreciate the time you have together. Living only 10 minutes away from my boyfriend when we're home meant from the minute we started dating we spent time together 24/7. Although I would still love that to be the case it is such a lovely feeling when you see each other after a while and it actually made us appreciate each other's company so much more than we did before because time together was so much more rare.

5. If it's a new venture make sure you stay supportive and involved.
      In our case, we were both going off to start something completely new that neither of us had every experienced before. However, we both made sure to visit each other to get to know each others new flatmates and friends and to see how we each lived when we were apart. Knowing what it's like on his end makes it easier for me to understand and feel comfortable with living so far apart. It was also important to stay supportive and to let each other know we're still there for each other if we needed support or just comfort as we were both going through similar changes.

     These are just some of the ways I make my new long distance relationship stay as good as it has always been and I hope if you're about to be or are already in a similar situation you find it helpful as well. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!