by Andrea-Lee Peters

Created on: June 03, 2009

Maintaining a long distance relationship if you have to move overseas is not impossible, at the same time it is never going to be easy. Instead of having your significant other close to you physically and being able to hug and kiss them, you have to swap this for e-mails, phone calls, texts and letters. Can you manage this? The answer; yes if the relationship means enough to you to make the effort needed.

At first being away from the one you love will be awful, maybe unbearable, knowing you are unsure of when you will see them next. Make a plan! This is important! Give yourselves something to look forward to. Going to all the effort of calling, e-mailing and writing will seem much more difficult without an end goal in sight! Count down the days until them, or you, will climb on that airplane and visit, and when you do make the most of your time together. Do things you enjoy doing together, take photographs, make fantastic memories that will last until your next moments together. If this relationship is that important to you both, talk about your next goal, how to be together permanently. Will the other consider moving?

They say "distance makes the heart grow fonder," is this a true statement? Sometimes, absolutely yes, sometimes no. If you part having a strong relationship, then you will both be more secure in your wants, needs and feelings, and yes, being apart will show you even more how much your other half means to you. If your relationship is already struggling then absence from each other will most likely enforce the problems even further, and being away in a new place will display to you everything your relationship may be missing. If you are unsure, it is best to air your concerns to your other half. Do not step out on your relationship with another, if in doubt alway talk about things first and if necessary finish your existing long distance relationship before embarking on something new.

Relationships with friends will also change when you move away, but this will again depend upon how strong your relationships were to begin with. This can often be the time when you figure out who your real friends are. Those who do value your friendship will make an equal effort to keep in touch, those who aren't concerned, will most likely only send an e-mail once in a while after you initiated some form of contact yourself. Maybe you will find you lose some friends in this new living abroad process, but you will still be able to maintain contact with the real friends who mean as much to you as you to them. You will also find some fantastic new friends in the process.

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