Right, right, right… long distance dating… our super-integrated, globalized world is set to bring us together… or not? It’s clear that we can travel more, get to know more cultures and re-locate easily. This creates quite a few opportunities for studies, jobs and… love!

Despite all the opportunities brought by globalization, however, it also means that more often than ever, we physically separate with our chosen partners for career or education reasons. This is especially felt in such a cosmopolitan city, like London.

One of my friends once said (when I asked about his dating life) that he “would love to have a girlfriend, but it’s impossible to find a girl that would stay in one place for longer than a year” and how true is that?!

Being an international student myself, I try to mentally prepare for the fact that most of my mates are going to re-locate somewhere once we graduate. It’s not an easy though, trust me. But London is a city to meet your love in many senses, so read more about that here.

Yet, a few weeks ago, I have been to the wedding of a couple that has been in a long-distance relationship for 3 out of the 5 years they’ve been dating. So ya know, they made it work! Why can’t you? So first, let’s set up the options:

The 4 types of long-distance relationships:

1. You’ve just met (a holiday for example) and it was love at first sight, yet you live in different countries, so it turns into long distance dating.

2. When you’ve met online, and you live in different countries

3. You have been dating for a while, but one of you has to move for work/study/family, but you know it can be a temporary move, so it won’t be long distance forever.

4. You’ve been dating for some time, but now this person has to move, and you have no idea whether there will ever be a point in life when you both live together again.

To confirm, my friends had the first kind of long distance relationship situation. They met in their hometown, where they both came for a holiday only, but lived in different countries. However, one of them was a student. They knew that once they graduated, they’d have a choice to join their partner in his city, which they did.

My general impression is that long distance dating can definitely work, especially if these two conditions are satisfied:

1. You have been properly dating for some time before going away to live in different countries/cities
2. You have an approximate time when you can be re-united

However, anything is possible, it all depends on the power of love and your willingness to commit! So, don’t completely say no to the idea of long distance relationships!

By Maria Tsarkova