Are Long-Distance Relationships Worth It?

Long-distance relationships can be fun and exciting or they can also be challenging and hard. But are they worth it?

Long-distance relationships are worth it because you get a chance to meet someone special online. The main benefit of a long-distance relationship is that you can have a beautiful and healthy romantic relationship with an amazing person regardless how far they are from you. Another benefit is you get to travel to see each other and have many adventures together.

In this article, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of a long-distance relationship. To help you decide if your long-distance relationship is worth it.

What Are Long-Distance Relationships?

Long-distance relationships are romantic relationships. They can start online with someone you’ve never met or come into your current relationship.

One important aspect of long-distance relationships is a lack of physical intimacy. This is why they work well for a short while for people who like their personal space and have the means to visit each other when they wish.

However, many couples in long-distance relationships see the distance as an inconvenience. This is particularly true for people who were together before they have to deal with the long-distance.

If you are starting a new long-distance relationship online, you have an opportunity to meet someone from a different culture. Anyone with internet can become your partner. This is as amazing as it is overwhelming.

With online dating, you have an option to meet a person you wouldn’t otherwise meet. Although if you believe in destiny, you don’t need the internet.

Long-distance relationships can be particularly challenging for couples who’ve lived together before. It can be a shock to wake up alone after getting used to having your partner next to you.

When your partner is away, you know what you are missing out. After some time, this emptiness can become hard to deal with, and that’s when problems with having a long-distance relationship begin to develop.

The fact that you don’t share the space in a long-distance romantic relationship has its downsides, but it also has some benefits.

Whether you are about to start a new long-distance relationship or are in one, take a step back to decide if it’s worth continuing or is it better to end it.

Click here to learn in more detail about what a long-distance relationship is all about.

What Is a Long-Distance Relationship?

For now, let’s have a look at some benefits and challenges of long-distance relationships.

Banefits of Long-Distance Relationships

• You are not bound by the borders
• Extra time to spend on your personal life goals and ambitions.
• Spending more time on hobbies, study, work or having fun.
• Having all your space for yourself.
• No need to accommodate anyone else into your schedule and the arrangement of your space.
• The world is your oyster. You can find someone close to home or in the other part of the world.
• You can connect to someone from a different culture.
• Online dating sites and apps let you filter by specific criteria.
• If you have certain values, beliefs, and interests, you can identify if your special someone shares them.
• You don’t have to respond straight away to their questions and can take the time you need to ask your own.
• You can also use it as an opportunity to travel and potentially move to a different country.
• You get a lot of time and space to focus on your personal goals and achievements.
• Even though you may not see each other every day, when you do, it’s all more special.
• A long-distance relationship could be one of the few ways you avoid taking each other for granted.

If you have the means to visit each other, you can maintain a healthy long-distance relationship for quite a while. To learn if long-distance relationships are healthy in general, click here.

Are Long-Distance Relationships Healthy?

This list can go on, but it’s only to give you an idea. Long-distance relationships get a bad rap because people focus on what they don’t have rather than on what they do. That said, long-distance relationships can also get hard.

Challenges of Long-Distance Relationships

• A different way of communicating.
• Easy to misunderstand your partner.
• Hard to express your feelings.
• Lack of physical intimacy.
• Meeting someone online can be misleading.
• If people look for a relationship online, you need to know why. Can they not find someone nearby, or are they trying to run away from something?
• Lack of physical intimacy. Some people need to be close to their partner more than others, so for them being apart is a lot harder. This may also lead to cheating.
• Visiting each other can be expensive. So, if you don’t have the money or the time to travel as much as you’d like, it will be a problem.
• Communication in a long-distance relationship is different from the regular one. You can only express yourself verbally, which can be limiting.
• Misunderstandings are easy to arise and hard to solve.
• Feeling deprived of physical closeness can lead to jealousy and distrust.

If you don’t have the means to see each other as often as you’d like, one of you might be tempted to find intimacy with someone else. In a healthy relationship, you’d talk about it before it happens, but sometimes the impulse can be too strong.

People who act on this impulse and cheat on their long-distance partner, tend to regret it afterwards. But once the trust is broken, it is hard to rebuild.

If a long-distance relationship lasts a long-time there’s a chance it’ll get boring, or your feelings may start to fade away.

If you wanted to be alone, you would just be single. But you are in a relationship, which means you want to be with someone else. And if you want a romantic relationship or you are in one, then physical intimacy has to be part of it.

The problem with a long-distance relationship is that not only are you physically alone when you need someone. But you are also closed to any opportunity to be with someone physically if you are in an exclusive relationship.

That’s why an open long-distance relationship can work for some couples who are facing long-distance, as long as they are on the same page.

There are many common problems long-distance couples face. Here is an article that covers most of them.

Common Problems in a Long-Distance Relationship

But it doesn’t mean that you have to face these problems. If you understand what long-distance relationships are and how to handle them, you can prevent these problems. This guide will help you get through it by addressing the issues that come as a result of being apart.

When you have a healthy relationship with understanding and clear communication, you can resolve the issues as they arise.

When your long-distance relationship brings you more sadness and frustration than happiness and fulfilment, you should ask yourself if it’s really worth it for you.

Is It Worth Starting a Long-Distance Relationship?

It’s worth starting a long-distance relationship if you have the means to sustain it. In the beginning, you can get to know someone online through texts, phone, and video calls. But if you get on well and your special someone ticks your boxes, after a few months you’ll need to meet.

You can get to know someone online as much as you want, but you only know the real person when you meet them.

You also want to meet a few times to see what it’s like being with them. Unless you meet, as far as your reality goes, this person is only an idea.

And of course, if your long-distance relationship becomes serious, at least one of you will have to move. This means leaving all you know behind. Your family, friends, house, etc. If you don’t have any of the above or you are easy on your feet, moving to live in a different place can be quite an experience.

Moving in with someone is a whole different thing, for which you really should take the time to prepare.

A healthy relationship is when partners have trust, understanding, and fantastic communication to share their feelings and solve their issues. Being in a long-distance relationship can be a lot of fun, or it can be hard work.

Click here to learn about all it take to make your long-distance relationship work.

How to Make Your Long-Distance Relationship Work

If it works for you and your partner, then great. But if it doesn’t, it can get complicated very quickly and may not be worth the trouble.

Recognising a long-distance relationship for what it is will help you manage your life, your time and your expectations. Once you know what long-distance relationship is, you’ll stop trying to make it into what it isn’t.

Long-distance relationships are different from living together with your romantic partner. The two aspects of a relationship that distance affects the most are communication and physical intimacy.

It’s easy to misinterpret your partner when your only communication is via online means. Without seeing your partner and feeling their presence, it’s hard to tell how they are feeling at a time and what exactly they mean. Misunderstanding can lead to confusion and result in pointless arguments and fights.

Here is our guide to help you improve communication with your long-distance partner.

A romantic relationship involves physical intimacy. In a long-distance relationship, a lack of physical intimacy can lead to sexual frustration and anxiety. Without physical intimacy, your relationship is more of a friendship, which probably isn’t what you want.

The unfulfilled need for physical closeness and frequent misunderstandings are common causes of breakups.

With this guide helping you maintain intimacy with your long-distance partner, you have a much better chance to have a long-distance relationship that’s healthy and successful.

Is It Worth Being in a Long-Distance Relationship?

Being in a long-distance relationship is worth it if it is a healthy relationship. A healthy relationship is when partners have trust, understanding, and amazing communication to share their feelings and solve their issues.

Being in a long-distance relationship can be a lot of fun, or it can be hard work. If it works for you and your partner, then great. But if it doesn’t, it can get complicated very quickly and may not be worth the trouble.

Having a long-distance relationship is good in some ways and it can also be challenging in others. The good thing about being in a long-distance relationship is that you have a lot of time for yourself.

In a regular relationship, you spend a lot of time with your partner. This has one downside which can get in the way of you doing the things you like.

In a long-distance relationship, on the other hand, you are still in a romantic relationship, so you have someone to talk to about your most intimate and personal things. But at the same time, you have an opportunity to spend time on your hobbies and interests, go out with friends, and spend time with your family.

Handling the distance is the key to a fulfilling long-distance relationship. This guide shows you how to do it step by step.

Having a long-distance relationship can be a great choice. Many couples face situations where they need to be a part for some time for some reason.

When this happens, partners feel stuck in a predicament that they aren’t happy with. This can give rise to negative thinking and negative emotions, which will make the long-distance relationship so much harder.

It helps to see a long-distance relationship as an opportunity to catch up with your personal lives and look at your relationship from a different perspective.

If you find yourself having negative thoughts about your long-distance relationship or talking about things you cannot control in your conversations, you should stop. Even though it can be difficult, try to find positive things about being in a long-distance relationship.

Healthy communication also helps to have a good long-distance relationship. Many couples in long-distance relationships spend a lot of time talking to each other. They do this as an attempt to compensate for the lack of physical intimacy, to feel connected.

The problem with that is talking too much can lead to boring conversations and take the time away from doing something more fun and interesting with your life.

Effective communication will help you stay emotionally connected and resolve problems and issues you may face in your long-distance relationship. Should you need some guidance to improve communication with your long-distance partner, have a look at this workbook.

Is It Worth Staying in a Long-Distance Relationship?

Staying in a long-distance relationship for a short while can be totally worth it. You can catch up with your personal life, go out with friends and do the things you always wanted but never had the time for.

But a lot of couples don’t see it that way. They see their long-distance relationship as a struggle. And when you see your relationship as a struggle, it makes it almost impossible to see the good parts.

So, if all you get from a long-distance relationship is struggle and suffering and still trying to keep it going you should ask yourself why and if it’s worth it for you.

What works for some may not work for others. Just because some couples are happy to spend years in a long-distance relationship, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Suppose you love this person and excited about your relationship. Not only can you make it work, but you can also make it fun. 

You may find yourself in a long-distance relationship that’s not working for you for some reason. Before trying to push through despite feeling bad about it, ask yourself if you should be putting more work into a relationship that’s not working.

It does not mean you should break up at the first sign of a struggle. Rather, take a fresh look at your relationship, see what you love about it and what you are not enjoying. It will help you make a more constructive decision.

If you are considering breaking up, but are not sure if you should, here is an article to help you decide when it is time to let go of a long-distance relationship.

When to Let Go of a Long-Distance Relationship

Some couples try to make their relationship work long-distance even if they aren’t happy with it. In some cases, couples can remain in a long-distance relationship for years, surviving all the hardships. And when they finally get together, they tell themselves it was worth it. 

While it may be worth it, after having invested years in the relationship, it’s hard to admit that it may not be worth it after all. It is a danger of being stuck in a relationship for the sake of making it work.

You have two options try to make your long-distance relationship work or let it go. If you want to give it a go at making it work, this workbook will help you reflect on your relationship and on the ways you can improve it.

Why Are Long-Distance Relationships Worth It?

Long-distance relationships are worth it if they help you get through a relocation period, for example. Some couples have to be away for some time for some reason related to work or family, so keeping the emotional connection during this time is important.

If a young couple is separated because of college or university, a long-distance relationship will likely hold them back from exploring the world of relationships with different people. In this case, a long-distance relationship may not be worth it.

Staying in a long-distance relationship for a short while can be great. You can catch up with your personal life, go out with friends, and do the things you always wanted but never had the time to do. But a lot of couples don’t see it that way.

When Are Long-Distance Relationships Worth It?

Long-distance relationships are worth it when you get on well and have the money to travel and see each other as often as you’d like.

They are worth it when they help you achieve a specific aim. For example, you want to maintain an emotional connection with your partner, but you have to move for a job for a few months. Even with the lack of physical intimacy, you can make it work for a few months.

But if you are in a long-distance relationship for an indefinite period, it will be very hard to make it work for most couples.

Couples in a long-distance relationship usually see it as a struggle. And when you see your relationship as a struggle, it makes it almost impossible to see the good parts.

If all you get from your long-distance relationship is suffering and still trying to keep it going, you should ask yourself why you do it? Is it really worth it?

Conclusion

To decide if a long-distance relationship is worth it for you. First, you need to weigh out all the pros and cons of having a long-distance relationship. Of course, if you just met someone and want to see if it could work out, you can give it a go.

The obvious downside of being in a long-distance relationship is the lack of physical intimacy. You can have a lot of fun being in a long-distance relationship, but if you are serious about this relationship, you’ll need to move in together sooner rather than later.

To make your long-distance relationship work, you should have specific goals and plan with a timeline to achieve them. For example, your goal can be to move in together, your plan would include the frequency of your communication and visits, and a timeline to make sure your plan is on track.

Here are the guides to help you and your partner set personal and relationship goals, and make a clear plan to achieve them.

During your long-distance relationship is essential you maintain effective communication and emotional connection with your partner.

Long-distance relationships aren’t for everyone. But if you are in one, you can certainly make the most of it. You can use your time and personal space away from your partner for your personal development and make the most out of this period.

Provided you get on well and have the money to travel, you can close the distance when you feel the time is right.

If you are having doubts about the state of your long-distance relationship, this guide will help you and your partner reflect on your relationship and see how healthy it really is.

How Healthy Is Your Long-Distance Relationship?

If you are having doubts about your long-distance relationship and are not sure if you should try to fix it or let it go, here is our step by step guide to help you and your partner reassess your relationship and make an educated decision that works for both of you.

Relationship Coaching for Long-Distance Couples

Long-distance relationships are hard to maintain without knowing exactly what they involve.

However, once you understand what long-distance relationships are, what they are not and how to navigate them, you are a lot more likely to make it work.

We specialise in helping long-distance couples create and maintain a healthy relationship by building intimacy, trust and effective communication.

If you are starting a long-distance relationship or are already in one, send us a message to book an individual coaching session for yourself or a couples coaching session for you and your partner.

Frequently Asked Questions