What are your hopes and expectations for the relationship? What are your fears? How often do you expect to check in with each other? Do you expect to communicate with each other in some way every day? How often will you visit each other in person? What’s realistic given your budget and responsibilities (i. e. school/work schedule)? Will you see other people while you’re apart, or will you be monogamous? How will you satisfy your physical needs/desires from afar?

Keeping your partner updated on your daily life will help them feel more involved in your world and your daily life. This will help them feel more secure in the important role they play in your life. [1] X Research source Consider your partner’s feelings when making choices. For example, going out for late-night drinks with a cute member of the opposite sex or an ex when your partner is halfway across the world might make even a secure partner a bit nervous.

Discussing the end game of your relationship will also help ensure that you and your partner are on the same page. Maybe you’re hoping to get married in a few years if all goes well. If you’re both just enjoying an international fling, that’s okay too. It’s just important that you both know that, otherwise you might have one person pining over the other while the other is happily dating around, which isn’t fair.

Talking about the future can break the distance and make you feel more positive that the relationship is heading somewhere. Planning a trip together can be a lot of fun. Make a shared Google doc or a Pinterest page detailing the things you’d like to do on your trip. You might even put together an Itinerary together.

WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype allow you to send messages and files, and call each other from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection. Couple, Avocado, and Kahnoodle also allow you to chat and send pictures and videos, but their focus on romance sets them apart from other apps. You can “thumb kiss” your partner with Couple, send virtual hugs and kisses with Avocado, and “fill your partner’s love tank” with affectionate acts on Kahnoodle. HeyDay allows you to keep a journal as you go about your day. You can take photos and add captions, and can even track where you’ve been through the day, then share your day with your partner to help them feel more like they were there with you.

It doesn’t have to be long chats — just a simple “Good morning beautiful!” or “Night night!” is perfect. It’s just important to schedule some time each day to be virtually close with each other, no matter how long that time is. [4] X Research source

Maintaining a good support network will help you stay strong when you’re feeling sad and lonely, and missing your partner. You can even talk out some of your insecurities with your closest friend or family member when you’re feeling low. It’s okay to talk to your partner about your insecurities too, but try to avoid it unless they’ve done something to make you feel insecure. This will help keep things lighter and more positive when you talk to your partner, which is important since you have limited time with each other.

Forum-goers talk about their problems, their fears, and their joys. They also share tips and tricks for keeping the relationship fresh and healthy.

The people in them have a positive attitude towards long-distance relationships and do not feel that their relationship is automatically doomed just because of the distance. People in them worry less and focus on the positive. People in them feel more certain about their relationships. Greater distances seem to result in higher long-distance satisfaction, too. Each partner idealizes his/her partner to some extent.

The most difficult thing to deal with is the fact you can’t see or touch your partner whenever you want to. It might hurt, but you need to come to terms with it, otherwise you’ll just be unhappy all the time, making for an unhappy relationship.

Find things to be grateful for, rather than focusing on the negative (namely, the distance). For example, maybe you’re building stronger communications with your partner, and getting to know them on a deeper level. By focusing on the positive things about your partner and your relationship, you’ll feel more in love with them and more positive about the relationship, meaning you’ll boost your chances of staying together despite the distance. [8] X Research source Let the security of your relationship help you focus on other areas of your life, such as work, school, or personal goals. A long distance relationship can give you more time to focus on building up other aspects of your life, while your relationship continues to grow as well.

Being positive means keeping things light when you talk to your partner — talking about the little things that happened throughout your day, for example. [9] X Research source It’s okay to talk to your partner about any real concerns you have. You should be positive, but you shouldn’t pretend things are okay when they aren’t. If your partner does something to hurt your feelings, it’s important that you let them know so that you both can work out a plan to avoid that happening in the future. Be positive about yourself, too. Studies show that people feel happier and more satisfied in relationships where their partners keep their doubts about themselves and the relationship to themselves. [10] X Research source Don’t be totally uncommunicative, but be mindful about what you talk about. Don’t call yourself fat or stupid, for instance.

As an example, if you know you can’t afford to see each other more than twice a year, be honest and upfront about this, otherwise it might become a problem later in the relationship. Being realistic also means accepting that there will be times you’ll miss your partner, or times when you won’t be able to talk to them when you really need to. Being realistic will help you feel less helpless in such situations. This is where having a good support network will come in handy.

Studies of “adult attachment style” show that if you feel secure in your relationship, you are more likely to feel comfortable in a long-distance relationship whereas if you feel insecure, you’ll be more vulnerable to the negative effects of distance. [14] X Research source If you’re always around your partner, you might not even realize you’re insecure in your relationship until they go away. If you’re not securely attached, you’ll feel so anxious and depressed when your partner is not around, that you may even find it difficult to go about your daily tasks. [15] X Research source

If your distrust your partner and they have done nothing to deserve that distrust, chances are you have trust issues and need to work on them yourself. See a counsellor. Don’t make your trust issues your partner’s problem.

Don’t be put off by what other people say, do what you feel is right. If it makes you and your partner happy talking every night on Skype then do it. Don’t let other people spoil it for you!

Keeping busy will also help you dwell less on what your partner is doing/how you aren’t together. Being in a long distance relationship can improve the overall relationship over time because it helps both partners learn how to live independently while also being in a relationship. Even after you’re in the same place, both of you will know how to be an individual who happens to also be in a partnership.

TogetherTube lets you enjoy music and videos that appear on YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud together while chatting. [19] X Research source Web plugins (for example, ShowGoers for Google Chrome) also exist that can help you sync up your Netflix accounts, making the struggle of starting a movie or show at the same time much easier. [20] X Research source

Spritz the letters with perfume or cologne. Include dried flower petals in the envelope. Kiss the pages with lipstick on/seal the envelope with a kiss. Write on fancy stationery and use fancy sealing wax and a stamp to seal the envelope.

Just think, you can look forward to seeing them and it makes the time when you’re together more special. Make sure that when you see each other you go out and visit places, and do things together!