Long-distance friendships. They may not always be easy, but they’re definitely worth it! From Texas to Australia, I’ve created life-long connections with some amazing people and I couldn’t be more grateful to call them my friend. Some of my long-distance friends I was blessed with from birth, others I met along the way. But each one is incredibly special.
I find that one of the greatest signs of a wonderful, long-distance friendship is when you can go extended periods of time without speaking to or seeing each other, (because you know, sometimes life gets in the way!) but you can always, no matter what, pick right back up where you left off. It’s like you never miss a beat with each other.
Long-distance friendships do have their challenges however. Especially in times like these! A few of my best friends live in NYC, which is luckily just a short plane ride away. It’s an easy weekend trip and FaceTime is always handy in the meantime. With some of my other friendships, we have a good 10,000 miles in between us and a large time difference. So organizing calls where both of us are actually awake becomes a little more complicated.
Thankfully, there are so many ways to keep each other posted and up to date, especially in the age of social media. Here are five fun ways to keep in touch with your long-distance friends:
Send Each Other Postcards
There was a point in my life (pre-COVID) where I was traveling overseas for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, this means every one of my friends became long-distance, instead of just some of them. Each time I reached a new destination the first thing on my to-do list was buying postcards. I absolutely loved sending postcards back home and using it as a fun way to keep in touch with my friends. Everyone enjoys receiving a little something in the mail! There is also something much more special about a handwritten note vs a text message or an email. It’s much more personal and meaningful.
I knew that I was never going to get a postcard back because I was moving around a lot and didn’t have a permanent address, but that never bothered me. It meant so much to me to be able to send them and I know my friends really appreciated receiving them.
Sending postcards to your long-distance friends is a simple, quick, and easy gesture. It’s not something you need to plan out or think about ahead of time. It can be a little surprise in the mail for your friend that they would never expect and as long as you have a permanent address (unlike me at the time) chances are you can expect a little surprise back.
Cook Together- Virtually
A good friend of mine that lives in Charlotte, NC mentioned this one a while back. We haven’t tried it yet, but I absolutely love the idea and I’m sure we will get around to it eventually. Considering that we all have to eat dinner, why not do it together! Pick a night that works well for both of you and decide on a recipe ahead of time. That way you have a little bit of notice to pick up all of your ingredients. A plus is picking out a dish that neither of you has tried before because it keeps things interesting! While over Facetime, Zoom, or any platform that works for you, crack open a bottle of wine, cheers through the screen, and start making dinner together.
Once you’ve finished preparing your meals, sit down at the table with your virtual chat and share a nice dinner together. It will be a good switch up from eating dinner while watching Netflix and it will be a fun, and hopefully delicious bonding experience.
Keep A Funny Meme Train Going
This is one of my favorite things I have going on with my long-distance friends. And it’s a no brainer type of activity. While scrolling through Instagram, you undoubtedly come across funny memes that make you laugh or bring a little happiness to your day. Why not share that with the people you are closest to. . .even when you’re far apart! Keep the meme train going and add to it often. It’s really nice to have a chat with all of your funny memes in one place so you can scroll back through and have a good laugh from time to time. You’ll both be able to appreciate it!
Start A Long-Distance Book Club
I haven’t personally tried this one yet but I think it’s a brilliant idea! It’s obviously quite easy to get wrapped up in a show and have that to connect over but I think reading a book together goes a long way. I also think this one could be a bit more fun if you have 3-4 long-distance friends all in on the book club idea together. You can either leave one person in charge of picking the book, have everyone throw in an idea and decide together, or go in a rotating order so each person gets a turn to choose. There’s really no wrong way to do it!
Once you’ve decided on your book, set some dates so that even if you’re not all on the same page figuratively, you’re all at least going at a steady pace and will be at similar stopping points for discussions. If you’re stuck on what book to start with, check out this article to get some ideas.
Plan A Future Trip Somewhere in the Middle. . .Or Far Away!
Nothing beats having really fun plans to look forward to. Especially when it involves seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a while and a potential vacation. It may be a little difficult to do at the moment with so much of the world closed off, but start thinking about future ideas together. If you live in a country that’s starting to open back, see if you can’t decide on a potential location somewhere in the middle. It’s always a fun idea to choose a place that neither of you have been to before. It becomes a brand new experience for the both of you and you’ll undoubtedly make incredible new memories together.
If finances are an issue, another idea could be making a trip to one another’s hometowns. Having a place to stay can cut down on expenses and it’s always fun having a friend come visit where you live and getting to play tour guide for a weekend. Especially if your friend has never been to your city before.
Now, if finances are not an issue, you could always start dreaming about a faraway destination trip together. As I mentioned, things are definitely iffy right now, which makes trip planning a bit difficult. However, there is no harm in having a dream for the future! For those of you who live in the USA and want to start thinking up a fun destination trip with your long-distance friend, here is a list of countries opening their borders to American tourists.
If you want to start planning a trip but are feeling a little unsure about travel at the moment, check out my recent blog post about what to expect while traveling during COVID.
Long-distance Friendship is a Two-Way Street
Long-distance friendships can definitely be challenging. Depending on where you both live, there can be years between visits and plenty of time where you’re not sure when you’ll see each other next. The most important thing to remember is that friendship is a two-way street and both parties need to make an honest effort. Life can certainly get in the way sometimes and it’s also important to be understanding if long periods of time go by with little contact. But as I said earlier, as long as you can always pick up where you left off, it doesn’t matter how much time goes on between phone calls or visits. Your friendship will remain strong.
I hope this post gave you some fresh ideas on keeping your long-distance friendships fun and feeling secure. Please feel free to comment with any thoughts, questions, or a favorite way you keep in touch with your long-distance friends. Happy travels!
Leave a Reply