Many people will tell you that long distance relationships don’t last. But what do they know? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” says an old proverb. And currently, 14 million couples claim they’re in long distance relationships.
Sometimes couples are separated by work or college, while in the internet era they may have met each other online. For this reason, we’re curious to find out whether or not it’s genuinely possible to have a relationship with someone who can’t be with you in person.
If you and your loved one are about to be in a long distance relationship (or already in one), obviously you will need to spend more time and effort to make it work. Since you are physically unable to share daily life experiences together, you will have to find other ways to keep in touch on a regular basis.
It goes without saying, long distance relationships are built on trust and commitment. As long as you are both serious about making it work, and have an end goal in mind, you can be among those who withstand the test of time and stay together in the long-term.
Statistics indicate that married folks are not a big fan of long distance relationships, only at 2.9 percent. Nonetheless, a huge percentage (70 percent!) of engaged couples have been in a long distance relationship at some point.
As to the percentage of engagements that have been called off while in a long-distance relationship, we don’t have numbers for that. However, we do know that overall, 40 percent of long distance relationships eventually do come to an end.
It seems like the average amount of time it takes for a long distance relationship to break up, if it’s not going to work out, is 4.5 months. So once you get past that point, you will statistically have a better chance of succeeding.
You will need to have a realistic plan on how you can make up for the time spent apart, and you’ll have to anticipate changes that may impact your routine of communicating with each other. After all, communication is the most important aspect of a relationship, even more so when it’s the long-distance type.
So bring on the video calls at odd hours of the day, gifts and care packages sent in the mail, and watching movies together (yet apart) on Skype! If you can, try to visit each other at least once every six months, even if the distance covered is hundreds of miles.
The infographic below is based on the long distance relationship statistics published by Statistic Brain Research Institute.
You can also find more infographics at Visualistan