Would relocating to a new country/ state even be worth it if I didn’t have any friends to share with it?
Friendships come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. It could be a childhood bestie that begged your parents to let sleepover so you could choreograph an iconic dance to the 90s banger. Or it could be the girl with the cute bag that you met at a friend’s 27th birthday party and randomly hit it off with. Friendships, especially adult ones, are complicated. They are hard to find, hard to maintain, and most of all – hard to let go of if things don’t work out. But it doesn’t have to be like that.
We live abroad or in another state on and off for years and we still consider some of our home friends to be our closest friends to date. Sure we go through ebbs and flows, but we all make sure to stay in touch. Over the years, we tend to come up with various strategies that make our long-distance friendships work and when we really start to miss our friends, just refresh yourselves on these tips and make sure to fit into these strategies.
It’s not always easy, but with a little effort and a bit of creativity, you and your long-distance friends could be closer than ever!
The Tough Reality
Before we move on to the fun stuff, I want to quickly address a hard reality. If I’m being completely honest, it’s likely that you won’t be able to stay in touch with everyone you’d like to, in the way you may like to.
As we get older, we get involved with jobs/internships/studies, start families, pick up hobbies, and make new friends, staying in touch with everyone gets more complicated. And of course, moving far away only makes it a little harder.
You may have some friendships that will naturally and slowly fade with time. Others may end more abruptly and be harder to let go of.
Put In The Effort
Just like they say, a little effort really does go a long way. And when it comes to being a good friend, I’ve found this statement to be more than true. All you have to do is make sure your friends know that even though you’re not physically there with them, you’ll still always be there for them.
When you miss your best friends, check in regularly and don’t take the usual “Nothing has changed. I’m living my same old boring life and have nothing to update you on” crap for an answer. Ask them questions about their lives, their jobs, their hobbies, and make sure you’re there to offer advice and support if needed. Also, let them know that updating you even on the small things that to them may seem incredibly insignificant, to you will mean the world. Gift them some comfy, quirky, and cool boxer shorts in which they can have a relaxed day and y’all can chill together doing or watching anything virtually. What could be more fun than doing that?
Meet Somewhere In The Middle
It may not always be reasonable or in the budget, for you to go all the way home or for your friends to come all the way to you. But, if you can swing it, why not make a compromise! To make it more realistic and affordable for you both, look for a location to meet your friends in the middle. You and your friends can visit to countries which are less affected by COVID-19 and make sure you’re fully vaccinated before visiting to any of the countries. It’d be better if y’all check which countries are highly affected and which ones are less affected by COVID-19 and can make decisions as per that.
Not only you will get to spend some quality time together on your trip, but planning the trip itself will give you a ton of reasons to stay in touch. Just think about it- you’ll have to plan out all the little details from where you’re staying to what you’ll be doing together. You can also share all the excitement both before and after your trip. It will give you something to look forward to together and memories to look back on forever.
Things We Can Do Together
When You Miss Your Best Friend, Start Something New Together
Another great way to stay in touch or connected is to find something new and exciting to start together, such as a book, or a Netflix series, or even a class of some sort. Watching a new show or a movie together or working out together or practising yoga or taking up a new hobby along with a long-distance friend will give you tons to talk about. You’ll be able to pick each other’s brains during this shared new experience and you’ll want to stay in touch to get the other’s thoughts and opinions.
It’s All About Apps
Well, there’s really no denying that we live in a world completely consumed by technology. Luckily, when it comes to long-distance friendships technology is here to make things easier. With smartphones and laptops, it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with your friends.
Using apps to stay in touch with friends may seem like a “Duh!”, but the truth is, your apps won’t do the work for you. You have to use them right.
This Friendship Day gift your friends an exclusive combo pack of a pair of boxer shorts, a t-shirt and a mask so that they can keep safe in comfort and style!
