Being hours away from friends you used to see all the time can be hard. Sometimes these long-distance friendships are from back home, yet they go to a different college or they are friends who used to go to your school but dropped out or transferred. Either way, you miss them and want to try and keep long-distance friendships alive and stay in touch with them.
Living far away from your friends just isn’t the same as when they used to be only a walk across the hall or a quick drive away. Not being in the same location makes it a lot more difficult for you to stay in touch with each other. Managing a long-distance friendship definitely has its challenges, but it is important to try and continue communicating with those close to your heart.
Send each other care packages
Continuing to send each other cute and meaningful packages with things that you think they would like can go a long way. Whether you tell your friend you are sending them something or not, they are going to be happy to receive something from you.
If you have stuff you don’t use anymore that your long-distance friend would like, start putting together a box. As you think of them, you can continue to add things to the box. You could spend a week or two just throwing random items you don’t use or that you know your friend would love into a package.
Silly little objects that you don’t really use but that always sit on your desk are also a great and fun idea to send to a friend. Yes, your friend likely will only have them sitting around on his or her desk as well, but they will be a reminder of you. Whenever your friend looks at it, they will likely smile and think of you.
Sending brand-new items is also a fun idea, you can both send some things they may like while online shopping. If you have a few dollars to spare, try sending your friend a new lotion, outfit, book or mug to brighten up their day.
Call and facetime more than you text
Hearing your friend’s voice or seeing their face when you two are talking is much different than sending texts. Long-distance friendships require you to try and keep the connection alive, even when you are hours apart.
Texting is a useful tool for staying in touch when you are both busy, such as if you are at work or in class. But make a point to try and FaceTime, Skype, or call each other at least once a week.
Even if you don’t have big news or something super exciting to talk about, just talk! Discussing your days, weeks and what you have coming up allows the conversation to flow just as naturally as it would in person. Whether you make appointments to call each other or randomly call each other, try to stay consistent in answering and talking.
Plan visits around breaks
If you both have spring break at the same time, why not meet up? You can make an adventure or a vacation out of it by meeting at a fun, new place. Alternatively, if your breaks don’t line up, you can plan to meet and hang out during vacations or free time. It is very important that you are spending time together in-person rather than over the phone or over text.
Tell them about your new friends
You want to keep your long-distance BFF up to date about your life, even if it is about the new friends and fun things you are doing without them. Don’t feel guilty about having fun without them, maybe even have a Skype or FaceTime where you can introduce your new friends to your long-distance friend.
You have to keep in mind that you are still friends even as you make new ones. After all, keeping each other up to date on all parts of your life is important in maintaining long-distance friendships.
Continue to make new memories with your friend
It will get old if you just continue to relive past memories and give robotic updates to each other about your lives. To switch it up, you can make time to watch a Netflix series or a movie together over the phone or FaceTime or both read the same book and talk with each other, you can continue to have new experiences with each other
This is also important when you see each other in person; don’t try to force things to be a certain way, just let the conversation flow and you will have a great time making new memories, whether they are big and exciting or simply a relaxing and chill night.
Tag friends in funny things that remind you of them
If you’re scrolling through your social media feeds and see a funny meme or a post that reminds you exactly of your friend, try tagging them! It will make them laugh and show that you are thinking of them from afar.
This is a quick and easy way to stay connected with a friend who’s far away; when they see you have tagged them in something, it will get them excited to see what it is and bring a smile to their face. The little things that you do to stay in contact with your friends, like tagging each other in funny posts, are important too.
Be understanding
Long-distance friendships aren’t easy, understand that you both have changing lives and schedules so you can’t always be in constant contact the way that you want. You probably will go a few days or weeks with little to no contact, but remember to try and call your friend when you can.
A quick ten-minute conversation can go a long way. Doing your best and making an effort is all you can really do to keep your long-distance friendship alive.
