“Obviously, a long-distance relationship is hard. But, like anything worth having, you make it work.“
Leona Lewis, Musician
Pros and Cons of Long-Distance Relationships
Long distance relationships have become quite popular over the past decades.
Couples are often separated due to their different work locations or due to various other reasons, yet they still want to stay in a relationship with each other.
In such cases, long-distance relationships can be a great way to live your life.
However, apart from the many advantages of long-distance relationships, there are also some downsides related to this concept.
In this article, the pros and cons of long-distance relationships are discussed.
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Advantages of Long-Distance Relationships
- Long distance relationships give you time for yourself
- May be your only option to maintain a relationship
- You can field your options
- Your partner cannot annoy you
- You can focus on your own goals in life
- Long distance relationships give you more flexibility
- You may be able to build trust
- You will have more leisure time
- Technology can help to maintain long distance relationships
- Long-distance relationships can keep the fire in relationships
- You will appreciate each other more
- You don’t have to spend time with family members you don’t like
- Can make sense if your partner can’t come to you due to legal reasons
Long distance relationships give you time for yourself
One crucial advantage of long distance relationships is that you will have more time for yourself.
This can be extremely beneficial, although many people might think about it as a positive thing.
If you have more time to spend alone, you will much better realize what you really want and whether your relationship is part of your future plans.
Moreover, many people in our society are also quite stressed since they have to do so many things all day long.
Hence, if you are one of those stressed people who urgently need a break, long-distance relationships can also be much better in this regard compared to conventional relationships since you will simply not have to take care of your partner too much.
Instead, you will have much more leisure, which also gives you the opportunity to relax.
May be your only option to maintain a relationship
For some people, long distance relationships are also the only way to stay in the relationship with their partner.
For instance, if partners work at different geographical locations, a normal relationship will simply not be possible if both partners want to keep their jobs.
Thus, long-distance relationships can also be necessary but can even be beneficial regarding career opportunities.
You can field your options
Another benefit of long distance relationships is that you will also be able to go out and to field your options.
If you are in a conventional relationship, it will be much harder to find a new partner since your partner will be around you most of the time.
However, if you have a long-distance relationship, you can go to a bar or to a club on weekends and hook up on a regular basis.
Sure, this might not be nice towards your partner.
However, if you are just not the loyal type of person, long-distance relationships can also help you to cheat.
Your partner cannot annoy you
Let’s be honest. From time to time, everyone gets annoyed by their partner sooner or later.
Hence, if you are around your partner all the time or in case you even live together in a conventional relationship, chances are that you will have disputes quite often.
However, if you have a long-distance relationship instead, your partner will not be able to annoy you too much and chances are that you will not have too many conflicts.
You can focus on your own goals in life
It is also quite important that you focus on your own goals in life.
Sure, relationships are important for many people, yet they can end sooner or later.
Thus, it is crucial that you are the best version of yourself and that you always improve since nobody can take those skills away from you.
Moreover, if your relationship ends at one point in time, you will have quite an easy time finding a new mate if you are successful in life.
Long distance relationships give you more flexibility
Another upside of long distance relationships is that you will also be much more flexible compared to a conventional relationship.
You can change your plans whenever you want and don’t have to ask your partner whether he or she is fine with it or not.
You may be able to build trust
Proponents of long-distance relationships also often claim that partners can build high levels of trust during those relationships.
In fact, if those relationships are successful, you will also trust your partner much more when you finally stay at the same location one day in the future.
You will have more leisure time
In general, if you stay in a long-term relationship, you will also have much more time for yourself.
You can spend this additional leisure for all the things that make you happy.
Maybe you want to learn a new hobby or you want to start a side hustle.
Whatever you want to do with your time, you can do more of it if you don’t have a partner in the same geographical area.
Technology can help to maintain long distance relationships
It has also become easier to maintain a long-distance relationship over the past decade since we can use our latest technology to stay in contact with each other.
For instance, you can make video conferences and see each other every night.
Long-distance relationships can keep the fire in relationships
Many relationships lose their fire sooner or later.
If people see each other too often, they get fed up with each other and the burning desire will no longer be there.
However, since you will not see your partner too often in long distance relationships, chances are that you will be able to keep the fire in your relationship much better.
You will appreciate each other more
Another chance of long-distance relationships is that you will appreciate each other much more when you finally meet up.
In fact, many couples who live together don’t value each other’s company too much anymore since they simply see each other too often.
However, since you only see your partner on rare occasions with long-distance relationships, chances are that you will really enjoy your time with him or her.
You don’t have to spend time with family members you don’t like
If you are in a conventional relationship, you will also have to spend significant amounts of time with family members of your partner you actually don’t like at all.
You can also save yourself plenty of time in this regard through long-term relationships since also the relation between you and your partner’s family will often be much weaker.
Can make sense if your partner can’t come to you due to legal reasons
Long-distance relationships may also make sense if your partner cannot live with you due to several legal reasons.
For instance, your partner may not get citizenship in your country and may therefore have to stay in his or her own country.
Hence, long distance relationships can also make sense if legal reasons prevent you from living together in conventional relationships.
Disadvantages of Long Distance Relationships
- You will miss your partner quite often
- Long distance relationships may lead to a feeling of loneliness
- Partners may cheat more often
- Feeling of insecurity due to long-distance relationships
- Jealousy is a big problem in long distance relationships
- Long distance relationships can be emotionally demanding
- Mental issues
- Many long distance relationships will end sooner or later
- Long-distance relationships are only a temporary solution
- You may develop into different directions pretty soon
- Physical intimacy is completely missing
You will miss your partner quite often
Apart from the advantages of long-distance relationships, there are also some problems related to this concept.
For instance, one disadvantage of long distance relationships is that partners may often miss each other.
In fact, many partners will not be able to deal with the fact that they are separated from each other over a longer period of time.
Hence, if you are a person who can’t deal with those things, chances are that long-distance relationships are not for you.
Long distance relationships may lead to a feeling of loneliness
Many people also feel quite lonely during their long-distance relationship.
When they come home in the evening, their partner will not be there for them and they will also have nobody to talk to about potential problems.
Partners may cheat more often
Another downside of long-distance relationships is that partners will often also be much more likely to cheat on each other.
If your mate is not around, you will be much more tempted to go out and to search for another mate.
Hence, be aware of the fact that your partner will likely cheat on you sooner or later in your long-distance relationship.
Feeling of insecurity due to long-distance relationships
Some people in long-distance relationships also develop a certain feeling of insecurity.
If you are in such a relationship, you will not know what your partner is doing right now.
Moreover, you may also not know where you stand with your relationship and if it has the chance to turn into marriage later on.
Jealousy is a big problem in long distance relationships
Many long-distance relationships also don’t work out due to the fact that people are often too jealous and don’t trust their partner too much.
In fact, jealousy is a quite bad feeling and it may greatly decrease your overall quality of life when you always have to fear that your partner cheats on you.
Long distance relationships can be emotionally demanding
In general, long distance relationships are emotionally challenging and if you are not willing to take this emotional burden, you may be far better off with just going for a conventional relationship instead.
Mental issues
Due to the emotional burden related to long-distance relationships, some people even develop serious mental issues like depression in the long run.
Some people simply can’t deal with the high level of insecurity in those relationships and may suffer from serious mental illness sooner or later.
Hence, if you are not a mentally stable person, long distance relationships may not be for you at all.
Many long distance relationships will end sooner or later
In general, the chances that long-distance relationships will be successful are extremely low, especially in our nowadays age where it is quite easy to find a new mate.
Thus, don’t expect that your long distance relationship will work out in the long run and make sure that you have backup plans for the case you break up with your partner in the future.
Long-distance relationships are only a temporary solution
Another problem with long-distance relationships is that they are only a temporary solution.
Sooner or later, those relationships will end most often and you should therefore make sure that you have plans regarding how to switch your long-distance relationship into a normal relationship in the future.
You may develop into different directions pretty soon
Partners who don’t see each other too often due to long-distance relationships will also often develop in different directions.
Sooner or later, you guys will likely no longer share the same values and the relationship may end due to that pretty soon.
Physical intimacy is completely missing
Another main issue with long-distance relationships is that you will also have no physical intimacy with your partner at all.
In fact, this is another big reason why these kinds of relationships fail sooner or later.
Top 10 Long Distance Relationships Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Long Distance Relationships Pros | Long Distance Relationships Cons |
|---|---|
| Long distance relationships give you freedom | Long distance relationships can be exhausting |
| May give you more leisure | Long distance relationships lead to cheating |
| May be necessary to maintain a relationship | Can be emotionally demanding |
| Can be helpful for legal reasons | May lead to a feeling of loneliness |
| Your partner cannot annoy you too much | Some people simply can’t handle it |
| You can focus on your own goals | Many long distance relationships end |
| Long distance relationships may build trust | Can only be a temporary solution |
| Technology may facilitate those relationships | Mental problems of long-distance relationships |
| You may appreciate each other more | Physical intimacy is missing |
| Attraction may not fade | You may develop into different directions |
Should You Have A Long-Distance Relationship?
As we have seen before, there are numerous important advantages and disadvantages of long-distance relationships.
In my opinion, long distance relationships should only be a temporary solution since there are simply too many problems related to this concept and those relationships will most often not work out in the long run.
Sources
https://bestlifeonline.com/long-distance-relationships-secrets/
https://markmanson.net/long-distance-relationships
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
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