Long Distance Online Dating: When to Change Your Location
By: Claire Brent
The old warning about long distance relationships is that they rarely work out. Almost everyone who has been in one or has heard of someone who has been in one has a story to tell about two people who couldn’t make it work. This adage, however does not make it true. As with any relationship, you will only get out of a long distance relationship what you put into it. Time, effort, honest and sometimes money are required to make a long distance relationship work.
When Will it End?
When dating long distance, there must be an end in sight, even if it is far, far down the road. Dating long distance online is the same way. Although the decision of when to close in on the long distance by relocating is up to the individuals in the relationship, there will come a point when there needs to be a definite time frame for it. The relationship will simply not last otherwise.
So when will it end? The most you get to know someone when dating online, it is important to continue to move onto new levels, just as in a person-to-person relationship. From emails to phone calls and maybe even to webcam visits, dating long distance online has a shelf life. The next level may be meeting in person, however each person then retires to their separate corners of the world. If anything this may make the long distance online relationship even more difficult. It can make or break it. If you discover that you really want to be closer to the person you’ve been dating online, there will come a point where someone will have to move.
Moving Closer vs. Moving On
Once the point has been reached where you’ve decided that you want to take the online, long distance relationship even further by moving, the next decision is, who’s it going to me? You or me? While both people have their own lives and sets of friends and loved ones and jobs, the online relationship, just as with any other must have two people who are willing to sacrifice for the other in order to survive and thrive. Making the decision to move on may be difficult, but it may be an easier one in the long run if two people can’t decide who is going to make the major life change. If you can’t come to an agreement, the sad truth is that the relationship will ultimately fizzle out and both people will go their separate ways. This why the face-to-face meeting can make or break the relationship.
Whether it be after a few months or even a few years of being involved in a long distance online relationship, the people involved will reach a point where someone will have to move closer or move on. This is a decision that both must not only agree one, but also agree to make work. It’s a big commitment – both to be the one who moves and one who does and both people in the relationship must be open and honest in regards to how they feel about it.
Claire Brent is the author of the free 7 days mini course “Online Dating Mastery”. Discover the essential steps of a highly succesful online dating experience by signing up free at http://onlinedating.ezguide2.com/newsletter.html