Long distance love is exciting! You get to have the best of both worlds--your space and time to yourself like you were single and someone there who just wants to tell you good night, every night. It's bliss.
I know, my boyfriend and I met in Paris and went back and forth for two years. Sure I had incentive to stick it through. Who the hell doesn't want to go back and forth to Paris? When there's that connection and you swear you've known this person in another life, or you're meant to in this one, then nothing stands in the way of making it work.
Please don't be afraid of getting into one of these yourself, especially if your lover is a world away in New Zealand or out on tour or shooting a movie in an exotic location for six months.
Long distance relationships absolutely, positively do work and while I was starting mine, I happened upon a lot of happy couples who were making it work too, from greater stretches of distances too.
There are always the horror stories and disappointments, but I'm a firm believer that if you're right for each other and you're both ready for something serious, then nasally nagging thoughts be damned!
Here are some guidelines to having a successful long distance relationship:
*Use your time apart to be productive. Build your business, take classes, put in extra time getting ahead (or just keeping your job) at work.
*Expectations: The time apart builds up that person into such a hunk muffin that when you finally see each other it's like, wait, did you gain weight? But that's one of the best things about LDR's, they're carried on the backs of your personalities and not the physical stuff. Long distance relationships exercise deeper connections. There's always that awkward five minutes each time you see each other again, but it evaporates pretty quickly and then you're just happy to be there.
*Computer love: At first it was incredibly self-concious using a webcam. You want to look at yourself more than the other person! But once you get used to it, watch out! It's not as good as the real thing, but it's an intimate way to connect. Make sure to set aside at least two hours a week for uninterrupted time talking on the webcam. They're easy to install and most laptops come with them now or you can buy one super cheap online. I recommend setting up a free account with Skype to do video conferencing and chat.
*Have rituals: Because of the time difference, my boyfriend would call me to say goodnight when I was just getting off of work and I would write him an email telling him about my day before I went to bed. Forgetting to do these things was sacrilege. It needs to be, in order to have some structure that makes your relationship feel, well, normal.
For more tips on making long distance love last (as long as it has to) check out this post from WalletPop.com.