When we’re younger and planning big life moves like going to college or moving city for an exciting job opportunity, we make ride-or-die promises to stay in touch with old friends. After all, childhood friendships can be intense, and at that age, the idea of going without those all-important friendships can feel unbearable.

When we have friends as an adult, however, those relationships tend to be far more fragmented and sidelined in place of work, family commitments, and so on, meaning that we often just stop putting in the effort if we, or one of those friends, moves away. Subsequently, it’s all too easy to lose track of people who might once have meant a lot to you and, over time, you may find yourself struggling to maintain any friendship for more than a few years.

This could result in a pretty lonely experience, but the good news is that it needn’t be your reality. There are plenty of ways to keep in touch with even your adult friends through countless moves. Sure, it might mean putting in a little effort, but it needn’t be as difficult as you think. Simply keep on reading to find out how you can maintain close friendships despite the distance!

Always arrange the next meetup

Long-distance friendships are often punctuated by messages like ‘we should do something soon’, but this is one of the worst mistakes you can make. These vague promises, offered as a faux form of contact without any real commitment, don’t result in any real friendship-based progress. And, over time, even this small olive branch might vanish.

Instead, you need to be proactive about taking real steps to keep long-distance friendships alive. And, this starts with always ensuring that there’s another date in the diary. By setting a date and plan for your next meetup before you part, you avoid any vague promises or slipped attempts at getting together. Instead, you can get that date in the diary and ensure that, even if life gets too busy to message each other, you’ll definitely meet up in the future.

Find ways to stay in touch that work for YOU!

We live in a modern age, which means that there are a multitude of ways to stay in touch with long-distance friends. From Zoom calls to a good old phone chat or even just a quick WhatsApp session, you can now chat with distant friends in any way that suits you. And, that means there’s no excuse for letting those friendships fizzle.

Simply take a little time and effort to work out the best forms of contact for you and the friendship in question. After all, life can be busy, and if you only try to have lengthy phone calls, you may keep pushing them and pushing them until you don’t bother with contact at all. Yet, you could’ve just said everything in a Whatsapp message which would take half the time and would keep that friendship going strong for much longer. So, don’t be afraid to test things out, and if you feel that one type of contact is growing strained or struggling to fit in with your life, then don’t hesitate to switch to another!

Make the most of long-distance events

If lockdown taught us anything, it’s that you don’t necessarily need to meet up to do things ‘together’. This is the age of things like Zoom parties, virtual quiz nights, and more. In fact, when you put your mind to it, you’ll be able to do most of the things that you would do with friends in person via technology.

This could be as simple as having a ‘face-to-face’ chat on a platform like Zoom. Equally, you could have an online party where you play games, drink together, and share music via a streamed Spotify playlist. You could even enjoy your old favourite programs or films together virtually by finding out how to watch Netflix together on platforms like Teleparty. You name it, and there’s probably a way to make it work despite the distance between you!

Accept silent periods

In an ideal world, we would share continual contact with our long-distance friends to keep things fresh, relevant, and at the forefront of our minds. But that isn’t always how life goes. Sometimes, busy periods at work or tough times with sick kids etc. at home mean that we may go weeks or months without contacting even our closest friends.

A large part of keeping long-distance friendships alive simply comes from acknowledging that, sometimes, you won’t be in contact. That doesn’t mean that person isn’t thinking of you, or that you might as well give the friendship up for dead. It just means that life is getting in the way, but keep in mind that you will get back in touch when you have the time to do so. Certainly don’t be afraid to message a long-distance friend just because it’s been a few months since you last talked. Chances are that they’ve been meaning to message you too, and that they’ll still be thrilled to hear whatever you have to say.

Address conflicts openly

Fallouts happen with even long-distance friendships, either because someone misinterpreted a message, or because of the frustrations of distance itself. Either way, it’s much easier when a friend is far away to just let annoyances slide, or result in lengthy periods of silence that become increasingly difficult for both parties to break.

This is how long-distance friendships often die, and it’s something that you can overcome by addressing these conflicts as openly as you would if you were speaking with that person face-to-face. If you’re honest about hurt feelings from, say, a wrongly read message, then it’s far easier to clear miscommunications or grievances right away, saving you from those dreaded silent periods that could soon become the end of that friendship.

Adult friendships are difficult at the best of times, let alone when you add distance into the mix. But, there’s no reason you can’t bridge the miles with your mates using these top tips.

Out Of Sight Needn't Mean Out Of Mind With These Top Tips For Long-Distance Friendships