It’s almost a guarantee that at some point in each of our lives, we are going to have a best friend that doesn’t live anywhere near us. Whether it’s a temporary situation or a permanent one, constantly being far away from one of your closest people is often one of the harder aspects of life. Throughout my own life, even before I turned five, I have had best friends that live far away. My first experience with this was when my neighborhood best friend permanently moved halfway across the country. The next time was when I moved several hours away from some of my other really great friends around the age of four. In high school, I spent a summer working in California and made a few friends along the way. One of them is still to this day a best friend of mine, even though she is still in California and I in Ohio. The girl who became my closest friend at my high school moved all the way to Washington for a year after we graduated, and that was pretty rough. Even in college, most of my friends do not live near me, but we make the best of it when we aren’t at school together. And ultimately that’s what it’s all about: making the best of a not-so-great situation in order to maintain those great friendships. Thus, I am here to tell you about some of the benefits of having faraway friends.

1. You have an excuse to travel and go visit them.

Of course there is nothing better than physically spending time with your friends, and having a friend that lives far away is the perfect excuse to pack your bags and go see them whenever you can. Who doesn’t love traveling when it means you get to see someone you love?

2. They have an excuse to come visit you.

It works both ways! My distant friends and I actually take turns visiting each other. Once I go visit them, it’s their turn the next time around to come see me. Your faraway friend doesn’t seem so far away when they are fully immersed in your daily life while visiting.

3. You both get to plan fun visits.

Half the fun of taking a trip to see someone is planning all the adventures you will have once you meet again. One time I schemed with my best friend’s mother in order to surprise my friend with a Christmas visit. I flew out to California on Christmas Eve meanwhile my friend had no idea I was coming. The look on her face when I walked in the room unexpectedly to meet her was absolutely priceless. Times like these allow you to make memories that you will truly never forget.

4. Your life is so much more enriched.

Friends in faraway places give you the benefit of experiencing life in another place, whether it be a different state or even country. If nothing else, you get to hear about what life is like in a different area of the country or world. Whenever you do get the chance to visit, there’s nothing quite like experiencing another way of life.

5. Seeing each other is that much sweeter.

Not getting see or even talk to your faraway friend as much as your other friends is always hard. But those times when you do get to talk or visit are that much better. It causes you to not take a single moment of that friendship for granted, you learn to truly cherish it.

Maintaining a friendship from a distance is never easy, but they are worth putting effort into. At the end of the day, physical distance between two friends doesn’t matter, because the strength of their relationship is able to reach beyond any amount of miles.