Everyone has a group of friends that they know lives nearby and if they ever need anything, they are a safety net for you and vice versa. But what about friends who live far away? I have a group of friends who live far away, and here's a few reasons why it's not as bad as you think.
1. You make time for each other.
There isn't any "oh, well, I was going to see you but I have to cancel...". Nope. If you say you're going to talk at 1 pm on a Friday, you're going to talk at 1 pm on a Friday. Both parties are much less flaky and tend to always take each other into account. You memorize their schedule, when they're in class, when they're working, etc. And this just means you remember when they're around and when you can message or call them.
2. It's a mini vacation if/when you see them.
You get to go on vacation and see your friends. And you probably get a tour from a local. They can take you to show you noteworthy areas of where they live, and you might even have a "hotel" to crash at for free (their house). You get to have the best of both worlds - a vacation and seeing your friend(s). The money you spent on getting there has two uses, in the end.
3. They're a haven.
Yeah. That's all I can describe my long distance friends as. A haven. They are a home away from home so to speak. Why, do you ask? Because nobody else I know knows them. If my boss annoyed me, I can talk to them without worrying they'll snitch to a coworker. If my classmate is driving me nuts, I don't need to worry about if they're secretly best friends or just friends in general. It's a special kind of anonymity. You can just be honest and get whatever you need off your chest.
4. There's little to no drama.
The one difference I noticed between my distance group and my local group - there's more drama in the local group. It's mostly due to preferences or miscommunication. In our group, there's nothing to take for granted. We don't see each other very much. We don't want to fight when we do a Skype call all together. We WANT to keep each other in our lives and we know how precious it is. I'm not saying my local group doesn't cherish each other - but distance makes the heart grow fonder. This is also true for friends.
5. You have the best, weirdest jokes.
Because of your different locations, you learn about the differences and lifestyles of these places. And yes, they turn into jokes. You poke fun of every aspect of a certain place, whether your friend fulfills that stereotype or not.
Oh, and you always try to get them to move.
