I was having a conversation with a friend the other day when I asked them how their friend who recently moved to New York was doing. They simply replied with, “I haven’t talked to them since they left." This bewildered me. They had been really good friends and spent every weekend together for a few years now. How could it not matter how they were doing? Sure they live on opposite coasts now, but how could this relationship not mean anything anymore because of a geographical location? We do live in 2016; a simple text takes just a few seconds to formulate and send.

Then I realized that I am guilty of this as well. There have been many friends of mine that I have just shrugged off because I didn’t want to spend the time and effort communicating with them if I wasn’t going to see them anytime soon. It made me think about the benefits of keeping in touch with the people that you “used to know."

1. Someone to lean on

When you move to a new city or country, often you know very few people. Having a support system that you can lean on when you are feeling culture shock is so helpful. You can always FaceTime your best friend to show them new sites that you have found and chat about the good ole times.

2. Another excuse to go on vacation

If you are the friend that didn’t move away, you just got a cool perk just by being friends with the person who moved away. You can always depend on them to let you borrow their couch or let you inhabit their guest room while you explore their new city.

3. An outside perspective

Sometimes it can be hard to see an answer to a problem when you are right in the middle of it. A friend who isn’t in the same social scene as you can help look at the problem from the outside. They will be able to give you an unbiased and objective solution.

4. Someone who knows your past

There’s nothing like talking to someone who knows every little thing there is to know about you. Like that time in fifth grade you got detention for scribbling your and your best friend’s names in permanent marker on the playground. Or that you have an extreme passion for mangos.

5. A life long friendship

It is so important to keep the people who care about you around and show them that you care about them. Good friendships don’t always come easily during every stage of life. However, if you already have a life long friendship, then you’ll never have to worry about not having anyone to talk to.