As someone who has long-distance friends and a long-distance girlfriend, I know firsthand that distance isn't any fun. However, that doesn't mean that long-distance relationships can't be fun! There are plenty of things that you can do with someone who lives far away, regardless of how many miles apart you two are.
1. Stream movies together on websites like Rabbit.
"Rabbit allows you to share content with friends, video and audio chat, and text chat within a Rabbit room. You can share content with a virtual browser (Rabbitcast) or by sharing a Chrome tab using our Share on Rabbit extension." It's a bit similar to Skype screen-sharing. It can be used to watch anything; movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, you name it!
You may not be able to go to the movies with your long-distance friend or partner, but you can certainly go to Rabbit with them. Did I mention it's free?
2. Play online video games together.
"Online video games" can range from iMessage games to connecting via X-Box, Nintendo DS, etc. The options are endless! If you enjoy the same games as your long-distance companion, then this is definitely a great idea. Even if you're not a huge gamer, it's still something to try out. There's bound to be something out there for you!
3. Good, old-fashioned snail mail.
Send letters, cards, and packages to the people you love! It's not something that only old people do. I still love receiving old-fashioned letters in the mail, and I love writing them, too. It's special to me. I keep all of my mail!
Snail mail is especially great during holidays and birthdays, or your anniversary if it's a romantic relationship.
4. Make playlists for one another.
Nothing says love like a personalized playlist, especially for music fanatics. 8tracks, YouTube, Spotify, and countless other websites can be used to make playlists. So make one for your friend/partner!
The playlist can be filled with songs that remind you of them, songs that remind you of your relationship, a list of songs they like, or anything else! I love making playlists, and I love having playlists made for me.
5. Make videos for each other, too!
It doesn't have to be an Oscar-worthy movie, just something special. I mean, "videos" is a pretty broad term. You can make anything from a plotted out mini-movie filmed with a bunch of friends, to a simple shot of you looking at the camera and delivering a message exactly to them. I've been known to do both!
For example, on Valentine's Day I sang a song for my girlfriend and uploaded the video to YouTube. Another time, I made an animated short film for one of my friends and sent it to their email. It's the thought that counts, so even if cinema isn't your strong suit, it's still a fun thing to try out!
6. Send good morning and good night texts.
Little things go a long way! This is slightly time-zone sensitive, but still. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting "good morning" or "good night" texts at other hours of the day, but that's just me. These may seem casual and pointless, but they're not!
They're really sweet, especially if your friend or partner isn't there to say hello to face-to-face. Most people love waking up and falling asleep to these texts, trust me!
7. Make art for each other.
You don't have to be Picasso for this. Let me just say, most people would appreciate a stick figure drawing. Whether it be digital or traditional, sketched or painted, figurative or abstract... who doesn't want artwork dedicated to them?
One of my best friends lives in Ohio, so we don't get to see each other in person to give each other presents. However, we have been known to draw one another and our favorite characters for each other!
8. Tag each other in memes and social media posts.
Whether it be a sappy post, a reference to a show we both like, or something completely nonsensical and witty, I love it when people tag me in stuff or send me stuff because it reminded them of me. "This made me think of you" is NOT an overrated or annoying message to send. Quite the opposite!
9. Tell each other about the part of the world you live in.
Seems obvious, right? But it's not obvious to everyone! Hearing about other peoples' cultures is fascinating! I live in New Jersey, USA, but I have friends from all over the globe. Sometimes I tell my friends from other countries (or even just different states!) about life here, and they're blown away by how different it is from where they're from, and that goes both ways!
I love learning about how life is for people on the West Coast, the South, the Midwest, or Canada, England, Australia, Japan...you name it! It's like free global studies lessons!
10. Create a group chat and introduce them to your other friends!
Note that when I say "other friends", I mean other long-distance friends AND the friends you regularly see face-to-face! Create a Discord server, mass text chat, Instagram DM convo, anything. Everyone will make even more friends this way, and the long-distance folks will feel even more immersed in the other's world.
I'm not going to lie; this can be a little bit intimidating at first, but it's so worth it.
