What was your Long Distance Relationship like?

Oh how I yearn for mine again.

It was the most exciting 3 years of my life, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! A few weeks in NYC, a few weeks in the UK, a few months apart, those awesome reunions, talking on the phone for hours on end...reunion sex, goodbye sex...

So I was wondering, does anyone have any fond memories of theirs? Did you enjoy it? Go on, tell us.

It's funny that you bring this up because I was discussing this with someone recently.

I have really fond memories of my LDR. It was sad and painful at times, but wonderful too. We had all hours phone calls, tons of email and amazing reunions. We spent time in great hotels, meeting up when and where we could. DH even flew from Sweden to LA to surprise me for my birthday and stayed for 2 nights. The best was 2 weeks we spent in a completely secluded cabin on a fjord in Sweden in the middle of winter!

I miss my LDR, but I'm very relieved we don't have to say goodbye for too long anymore. 

Non-existent.

I've never been one to do a LDR.

Honestly, the LD part of the transatlantic LDR I had with my ex was pretty awful, even when the relationship itself was fine and wonderful.  I never knew it was possible to miss someone's physical presence that much- the best bit was looking forward to his visits!  I honestly didn't find the distance exciting at all and drove myself mad trying to think up ways for us to finally live in the same country.

When we broke up (for a reason unrelated to the distance, in the end), I swore I'd never do it again, but then ended up in an LDR with my now-husband two months later.  Thankfully, I had already arranged to do my masters in the UK while I was with the ex- if that plan hadn't been in place, I'm not sure I would have been able to do two LDRs back to back.

But, it wasn't all terrible. The summer that my husband and I spent apart between our first in person meeting and my moving over for uni we scheduled regular online dates where we would listen to comedy shows on BBC radio together or play random games...I have fond memories of those first dates.

Well, lots of crying, but the reunions were joyous, of course.  We did tend to get really down halfway into our visits thinking about having to say goodbye, which always made the visits feel bittersweet.  It was tough, but definitely worth it.  It was very romantic.  I miss the long, lovely, romantic emails we used to send to each other every day, but that's about it.  I'm so glad to be with him now!  And now and then, I still get a cheeky little email at work when he is upstairs in his office and I am downstairs in the lobby.... 

I don't miss mine at all. Lonely, stressful, and expensive is how I remember it.  I am soo looking forward to years and years of domestic boredom, and getting annoyed with him for leaving his towels on the floor and wearing mismatched socks.  Sounds wonderful! 

I'm not saying I'd rather have the LDR over what I have now, but I do miss gestures like him sending me a poem every night before he went to sleep  and a sweet email every morning. Silly me, I thought that'd something we'd continue doing after I moved over here too.

Oi!  You're insane!  Yearning for an LDR?  You can have mine anytime you'd like to swap.  I just came back from a visit to the UK yesterday and am feeling the worst I have ever felt. The first day of our vists are always the happiests moments of my life, but then I agree with Jewlz, they become bittersweet because I begin to think about saying goodbye, which are the most painful moments of my life.  Its a roller coaster of emotions and I cannot wait for it to end (happily preferably!)  I can do without loving emails or random things in the post - being able to touch or kiss your loved one any time you want far outweighs the forced romantic gestures necessary to keep an LDR going.  LDRs = puffy crying eyes, lots of time spent in airports, a lot of counting of vacation days, expensive plane tickets and minimal time together. My own little form of lonely, empty hell at the moment.  (pardon my extra bitterness today...)

Intense, stressful and lonely a lot of the time.  It was exciting at first though.  I much prefer being together in person.

I am extremely lucky that the long distance part of our relationship didn't last very long and that I was able to visit (and got let in!) for long periods at a time.  The two times we were separated were emotionally intense--especially the first time when we were not yet engaged so everything just felt so tenuous.  The second time was emotionally easier, but dealing with all of the visa stuff made up for it!

I enjoyed it at the time but looking back, I see it for what it was - which is completely unrealistic.

It was nice having something that one could see in a rom-com, but the reality of being married in a day to day relationship without all the ups and downs of an LDR was completely sobering and a bit of a letdown..... Sure the depression was gone of being separated from a loved one....but so was the high of the reunion and intense passion. 

What you're left with...is normalcy.

I kind of liked mine, and miss it at times!

I Loved that I had Rich and my social life with the girls and I didn't have to compromise. (Not that I would or ever did, but I know SOOOO many people that do)  I was lucky also that I saw Rich pretty often in the 11 months we did the LDR.  He came to me in NYC pretty much every four to six weeks Once for two weeks and the rest of the time for long weekends.  I went over a few times for a week or so at a time.

But I went and ruined it   I told him I thought it would be better if one of us came over, so we could see what everyday life was like together. (I think that is really, really important)  It ended up being me, since I was thinking about leaving my job and he could support me easier then I could him. (He also owned a house while I had a small studio apartment) 

I Loved that I had Rich and my social life with the girls and I didn't have to compromise. (Not that I would or ever did, but I know SOOOO many people that do)  I was lucky also that I saw Rich pretty often in the 11 months we did the LDR.  He came to me in NYC pretty much every four to six weeks Once for two weeks and the rest of the time for long weekends.  I went over a few times for a week or so at a time.

You know I think if the time between visits had been as short as yours I might have had a different perspective on the LDR situation.  In fact now that I think about it, I do- for the first year I lived in the UK, DH and I were still in an LDR of sorts, but it was just 60 miles and we saw each other about twice a month.  I didn't mind that so much.  But when I did transatlantic, it was 5-6 months in between visits of a week or two.  That was awful because you're constantly thinking about how much you miss them, and then even when you do get together, you start thinking about having to separate again for months and months.

Does being in an LDR after you get married count? I'm in the US now, and DH is in the UK. I've been here a month and we've got another 3ish to go.

It sucks.

...reunion sex, goodbye sex...

Especially now having a kid - this seems to be the fondest memory.   

Actually talking, sitting down, taking time to talk to each other via webcam or by phone and travelling (at a day's notice sometimes).