I don't believe in long-distance relationships, since the whole point of a relationship is to face life's ups and downs together.
On the other hand, I highly recommend long distance friendships. I have several friends who live outside of the area who have been key to my support system.
Rather than sharing meals or drinks, these friendships are built on phone calls and e-mails. The communications is a string of stories traded back and forth. These long-distance relationships focus on story telling, which can very effective therapy for life's ups and downs.
Also, the long distance relationships also make it unnecessary to see my other friends all the time. Sure, I am always up for spending time with people, but I no longer see any one friend on a weekly basis. In fact, I prefer to catch up with friends once a month or so. In the meantime, I am off to live and create some stories.
