Fri, 19 March 2010
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With more partnerships between people in Zurich and Geneva, dating professional Trea Tijmens writes about Long Distance Relationships (LDRs).With the number of matches made between clients in Zurich and Geneva on the rise, I’d like to write about Long Distance Relationships (LDRs). According to Wikipedia, “a long-distance relationship is typically an intimate relationship that takes place when the partners are separated by a considerable distance.”
Distance is a relative concept
Clients who are, for example, Canadian or American often report being open to meeting a partner who lives up to a 1.5 hour drive from them. Clients who are not exposed to regularly driving longer distances could define a 1.5 hour distance from a partner as a LDR.
However, we also have an American client who, now that he is in Geneva, loves Switzerland so much that he would like to meet a life partner in the same city. To him even Nyon, a 10-minute train ride from Geneva, now seems too far away.
One of the comments we often hear when we propose a match between clients from Geneva or Lausanne and Zurich is that they will only be able to see each other on weekends. This is true; however, we also know many couples who live in the same town, or even under the same roof, who see each other only on weekends due to busy professional lives and heavy travelling.
Maintaining the relationship
I was engaged in 1990 when my fiancé was studying at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich, Switzerland and I was finishing up my studies at UC Berkeley in the US. Though it’s hard to believe, there was no email at the time and calling on the phone probably cost USD 3.80 (EUR 2.80) a minute. We used to write letters and send cards.
I remember it felt bizarre seeing each other over the Christmas holiday. We both realised that it was easy to grow apart being so far away with poor communication. That’s when we decided we wanted to be together and get married. Pierre gave up his PhD studies in Switzerland and followed me to Berkeley to do an MBA. Thank you Pierre!
Modern forms of communication
Although you might be able to see each other less frequently than you wish, with modern forms of communication you can connect as frequently as you would like. There is email, mobile phones, text messages, Twitter, Skype, webcams and good old-fashioned snail mail to keep you close while living apart.
Hi there, this is a great article! If you are interested in this tipic, or even better if you are in one, I suggest that you check http://www.waiit.com the Long Distance Relationships community website with advices, forums, success stories, links and much more
This article has great ideas and great advice. I was also in a long distance relationship. My partner lived 700km away, but we now live in the same city and are engaged :) LDRs can work. Communication, trust, independence - all these things are important.
www.coupledtogether.com has a great blog for couples in long distance.
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