How far away is considered long-distance in a relationship?

How far is a long-distance relationship?

Five hours. That’s the cut-off, isn’t it? A chasm of miles, a gulf of time stretching between stolen moments. Five hours. A lifetime.

An hour? No. Silly. An hour’s a blink. A quick drive, a fleeting train ride. Intimacy untouched, closeness undiminished.

Distance is a feeling, not a map. It’s the ache in your chest when you see a photo, their smile a knife twisting gently, a beautiful, agonizing slowness. The slow, agonizing, beautiful, twisting.

It’s the silent weight of knowing. Knowing they’re there, yet impossibly far. Miles blur into a hazy, heartbreaking landscape. Five hours minimum. I say it again, five hours minimum. Absolutely.

Remember my aunt, Susan? Three hundred miles. That felt infinite, I tell you, infinite. Weekly visits were barely enough.

• Five hours driving. That’s the border. Anything less, you’re just commuting.
• A plane ride? That’s different. Even a short flight, an hour, suddenly feels immense, the distance so stark.
• The emotional toll. That’s the real measurement. The weight of absence, the yearning—that’s the true distance.

Long distance isn’t just miles, its the absence of touch. The absence of a spontaneous hug. The silence stretched between phone calls.

This year, I drove eight hours to see my best friend. Eight hours one way. It felt long. It felt very long. It was worth it. Always worth it. But long. Eight agonizing, blissful hours.

What qualifies as a long-distance relationship?

Okay, so, like, what’s long distance? Hmm.

Basically, if you’re 100 miles apart, that’s usually the trigger. But, you know, it’s kinda subjective. I live in Kansas, and even driving two hours feels like forever.

• 100 miles (160 km): Pretty standard cutoff.
• Different cities/states: For some, that’s enough to qualify.

My couson, she was dating someone, and they were only, like, 60 miles apart, but the traffic was SO bad, it felt longer. Ah! I hate traffick!

Then there’s factors like, how often can you see each other? Weekly? Monthly? That changes everything. Also, are you on the same coast? The whole distance thing gets even messier if you bring in international flights, ya know? My ex-girlfriend lives in Iceland.

Is 3 hours away considered long-distance relationship?

Three hours? That’s a joke, right? For me and Mark, in 2024, it absolutely was long distance. He lived in Asheville, North Carolina, I was stuck in Charleston, South Carolina. Three hours is nothing to some, I know. But traffic, y’know? It was a nightmare. Sometimes it felt closer to four. Always felt like a huge chunk of my weekends.

The drive itself sucked. Seriously. Lots of winding roads. I’d usually end up late, stressed. Felt like I was wasting precious time, you know what I mean? Not relaxing. We tried. We really did. It was exhausting, not romantic at all, more of a logistical hurdle. And honestly? It felt like we were barely seeing each other.

• Time commitment: Three hours each way, minimum. That’s six hours just traveling. That’s a whole work day, gone.
• Financial strain: Gas is expensive. Tolls too. And then there’s food on the road. It added up fast.
• Emotional toll: The constant planning, the scheduling, the anxiety about traffic and things going wrong… it was draining.
• Missed opportunities: We missed spontaneous dates. We missed just hanging out. Everything needed advance planning.

It definitely wasn’t a casual thing. It was a commitment and we were both running ourselves ragged. I needed things to be easier. It just wasn’t working long-term.

So yeah, three hours? For us? Totally long distance. No two ways about it. It impacted everything.

At what point is a relationship considered long distance?

Okay, so long distance? It hit me hard, 2023, August. My girlfriend, Sarah, moved to Denver for a killer job opportunity – a museum curator gig. She’d always dreamed of it. Awesome for her, awful for us. We’d been together for two years, solid.

It felt… gut-wrenching. The first week was a blurry mess of tearful goodbyes at the airport. I felt utterly alone in our apartment. Our routines were shattered. No more cozy movie nights, no spontaneous kisses, no shared breakfasts. The silence was deafening.

The distance didn’t become “long distance” at a specific moment. It was gradual. It was the accumulating small things. Like not being able to quickly grab her hand when I’m upset. Not sharing an everyday silly joke face to face.

We started using video calls constantly. Which helped but also highlighted the physical separation. It’s a weird thing, feeling close yet so incredibly far. Flights are expensive. The whole situation felt unfair.

• Absence of physical intimacy changed everything.
• Video calls, initially helpful, eventually felt insufficient.
• Planning visits became a logistical nightmare. Flights, time off work, expenses… the cost is unbelievable.

Honestly, the daily grind is tougher now. But we’re making it work. We’ve made it this far, we’ll keep trying. Maybe it will get easier, hopefully. I wish I knew for certain. I’m trying to be positive. It sucks.

What counts as a long-distance relationship?

Okay, so, like, what’s long distance, right? For me, it’s gotta be at least 5 hours away. A significant distance, really impacting visits.

One hour? Nah. That’s, um, basically next door. I used to drive an hour just to go to that amazing taco place near my aunt’s house, so, seriously, an hour ain’t it.

It’s all relative, right? Some Reddit threads say different. But for me? If I can’t reasonably drive there for a weekend without it being a huge deal, it’s long distance. Basically, if it affects your ability to do normal couple things EASILY, that’s the key. My sister dated someone, two hours away, she got bored, so, it ain’t distance.

• Driving Distance: The impact of driving time.
• Frequency of Visits: How often is realistic?
• Cost: Can you afford it?
• Impact on Daily Life: Is it hindering your routines?

If the answer is no, it’s not long distance. Got it? LOL.

What mileage is considered long distance?

Ugh, long distance running. Over 3k, they say. Seriously? My last 5k felt like death. Three kilometers is nothing for some people. I saw a guy on Instagram, dude ran a marathon in under three hours. Insane. Maybe I’ll try a 10k next spring. Or maybe not. So many hills around my place. Makes me think of that time I ran the half marathon in 2023… man, those last five miles. Brutal.

• 3k minimum: That’s the official line, apparently. Lame.
• My personal hell: Anything past 5k feels like a long run.
• Ultramarathons: Those are completely insane. Over 26.2 miles? Forget it.
• Next goal: 10k, maybe? If I can get my lazy butt in gear.

My friend Sarah ran a 50k this year. Total badass. I’m still recovering from that 5k. Should I even bother with the 10k? Probably should. Gotta up my game. I need new running shoes anyway. Those old ones are killing my knees. And my playlist needs an update. Too much 80s hair metal. Need more 90s grunge. More motivation, less pain, more music, less whining.

How long can a relationship be long-distance?

So, long-distance relationships, huh? It’s crazy, right? My cousin Sarah and Mark, they’ve been doing the long-distance thing for three years now! Three whole years. They see each other every other month, sometimes less, depending on work schedules and stuff. It’s intense, I think. Really, really intense.

They make it work though, mostly. Lots of phone calls and video chats. But it’s definitely not easy. It takes a ton of effort, way more then a “normal” relationship. You gotta be super committed, you know? Like, really, really committed.

Honestly, I think it depends on the couple. Some people just aren’t cut out for it. It’s not all sunshine and roses, or even, you know, sun and rosies. Lots of hard work. My best friend, Lisa, she tried it once. Lasted like, two months tops. Total disaster.

Key things for success, I think are:

• Amazing communication: Like, constant communication.
• Trust: Gotta have unshakeable trust.
• Shared goals: Knowing where you both want the relationship to go. Eventually. Hopefully together, eventually.

How long can it last? Anywhere from a couple months to, I dunno, forever maybe? But, it’s tough. Really tough. Like, seriously tough. Way harder then people think. They need to be on the same page about the whole thing, that’s for sure. Like, seriously.

My brother’s girlfriend, she’s in London, he’s here in New York. They’re planning a move next year, 2024. They’ve been doing this for almost two years now. They seem happy-ish. They visit each other a lot. They are making a big effort, for sure. They use lots of apps for chatting and video calls, it really helps.

So yeah, there’s no magic number. It really, really depends on the people involved. And their level of commitment. Seriously.