There's an old expression that says "out of sight, out of mind" that means if you do not see a person much, your love for him will demolish over time, but is that true? Sometimes life throws us miles and oceans apart from the people we love most, but that doesn't mean will love them any less because we physically can't be with them, it certainly means engraving our love for them even deeper in our hearts. So, if there's a person you care about who is miles away from you, here are 7 methods to maintain your relationship with your family and friends without having to risk losing your bond.
In this digitalized world we live in methods of communication vary a lot, it’s no longer either a phone call or a physical encounter. Texting, video-calls, and voice-notes/minicalls became more convenient options. Discuss with your friend what method is favorable for him/ her and share with him yours as well. This will save you the hassle of skipping their calls because you're always too busy or missing their texts because you're not very responsive to texting. Establishing a comfortable communication method for both of you can widely affect your communication frequency. And to do so, try downloading an international calling app like BlaBla Connect which can help you stay connected with your loved ones back home with ease while getting the best in-call voice quality with the lowest rates and many other features.
Whatever form of communication you agree on, always beware to keep the 50/50 balance in sharing. Do not spend the entire phone call speaking about yourself and hear very little about them. I know sometimes you have so much on your plate that you want to let it all out but always keep in mind that the other person deserves to share too. Healthy friendships are those where both parties get to share equally.
With the different time-zones and crammed schedules, it can get hard to spontaneously call your friend and expect him to pick up. To avoid that, share your free time with each other and set a specific time every week or more to catch up. Even organize the topics you’d like to share with your friends or the main events that happened during the week and write them down. This will definitely cut some slack off the embarrassment of any of you calling and the other not picking up multiple times and will ensure you’re all caught up in each other’s lives.
Set reminders on your phone for the important dates in your friendship like birthdays and anniversaries. It feels wonderful when your friend remembers all of your important dates and is always there to share them with you so don't let distance take that beautiful feeling away from both of you.
Share with them if you had a big raise, got a good grade, found a perfect partner. Avoid the "Oops I forgot to tell you" because it can break their heart a little knowing that they missed being with you in a big moment just because they're not physically with you. A simple text with the update can make their day and make them feel more involved and invested in the friendship.
With your friendship taking a different form, your friend might feel lonelier or go through a hard time without you knowing. So, make sure you check on them every now and that they’re financially stable. Sometimes matters can get really hard financially and they’d feel shy to tell you about it. So make sure you can reach out to your friends with Fintech solutions, like PassTo, to easily transfer money to your friends and without having to stress about bank hassles like standing in queues and wasting a lot of time with just a single transfer. In addition, you'll get a great exchange rate, no hidden fees, and a fixed transaction fee of £ 2.95.
Show empathy
Understand that your friend might be going through a lot, living abroad is such a hassle and can be a mood swinger at any point. So don't judge them and understand that it's hard for them as much as it is for you. Always put yourself in their shoe and give them the benefit of the doubt. Understand that with distance, sometimes friendships can change, but that doesn’t mean they dissolve. They just may take on a different character as your lives change.
In the end, we are born to explore and stretch out nations-wide in search of our true selves and in the achievement of our own successes. So it does not go against human nature to develop yourself abroad while maintaining your relationships back home. Anything is doable if we just put both our hearts and minds into it.