The hardest part of moving is saying goodbye to friends. After years of living nearby, going out for coffee, going on hikes, spending hours gossiping together, seeing each other almost every day, suddenly you’re living in a different time zone, and you have no one to call when you’re feeling down.
You might believe that your move to an OUTCAN location is the end of your friendships with your Canadian friends. How could you possibly maintain a friendship over such long distances? Some friendships may come and go in your life. And that’s okay. But there are some friends that you want to keep in your life, no matter what. For those friends, here are some tips to maintain your friendship even when apart.
1. Figure out a time that works for both of you
The time difference between Canada and your new home may make communication difficult. Maybe you are available to talk in the evening but it’s still the middle of the afternoon in Canada and your friend is at work. Or maybe they are available in the evening after their children have gone to bed but, by that point, you’re already asleep.
If maintaining that friendship and chatting regularly is important to you, you’ll need to set a time that works for both of you. Maybe, once a week, they can use their lunch break to call you as you commute home from work. Or you can have an early morning chat.
It might feel weird and unnatural to schedule a time to chat. But, if you don’t, you’ll find yourself struggling to make time for each other and you might lose that friend that was so important to you.
2. Chat regularly
When you were able to get together with your friends regularly, you were able to have conversations about a wide range of topics. However, that is more difficult to do long-distance. Especially if you let long periods of time elapse between chats, you’ll find that all you’re doing is updating each other on your lives but not talking about anything else.
If you want to maintain this kind of relationship with friends, you need to keep the conversation going. It will look different than in person conversations, but it can still be valuable. For example, text each other pictures during the day. Have regular phone calls just to chat. You will need to make more of an effort to maintain a friendship from far away.
3. Plan fun things together
Calling and texting to talk to your friend is great. However, a big part of your friendship was surely built on sharing activities. Moving away doesn’t mean this has to change. As with conversations, it will look different. But it is possible.
Perhaps you enjoyed going to coffee shops together. You could each go to a coffee shop where you live and call each other or send text messages. You could watch the same movie at the same time and text each other your thoughts and feelings. You could go on a hike, each in your separate countries and send each other pictures of the views.
Like any long-distance relationship, a long-distance friendship takes work to maintain. It is a lot harder to have conversations when you do not share the same environment anymore and when you aren’t able to be in the same room.
However, we are lucky to live in an age of text messages and video calls. Communicating with people all around the world has never been easier. Thanks to that, it is possible to maintain a relationship with your friends in Canada.
It will take work. However, if your friends add significant value to your life, it will be worth it. So find a time that works for both of you despite the time differences. Keep the conversation going. And go on adventures together, even if you aren’t physically together.