Long-distance or local, the feud is long and old. However, despite the long history, there isn’t a clear winner.
Some people prefer living with their significant other and can’t stand the thought of being away from them.
Others are accustomed to distance and love the poetic yearning long-distance relationships provide.
Both long-distance and local dating have their respective believers.
However, the question of whether to go for long-distance relationships or to play safe locally becomes hard when you have to experience such a situation yourself.
If you have been dating actively, the chances are that you might have already encountered this scenario.
If you haven’t met this choice already, you might soon!
To help you make this tough decision, here’s our brief take on whether you should take on choosing the love with the perfect partner over distance or playing it safe with local dating.
Why should you date locally? And also, why not
Dating with singles close to your yearning heart in a physical sense has always been the go-to option for most people throughout history.
It’s easy, efficient, and natural – why date someone living in another city when you can cuddle with your bae on your very couch!
Thus, it is an easy option because you can always find a potential mate nearby.
It got even better when an online matchmaking website appeared and put all neighboring singles in a convenient list, sorted by how close they are to you, so anyone could get started with local dating in seconds!
The best thing about dating locally is that your partner is always close.
You can hang out at any time, meet up wherever, and go watch movies every single night. Not to mention the abundance of chances to get busy in bed, if you catch my drift.
People with partners from their neighborhood generally feel much more secure than people in long-distance relationships.
You know when your partner is upset, and you can make amends there and then make your favorite recipe, for example.
Both partners see each other enough to prevent any sexual frustration. Some people consider it a blessing since mentally and physically satisfied folks are likely to have a stronger bond as well.
However, as natural as it seems, local dating isn’t for everyone.
For starters, the problem with dating someone who lives close to you is that it can sometimes be intimidating to have someone’s eye on you at all times.
For some, an ever-present partner is cute, romantic even.
For others, it’s nothing short of a nuisance. Another drawback of having a close living partner is that all your individual plans inevitably become “our” plans.
Lastly, dating locally can get super boring in no time. Since both of you know the area around you so well, there’s nothing much to explore.
Here are some of the pros and cons of dating someone locally.
Pros:
- Plenty of opportunities to hang out
- Every night can be a date night
- You can easily make amends by simply showing up
- Feels more secure than dating long-distance
Cons:
- Less personal space
- All your plans inevitably become a date plan
- It can get boring quickly
- Less room for travel
Why you should date someone over a long distance, and also why not
Long-distance relationships sit on the opposite end of the dating spectrum. Long-distance relationships involve dating someone who lives far from you.
Long-distance relationships aren’t as bad as the internet may suggest. In fact, long-distance relationships have a staggering 58% success rate, according to NY Post.
Sure, the distance part is concerning, but some people actually prefer it over local dating because of the distance involved. Not everyone prefers being around their partner all the time.
Some people simply prefer more space.
Long-distance dating is quite famous among the youth now.
Online dating is also a form and a trigger of long-distance relationships and has become a norm among the young population.
As all you have to do is sign up on a matchmaking service and let the AI match with someone who’d be perfect for you, with the only major downside being that they are far away.
However, there are quite a few drawbacks to dating someone long-distance as well.
For starters, lying and cheating are pretty common among people who date long-distance.
The distance creates a sense of frustration that leads to some bad choices.
You can read all you want on the internet about how to tell if your partner is lying to you, but the distance creates a massive rift that is sometimes irreparable.
Here are some of the pros and cons of long-distance relationships.
Pros:
- Both partners can enjoy their individual personal space
- The relationship never gets boring, with plenty of room left for exploration
- Instead of one native place, you get two different places that you can call home
- Involves a lot more travel than local dating scenarios
- Online dating makes it easier for people to remain in instant contact when dating long-distance
Cons:
- People don’t feel as secure as they do when dating someone locally
- The opportunities to hang out with your significant other don’t come as frequently
- You have to travel back and forth to meet your partner
- Trust issues and miscommunication can present more frequently
- Due to some sites being scam playgrounds, online dating is generally considered less secure as some people fear the breach of privacy
Conclusion
It is clear that both long-distance relationships and local dating have their own pros and cons.
To decide what would be the right decision for you, you need to evaluate both possibilities individually.
There is no right answer to the question of which type of dating is better.
However, with enough exploration, you might be able to find the answer for yourself!