Skip navigation! Story from Relationships. Last Updated 7 June , Long-distance relationships are nothing new but what about mid-distance relationships? Also known as ' wanderlove ', mid-distance dating comes with a similar set of challenges to the long-distance version. So what is mid-distance dating? Meeting someone from a different city has meant each of us driving an hour to meet up for our first date, a million FaceTime calls and two-hour trips to see one another.
Co-ordinating your lives in separate locations isn't always easy. Our time together can be pretty short and snatched, and usually ends with one of us hopping in the car at 6am to get to work on time. Unlike long-distance love, there are no tearful airport reunions. Just a slightly stressed arrival in a different city that looks a lot like yours, usually after the journey has taken an hour longer than expected because of traffic. When that happens, the big question is: where do you settle down?
You might not know anyone other than your partner, and might not have met their family and friends properly on account of that pesky distance. Dating coach Hayley Quinn shares her insights on mid-distance dating: "Increasing the distance you're prepared to travel for love has some benefits but there's also challenges associated with this style of dating too.
Historically we've coupled up with people who live close by, and a part of that has been convenience. Despite the difficulties, more people seem to be open to dating at a distance.
The good news is that plenty of couples are making mid-distance work, in spite of the challenges. Emma, 32, met her boyfriend, Matt, 30, on holiday in Valencia. She lives in Carlisle and he lives in Bristol, miles apart. It's a hour round trip, which one of them has made every week since they met in July last year. I miss him during the week but we stay in touch all the time, and have done ever since we met.
