How easy or difficult is it?

If it is true love and temporary, it should be able to work, but still difficult.
I say temporary because if the two involved really love one another then one could assume that plans would be in place for the two to live together therefore the distance would no longer be an issue.
However you did say start. That could be problematic and not worth the endeavor.

Unless there is more to the story that I am not privy to.

Long distance relationships take a lot of work. Both need to show commitment and willingness to love and care for the other. Moving is a sacrifice for one and the other needs to realize it by there help and support. Before you jump into this new adventure that it may not work out like you want it to. Have a back up plan. Good luck to you.

Would you start a distant (e.g. 3 h flight) relationship?

Nobody should be that desperate for a relationship.

Yes, if I knew he was the One for me and we had plans to be together with a lasting commitment.

Not a date. Not worth my time at this point in my life.

I don't fly..

You only live once

I wouldn't if I could help it.
First of all, I don't have the money to frequently buy plane tickets so it would come down to him doing that travelling. It would likely also mean hardly ever getting to see each other. You can't do that every weekend, prolly not even once a month.
So how can you build a relationship that way?
Sure if you'd move in together, but to get to that place you first have to get to know one another which is nearly impossible if you have to fly 3 hours to see each other.
Also what about sleeping arrangements? I wouldn't want to feel pressed into sleeping with someone I barely even know in the flesh just cos he's had to fly for 3 hrs and invested money in that.
You may think you know each other from online chats, but you don't. It's not the same.
Definitely not ideal. For me it would be a no.

I would definitely be willing to "start" one, just not willing to keep it that way.

Meeting face to face would be necessary/expected before I'm willing to seriously consider it and before becoming exclusive with him, which at that point we would work towards making the distance disappear.

for sure crystal it is a big undertaking. when quint and i got to the point of this is more than a simple e-friendship. we spend hours each and every day on video calls. we did as much as we could together thru those dang cameras

You make really valid points. I want to spend time face to face dating and that kind of stuff... so if I did relocate, I'd have to get my own place, not live with him.

I like my plan with seasonal work. I can go to different areas, live in employee housing, date the man and if things seem like they are going to work, I can stay longer or permanently. That was a little of my thought process when beginning my seasonal work/travel adventure.

Easy to start, difficult to maintain. But if you find someone that might be good for you, well maybe go for it and see how it goes...

Short answer, No. I figured out several years ago that it doesn't pay to travel to meet someone. You never really know who is on the other end. I've said this before on another thread, It's all I can do to talk myself into traveling 30 miles to meet someone. Much less a three-hour flight.

The last time I talked myself into going and meeting someone, I drove 200 miles. The picture she had up, she was a nice looking woman. Average just like me. The woman that came and met me was about 15 years older than the picture she posted. With a mouth full of black teeth. We skyped several times before I met her. She always had the cam set in such a way that all I could see was her forehead to her cheeks.

I had all the reason in the world to leave right there and then. But, with me being "Mister Nice Guy", I didn't want to be totally rude. So, I hung around a while. Long enough to find out that she had three mentally disturbed kids and an X husband that was about as nutty as one person could get.

That ended that. If I were to get froggy enough to get on a plane and fly three hrs to meet someone, only to find out that they had tricked me some kind of way, they were not who they led me to believe they were, I'd feel like the biggest idiot that ever walked. 3rd time was the charm for me.


When you get there and you are lucky enough to find out that the person is who they led you to believe they are, you are still going to have to fight an uphill battle. Making a relationship work, takes work. It takes commitment. It takes seeing each other regularly. It takes almost constant communication. To much distance kills all of that.

It's hard enough to maintain a relationship with someone that's within the same zip code you live in. Add a few hundred miles or more, it gets close to impossible.

*This.
Presence is important to build a relationship.

I attempted it many years ago, never again. Heck, I found it difficult trying to develop a relationship with someone only an hour drive away.

I've gotten to the point if its more than 30 min drive forget it.

The furthest I've dated anyone was an hour and a half away.
We both have things going on. It wasn't easy to have time for each other.
It took a lot of effort and planning.

u r absolutely right dear.....can we become friends?

Not easy in my opinion. You need to be prepared to relocate if all goes well because you will want to be together at sometime in the future. Both need to be good communicators so you can learn all about each other using texts, email, video chats, calls, etc. Few people want a long distance relationship so it would be a special person that is prepared to enter in to one, with what could be months between meetings, but they can and do work out for some. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I hope it works out for you, River!

Thanks Crystal The travel and seasonal work is working out wonderfully.... Now if we can just get the Universe to send me a date, that would be even better

After this assignment though. Northern Michigan is as beautiful as I remember, and as cold and damp as I remember too which is why I moved the first time.