So, you fell in love with someone who isn't living close by? We know the feeling. And we also know what it means to have a long distance relationship that can weather the storms of solitude that will eventually start to rock your boat.

But, before we tackle these challenges let us first look at what it's like to be in a long distance relationship. More specifically, an international long distance relationship.

Of course we all know that long distance relationships are hard, you don't need us to tell you this. How could it not be, with the actual distance impacting the love between two persons. But, you might ask, what is really the difference to the two types of LDRs mentioned above?

Essentially, while in both situations the persons involved can not see each other physically whenever they want – because of the obvious distance – an international long distance relationship arises when people live in different countries, cultures and maybe even continents.

Take a look at how our story started, because, well… you never really imagine yourself falling in love with someone from another country. Or at least, we didn't. But since our story took of we haven't stopped dreaming, wishing and growing as a couple. Even through all the challenges having a long distance relationship brought with itself.

When these moments that go BOOM happen, you just take the opportunity to accept love into your life, no matter where the other person comes from or lives. Naturally, there might be many doubts because starting a relationship in itself is challenging enough, never mind with these other obstacles. But then again, when you find a truly special someone who just 'gets' you, understands you and makes you happy we believe you should take the risk and enjoy the ride. Whatever ups and downs come with it.

And if you don't know how things might evolve, don't worry about it. You will figure it out as you go along.

Just like we did.

There are of course a number of things that are specific to having a LDR or long distance relationship. Some of them really nice and enriching, others are more of a challenge, which is why they deserve their own posts. But through our own experience we understand how frustrating and beautiful a LDR can be.

We're not trying to scare you away from one – let this be clear. But since people ask us questions along the lines of "how can you make this work" or just casually wondering if we "don't miss each other" we thought of mentioning some aspects first. Because of course we miss each other. Every day – and all through the day. But there just isn't any option to do things otherwise at the moment. Which is the situation for most LDR couples.

Feelings can be both a tricky and a wonderful thing. After all, the reason you might find yourself in a long distance relationship are just these feelings. And never let the distance make you forget these feelings. But of course there are other times when you might have some doubts when starting (or living in) a long distance relationship. Because we understand that they are hard and – being honest – also suck let us go over some general thoughts right now and we will cover the positives and the challenges in more detail elsewhere.

This might very well be the most pressing thought in the initial stage. Since every relationship invariably asks some time, energy and commitment - and a LDR even more than others. And yes, a long distance relationship is far from ideal in most cases. Also yes, things can go wrong and you might miss the physical contact and intimacy a lot. But actually to try and figure out if a relationship is going to work, a LDR might also give you this benefit of casually exploring how things are going at a calmer pace. Don't let your fear of failure stop you trying.

For some reason this comes attached to having a LDR. Just as having people want to touch your belly for some reason comes with pregnancies. Weird….? Yeah, we know.

But as soon as you announce your having a long distance relationship to the world, expect the expert opinions of friends, relatives and complete strangers. Because this is what you signed up for when you decided to have a LDR, right?

So, just practice your (inner) eye rolls and ignore most of the comments – or answer them politely if you don't mind them to much. Just remember that these remarks and comments say nothing about your relationship as such – it just says something about the people asking them. It might be because they care for you, it might also be because you are interesting to them, but you making this choice confronts them with their own (mostly set) way of seeing life. And that makes people pose questions.

Just let their questions not distract you from the reason why you chose to be together in the first place.

In most cases a long distance relationship is a temporary solution. Most people don't start a LDR because they like to be separated from each other forever. So whatever the initial reason of the distance, the question of when this will be over will naturally crop up quite a lot.

Setting an end-time might not always be possible, but just remember that this is just a phase in your relationship – and one that is really good to grow some strong and healthy habits for the rest of your life together.

Also, don't forget to take the time to look back to where you came from and what you have already achieved as a couple. Even if it is just months, weeks or days!

Unless you were drunk – and who knows, even then it might still be the right one – the decision to start with a long distance relationship will be based on factors other than the distance between you. Moreover, in making this decision you probably will have factored in the decision already anyways and found out that the advantages outweigh(ed) the challenges. Don't let go of these feelings and these thoughts.

Sometimes things will be hard, when you've had a fight, when you miss your partner so intensely, when you've had to go to this family gathering alone again,… There's no denying things won't always be rosy and that managing and nurturing a beautiful relationship – never mind a long distance one – will demand a lot of commitment and work.

Just remember the reason why you chose this other person, talk about your feelings together and make this into another stepping stone on the way to a brighter future together. Because couples that survived a LDR will have build such a strong core of trust and commitment through all these shared experiences.