Don’t go on dates outside of your country unless you want an emotional attachment

To be flat-out honest with you, I was thinking of shortening the title into a few words but since dating itself is such a complicated concept, I thought it deserved a complex title. Not very pleasantly sounding but brutally honest. But I promise you, this article is exactly what you should read before you swipe right on that cutie with a hilarious bio.

First of all, I’d like to start with a short description of my personal story. Some people in my life have always found it weird that I have a Tinder profile. And there was a certain period when I’d deny that I am a part of such an app. My purpose wasn’t however to get as many one-nightstands as I could, it was more out of curiosity. I was never truly attracted to guys from my own country (although there have been a few exceptions with no happy ending, yet many valuable lessons learnt). So anytime I’d go outside of the Czech Republic, let it be Spain, Sweden, Ireland, or the United Kingdom, I’d tap on the little flame icon on my phone. And to be honest, I had no intentions of meeting the guys, I just wanted to talk in English. It has always been more comfortable for me and I saw it as some kind of a practise just because I see my future in an English-speaking country.

So naturally, when I decided to go to London for the summer break, I had no second thoughts. But what surprised me was my need to meet someone and I’m not going to lie, I just wanted to talk to someone and see how things go.

So, when I had a day off from my summer job, I’d thought why the hell not. And that’s how I met Ben. Needless to say, I had no expectations of actually starting to properly fancy the guy after one date. But when we sat down and got into the conversation, I felt a connection like never before. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the time I realised that both beautiful and ugly times are about to come very soon as I was returning home in a couple of weeks.

Regardless of that, a long-distance relationship is a thing that deserved a shot.

The main question remains… Is it worth it?

This is a question that can have many different answers, all depending on a large spectrum of factors. Many people would refuse even the thought of an LDR right away. But I like to look at the positive side, keeping the light at the end of a tunnel alive.

Of course, as I said, it all depends on so many – little things and huge deal-breakers such as trust and sadly even the money. Realistically looking at LDR, you want to see your beloved half again as soon as possible and if you’re living in a different country, it isn’t as easy as getting a bus to a close city that is 20 minutes away. And don’t even let me start about the right timing. In my eyes, the wrong timing has broken so many bonds already. But then again that happens mostly because the participants let it happen. You need to put up a good fight and don’t give up on the love that both sides hopefully share.

As long as both partners put effort into the relationship and work for it equally (which sometimes means suffer as a team but hey, things you do for love), it isn’t suddenly so impossible as it may have seemed. But in all seriousness, I believe you shouldn’t doom the relationship just because of distance. You must keep the teamwork approach, never lose the communication and humour plus keep the attraction alive. It’s 100% worth it for me.

And why did I give the article this name? Simply because it’s true. If you’re dating outside of your country, it’s a whole different game. And the cross-cultural connection can make the relationship even stronger. Same as it can make you smarter because you learn so much about different approaches to life, languages, and so on.

It is very risky because you can get attached quite easily but who said it needs to be seen as a problem?