How to Make a Long-Distance Friendship Work

While nurturing long-distance friendships takes work, the payoff is worth it, experts say—and even small gestures like those that are meaningful to Agresta can keep bonds alive. “You have to find ways to keep that friendship special,” says Kristen Suleman, a therapist in Houston whose clients often bring up long-distance friendships. “It’s all too easy to have different schedules, and live in different time zones, and be like, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ You have to let that person know they matter to you, and that the role they play is irreplaceable.”