It can work beautifully, with a lot of commitment and effort...and it can also fail very miserably.It's totally dependent on the level of commitment of the two people. LDRs will only work if there is a concrete strategy for ending the LD part in somepoint of your relationship. If I were writing the rules, I guess I'd have five big ones: Rule number one: Communication is your friend. Those cheap calling cards are your friend. So are e-mails and IM clients. And message boards and so on. And snail mail (care packages are the bomb). :) Rule number two: Never go to sleep angry. If you start a fight, finish it in the same conversation. Never 'sleep on it' - it just makes things worse, and you might do something you regret before you talk again. Unlike 'real' relationships, you don't get a chance to talk it over at breakfast before you go to work. Rule number three: Make it work, no matter what. If you are going to make this relationship work, you have to dedicate yourself to making it work. Long-distance relationships require at least twice the work of other relationships, and they have far less 'payoff.' Rule number four: If it's not serious, don't bother. The only truly successful LDR's that I've seen over the years are the serious ones. There are several times in the relationship where things look like it will end if it isnt for the fact that both are dedicated to the relationship. Rule number five: Communication is your friend. I know I said this before, but it bears repeating. In an LDR, communication is all you have. If you can't talk about absolutely anything and everything, you're going to get bored damned quickly. Moreso than in any other kind of relationship, your LDR partner should be your best friend.