1. Best Way To Date Online
2. Best Place To Meet Online Date
3. How To Get Dates

It’s time to ask them out. But if you don’t know how to ask a girl out online, don’t be surprised when 2 out of 3 women suddenly disappear forever. At VIDA, we know a thing or two about the best ways for turning an online match into a real-life first date. The experiments we’ve done can instantly double your date.

“Should I try online dating?” It’s a valid question. We turn to our smart phones and tablets for almost every decision in life, so why wouldn’t we turn to our screens to find romance? Plus, finding a potential date online is more prevalent than ever – about 36% of adult Americans are actively seeking love online.

• How to Date Online Safely 1. Use a trustworthy site. There are 2,500 online dating sites in the U.S., and fraud is on the rise. There are dozens. Keep your contact information private. Any potential dates will likely run your name through a detailed Internet. Play detective on potential.
• The best dating sites for introverts, wallflowers, and anyone hesitant to try online dating Just because IRL meet-ups freak you out doesn't mean you can't still find that special someone.

But if you’re still uncertain whether you should take the “plugged in” plunge, we asked Laurie Davis, founder of eFlirt, an online dating concierge service, and author of Love @ First Click, what you really need to know about online dating before you start snapping your profile picture.

You’re taking control. By creating an online dating profile, you’re no longer leaving it up to chance to create your romantic future. “Online dating is the best way to be proactive about your dating life,” says Davis. “After all, meeting someone meaningful takes action — and in a digital world, that means joining a dating site in addition to meeting people offline too.”

You will (and should) meet people. There’s no sense in creating an online dating profile if you’re wary of meeting people IRL. “The term online dating is all wrong — it should be online meeting and offline dating,” says Davis. “It’s just a way for you to meet real people to connect with offline. If moving beyond the message with a match seems scary to you because you’re still only dipping your toe into your singledom, perhaps it’s not the right time for you to date online. That’s the point of online dating!” She recommends moving the conversation offline after six messages (three per person) is what works best.

You’ll date more efficiently. One of the perks of online dating is your ability to stipulate height, education, location and basically anything else you require in a partner. “You can be specific about who you want to meet, making sure you have common interests, values, etc.,” says Davis. “This is what separates online dating from meeting someone at a bar – you lead with this information and so do others.”

You’ll be active by taking it slow. If you’ve been out of the dating game for a while – or you’re just plain excited to be trying something new — you might want to go buck wild by signing up for every dating site out there and going on as many dates as you can. Davis says, slow it down. “It’s best to begin online dating by joining one site. I’ve had a few clients who started with too many accounts on different platforms and it quickly became overwhelming!” She also notes that online dating sites are communities, and in order to get something out of a community, “you need to be an active participant within it. On a dating site that means searching and sending messages to matches who seem interesting. I suggest to my clients that they send no less than 10 messages to new matches per week. When you focus on your outbox, your inbox will fill up … and so will your dating calendar!”

You can take your time. Though a lot of singles have compared online dating to a second job, Davis says searching for love online shouldn’t be exhausting. In fact, the more stressed you are about finding a match, the less likely you’ll find a suitable one. She refers to psychological studies on the time spent online dating that showed the longer you spend scrolling through matches, the more judgmental you become. “So rather than sitting down on Sunday night for two hours and sending dozens upon dozens of messages at once, space it out throughout the week,” says Davis. “Commit to online dating for 20-30 minutes per day, and it will feel more manageable.”

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Long distance date nights are vital for spending quality time with your partner.

How amazing does it feel when you hear the incoming video call music and see your partner’s face in the notification.

While separated by distance this feeling will never fade but sometimes your long distance date nights can become a bit repetitive.

Question: How many times have you spoken about the same things on each call? Probably too many to remember!

It’s time to change up the usual video sessions with one or more of these awesome date ideas we’ve put together for long distance couples.

QUICK NAVIGATION

1. Watch a Movie in Sync!

This is definitely one of the best ways to relax with your partner without even being next to them. It can also help you get to know them that little bit more by paying attention to the types of genres they’re into! Agree on a movie you’ll both enjoy but don’t forget to step out of your comfort zone for your partner if there is something they’d really like to watch or get you to see.

YOU: “Ok on ‘three’ hit play, ready?”
PARTNER: “READY!”
YOU: “One… Two… Thr-CLICK!”
*Que 20th Century Fox music*

I wouldn’t be able to count how many movies we watched this way together.But thankfully now there are a few handy options to watch videos online perfectly in sync with your partner.

Here are four great options:

• Kast – NETFLIX, Hulu, HBO & more. You can even browse the web together.
• Teleparty – Synchronizes video and adds group chat to Netflix, Disney, Hulu and HBO.
• Gaze – Limited only to YouTube BUT also allows you to upload your own files.
• Watch Party by Amazon Prime Video – Amazon’s dedicated video sync feature.

Check out our Article: 37 Popcorn Worthy LDR Movies For Your Next Date Night​

2. Take an Online Compatibility Test

While some people may think these types of tests are corny or cheesy (I’m hungry), they can be quiet fun and beneficial for couples in long distance relationships.

Our situations aren’t like the majority of relationships. The distance between us may keep some traits hidden and a compatibility test can help to discover what those things are, helping to bring you both closer together.

You may also be thinking “Are we right for each other?”, well it’s time to find out!

Here are five great options:

• ​Play Buzz

3. Getting Intimate

​TIP: Just like any regular sexual relationship, you wouldn’t want your partner to push you to do things you’re not comfortable with. Before moving forward with any electronic sexual activity it’s important to talk about and respect each other’s boundaries.

Let’s talk about sexy baby, let’s talk about you and me.

​Studies have shown that couples who are sexually active are happier. While this doesn’t appear to be revolutionary information, it does reinforce the importance of sex in a healthy relationship.

Being in a long distance relationship doesn’t mean your sex life has to suffer. Sexting, phone sex and webcam sex are great options for keeping that romantic spark alight.

These intimate options will come easier to some more than others. So we’ve put together a few resources to help!

Sexting

​It doesn’t matter where or when, sexting is a great way to stay on each other’s minds. Whether you’re looking for something simple and sweet or downright raunchy, it’s up to you and your partner on how far you’re willing to take it!

• Elite Daily – The do’s and don’ts of sexting
• Cosmopolitan – 10 things guys really want you to sext
• Art of Charm – How to start sexting a girl – What every guy must know
• College Humor – 16 sexting noobs who totally killed the mood

Phone Sex​

Type ‘phone sex’ into Google and you’re met with a fairly cold description.

​Yeah, thanks Google…

For long distace couples, ‘sexual gratification’ just doesn’t cut it. Phone sex can be so much more as you’re connecting with your partner on a romantic and intimate level.

Don’t let this deter you! Here are some helpful hints and tips:​

• WikiHow – How to have phone sex
• The Urban Dater – 7 tips on how to give your partner great phone sex
• Savvy Miss – What to say during phone sex

Webcam Sex

​Webcam sex can definitely be a fun an intense experience. But it is very important to know exactly what you’re getting into.

Lisa McKay of ModernLoveLongDistance.com has written a great article we believe all LDR couples should read before jumping in front of the camera: Two common myths about webcam sex, revenge porn, and long distance relationships.

Still wanting to get steamy on video chat? Bad Girl’s Bible has a thorough guide for having amazing sex on video with your partner.

Long Distance Sex Toys

​Adding toys into your intimate equation can be an exciting experience. With advancements in technology, connected toys for couples are now an affordable option.

One company leading the way is Lovense. They’ve been creating amazing products for years and continue to develop the technology behind their products.

We also admire them as they’re an LGBTQ+ friendly company as same sex products are able to connect to each other!

Check out their short clip below on how the system works.

Visit the Lovense official site for more information. They also regularly run great promotions so be sure to see if one is available!

Want more? Check out our posts on the different options available for long distance couples:

4. Take a Virtual Vacation

You don’t have to be on location to get lost in wanderlust.

Share the places you and your partner have always wanted to travel to. You never know, this could be the early stages of planning your first vacation together!

Here are some virtual vacation websites that you can pair with Kast to share your screen and take a virtual trip!

Virtual vacation sites to check out:

Tour places in your state or country that you’d like your partner to discover, or be their virtual tour guide showing them around your home town.

This can create some amazing moments when you close the distance or visit one another and can remember the places you viewed together online.

Nate is from a desert town in the middle of Australia and I still remember the first time he showed me where he grew up on Google Maps. Completely opposite scenery from my hometown in Canada!

5. Virtual Reality Date Night

When we talk about virtual reality, we usually think gaming. But there are many other applications in education, entertainment and exploration.

VR has also never been more affordable, making virtual reality date nights a must try.

Virtual Reality Apps & Sites:

Virtual Reality Hardware:

6. Long Distance Truth or Dare

​If your Skype dates are lacking a bit of flair then a game of truth or dare could be what you need to step it up!

Make sure you both respect each other’s boundaries otherwise a game that is fun or cheeky can quickly turn into an awkward situation of silence.

IceBreakerIdeas.com has a great list of 200+ truth or dare questions that range from cute and silly all the way through to saucy and sexy!

​Buzzle also has a couple of great truth or dare lists. See the truth or dare questions to ask your boyfriend and truth or dare questions for couples.

Be aware that only some of these will work due to your distance. Want us at Lasting The Distance to create a list​ of truth or dare questions specifically for couples in long distance relationships? Join our LDR Support Group and let us and the supportive community know!

7. Take a Long Distance Relationship Quiz & Compare!

​Similar to compatibility tests, quizzes can be a great activity to help you discover more about your partner.

Whether you’re looking to be serious or have a little fun. There are countless quizzes throughout the internet that you can use. Here are a couple we like!

• ​The Gottman Institute – How well do you know your partner?
• Brainfall – How well do you know your lover?

None of these tickle your fancy? Why not create your own!

If you have been in a LDR for a while, you could quiz your partner with questions about yourself, your family or your relationship. If you want to spice it up a bit, give them a reward when the question is answered correctly.

8. Have a Coffee Shop Date

A coffee shop date is one of the closest options you’ve got to a real date. With both of you on video chat, at your favourite coffee shops in a quiet(ish) corner with your headphones. What else could you want?

Ok, maybe to be WITH your loved one but hey, no one said it would be easy!

​Can you remember the last time you walked past a coffee shop and didn’t see a hoard of people sipping their drinks while tapping away on their keyboards?

So I wouldn’t worry about feeling awkward when talking to your partner on video with a bunch of people around!

Lets be honest, the majority of them are locked in to what they’re doing.

9. Long Distance Dinner Date

Having a dinner date while eating the same food with a similar setup can give the illusion of being together.

We’ve seen forums and other sites suggest take out for a dinner date as it’s a fairly easy option. ​But if you want to go that one step further why not cook your favourite dishes together!

TIP: If you’re in opposing time zones try to choose dishes that work well for both breakfast and dinner.

​How cool does the photo above look? An LDR couple sitting down to an amazing meal they cooked ‘together’.

​That’s Reddit user u/melodyamypond and her partner u/eztofollow.

These two LDR love birds have perfected the art of “synchronised cooking”. You can read more about their weekly dinner dates here.

10. Watch the Sunrise or Sunset Together

​Watching a sunrise or sunset is definitely one of the more romantic date options available to LDR couples.

Depending on your timezones and work or school schedules find out which is more appropriate. Your partner might not be the most enthusiastic morning person so working out which is best will help to end any cancellations!

Make sure you each set calendar alerts and use a site like TimeandDate.com to find out the sunrise and sunset times in your city. ​Then use their time difference calculator to determine when you and your partner need to be available.

11. Make a Long Distance Relationship Playlist

​We’ve all had those songs that remind us of amazing times or getting through tough situations. Sharing them with your partner can be a great way of getting to know pivotal moments in each other’s lives.

​But you don’t have to stop at music, why not create playlists for books, documentaries or even movies!

We’ve found some great guides on setting up playlists for the various options:​

• Tom’s Guide – How to share your Spotify playlist
• WikiHow – How to create a new playlist on YouTube

Check out our article: 28 Powerful LDR Songs For Your Next Playlist

12. Write an Email to your Future-selves

Have any moments in your relationship or personal life you’d like to reminisce over with your partner at a later date? Why not send an email to your future-selves.

FutureMe.org is a simple tool that will send an email on a specific date. You can even add a picture! We’d also suggest you make it private if you’re adding sensitive content.

On when to receive the email, pick a date that is meaningful to both of you. This could be a birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day or when you close the distance.

Make sure to keep it positive and hopeful. Choose a future date that’s over 6 months away as you’re likely to forget most of what you’ve written, and the better the surprise will be!

Need some help with what to include? Our articles will help get those creative juices flowing!

13. Play Strip Poker

​Feel like spicing your date night up a bit? Why don’t you have a crack at playing a few hands of strip poker and see where it takes you!

We recommend using a site like Poker Now Club where you can set up a private table for just you and your partner.

I’d shy away from using a deck of cards each because of the stakes, you could be leaning towards bending the rules a little in your favour!

Don’t do that… be fair and have fun!​

14. Play Games Online

​It’s been said that couples who have fun together are happier together and gaming definitely falls inline with having fun!

You can choose games where you can team up against others or find ones where you can battle each other.​ But in the end make sure you pick something that you’ll both enjoy.

​Not sure what you want play? No worries. Here we’ve broken down a few options based on level of involvement:

Quick Games​

​Check out Miniclip.com and Pogo.com where you can play hundreds of multiplayer games that include old favourites like Yahtzee and Scrabble to new generation classic such as Plants Vs Zombies.

Ongoing Games​

Smartphones allow us to keep in contact with our loved ones 24/7, so why not add a bit of competition. Games like Words With Friends [iOS – Android] and Draw Something [iOS – Android] are great to pick up when you get a free moment.

Or you can get stuck into more tactical MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online) games. Check out this epic list from Pocket Tactics.

Console Games

​Have an Xbox, PlayStation, Wii or PC? Studies have shown connecting and communicating in games through shared emotional experiences can strengthen a couple’s bond.

​Natalie Shoemaker from The Cheat Sheet has put together five awesome games for long distance couples for multiple platforms.

15. Draw Together

​Not all of us can be Picasso but we can damn try! Or if you want to just doodle around and make funny pictures to kill time that’s totally cool too…

Draw.Chat is a great tool that is super simple to use and if you actually do want to find out who’s more likely to be the next Picasso why not have your creations rated!

Don’t forget you can be totally old school cool and draw on paper on video together. Send us your creations and we just might set up a gallery!

16. Write Your Story

​No crazy tools necessary, grab a pen and paper or open a word doc and start writing!

Best Way To Date Online

​Although you and your partner no doubt have a lot of similarities, you will always view or remember most situations differently.

As you recount stories from your relationship to each other you’ll start to realise the things just how different your perspectives can be!

We all put importance into different aspects of the relationship and realising this will really help when it comes to truly understanding one another.

17. Make a List

​One area we’d always speak about is all the things we wanted to do together. Whether it’s places to travel, things to purchase, to dos when we would meet up, there was always something we could prepare for together.

TIP: Use Google Sheets or another online tool so you can both collaborate on the list in real time. This will make it easier if you’re incorporating website links or building a budget.

Something we didn’t explore but still think is an amazing idea are more personal lists. How nice would it be to share what you love about your partner on their birthday or Valentine’s Day?

18. Sing Karaoke Together

​For many people karaoke can be a nerve racking experience. But if you’re willing to let your guard down it can be a lot of fun to sing with your partner.

​You never know, you might find one of you has a hidden talent!

​Why not try Sing! Karaoke an iOS and Android app by Smule. You can record yourself singing then invite your partner to sing along with you and sync them together! Unfortunately the app doesn’t allow you to sing in real time together but the recording feature will no doubt produce many laughs and smiles.

If you don’t want to be singing over the top of each other look for duets like the classic “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.​

19. Visit Random Websites

​Have some time to kill? Why not explore parts of the web to find interesting sites and articles you wouldn’t usually come across.

Website randomisers:

We’d recommend using them in tandem with Skype, Google Hangouts or Kast’s screen sharing capabilities so you and your partner are in sync.

Also check out BuzzFeed’s article: 35 random corners of the internet you should visit when you need a break.

20. Play With Animals Online

​While separated by distance you’ll often talk about the future. Things like the apartment you’ll rent, the places you’ll travel to and the pets you’ll own will come up many times.

Unfortunately this can leave us unhappy as it’s not ‘right now’. One way to turn that frown upside down is to help bring a bit of excitement and joy into a shelter animal’s day by playing with them online.

Check out Petcube where you can control the toys in a shelter and play with the animals in real time from their app!

Best Place To Meet Online Date

Who knows, when you close the distance you just might adopt a pet from one of those shelters!​

21. Learn Together

For some people learning something new can be a daunting task, even if it’s what they’ve wanted to try for years. Having a partner in crime can help with motivation while making the learning process way more enjoyable.

​You’ll also learn a lot about how you and your partner work together when working through and solving tough problems.

​Tip: Make sure, what ever you choose, it’s something you’ll both enjoy otherwise motivation levels can flatline! Don’t rush into it, take the time to find the right thing.

L​earn a Language

Does your partner speak a second language? Taking the time to learn will show just how much you care about them and their culture, also having them by your side to help the learning process.

Use tools like DuoLingo, an amazing free smartphone app on iOS and Android that will help you learn anywhere. Babble is also another great, but paid option.

Learn to Code

​The tech movement is at an all time high and everyone is talking about learning to code. Why not join in? Codecademy and Code School are great free options to get you started. Want to take some more design centric courses? Take a look at Treehouse.

Other sites to check out include Udemy.com and Lynda.com ​that have thousands of different courses in hundreds of categories.

22. Plan Your Next Visit

​Because of the distance between us we tend to put a lot of stress on the next visit.

1. Who’ll visit who?
2. When can we both get time off?
3. How much will it cost?

If only these were the three questions we’d be asking yourselves!

Plan as much of the next visit as you can and leave nothing to chance.

Having everything in order for departure and arrival ahead of time will alleviate unneeded stress. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first, last or fifteenth visit, you’re likely to be bursting at the seems with excitement and anxiety, so planning ahead will help to make everything that little bit easier.

There’s no point linking to a life hack style article on planning. Get on Skype with your partner, list everything you need to take care of for a visit, start to tick them off. GET SH!T DONE. Simple!​

See our date night activity on making lists. This is definitely the time to use a collaboration tool like Google Docs or Google Sheets!​

23. Veg out

​We all have those days where we don’t want to do anything in particular and just being with our partners on Skype is good enough. Especially if you’ve had a ‘big’ night!

If you’re looking to lay about ​and not exhort too much effort we’ve got a few good options.

Are you and your partner fans of a good book? Why not look to Audible.com ​where you can both listen along to one of your favourites or explore something new. Or go old school and read separately!

Listening to music is another great way to veg out with your partner. You can listen to digital radio online through great sites like Streema. Or if you want to go that one step further check out ConcertWindow.com where you can watch live music together! This is a great website when teamed up with Rabbit.

​What Are Your Long Distance Date Ideas?

How To Get Dates

​We’ve definitely put a lot of time and effort into this list of date ideas! But of course there will be other activities that we haven’t covered that you may love doing with your partner.

Join us and the awesome community of our LDR Support Group and tell us your other ideas for awesome date nights. We just might include the most popular activities in our next update!

“We just want to tell you how amazing this all is & we can't thank you enough!”

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