I totally forced The Man to take this corny picture. Ha!
I did.
Confession: When I met the man, I knew that he’d only be in America temporarily, so I didn’t have high hopes for our first date. I figured it’d be a nice dinner with a hot guy and not much more. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was the best first date ever in life, and it soon became apparent that we wanted to build a life together. But we had to choose–America or Germany? After a lot of thought, prayer and a visit, we chose Germany.
I bring this up because a few days ago, a young lady who’s in a similar position asked me what it was like to move for love. My reply to her was essentially this: it’s scary. It’s thrilling. It’s a blessing, and a struggle. It’s simultaneously the best and the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. There’s a reason choices like these are called “leaps of faith” and not “acts of logic.” It’s not a practical thing to do. There are no guarantees. But it’s worth it to believe that if you take that leap, something solid will be there to catch you.
Moving for love is not all smiles all the time, but it’s worth it for us.
But you don’t have to take my word for it! Here are thoughts from other women who have loved across continents.
If you leave, my sisters, please don’t leave with an even an ounce of regret as that tiny ounce will spill into liters over time. Come, if you want, because you hope to experience a new life, a thrill, an opportunity without strings that belongs to youth. | Rose-Anne Clermont, Leaving for Love
Liebling and I have been open from the get-go with our intentions and hopes for the relationship, which is important when you don’t see each other for long stretches of time. We don’t have qualms about telling each other that we are not spending enough quality time, and actively try to remedy the situation so that everybody is happy and the relationship stays healthy. Having a target for being together in one place has also been pivotal in the survival of the relationship. | Oneika the Traveller, How to survive long distance when you live on two different continents
Some people might wonder how To-ki and I communicate since neither one of us is completely bilingual. Our daily conversations are mix of random Japanese and English, made-up phrases and round about descriptions to describe simple words. I don’t think that having perfect grammar and a large vocabulary is necessary to form a loving relationship. Actually, I think it makes things simpler. You can’t be as tricky with words and it’s harder to beat around the bush.When we communicate, it may be in simple words, but it’s raw honesty and emotion because those are the most basic and consequently, easiest ways to speak to one another when you are simply trying to get your point across. | SaitamaFlowers, Love and the Language Barrier
Nothing I could say would describe how this picture makes me feel.
;
I moved here for love and the promise of a good loving future. And I know that can seem foolish to some people, especially people who have experienced pain and disappointment in love. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there too but my story and those stories are far apart. If I only did things based on the opinions of others regarding love, I’d be sitting back in Boston eating a pint of rainbow sherbet and lamenting over Love Actually. | Ellie, Goodbye and Hello
As my first year living abroad wore on my hardest ordeal was transitioning from independent fiancée to dependent wife. It took a long time to learn to live securely in that space. While I was emotionally ready for marriage, I never thought about the rough period of waiting for my visa papers to clear and being totally dependent on my husband. I went from being someone with her own money and freedom to needing assistance on everything. Since I couldn’t work thanks to my visa process, I couldn’t contribute financially to my household, a major blow to my ego. I’m used to pulling my own weight and being taken care of was a humbling experience but it drew my husband and I closer though I had other hurdles. | Sherisa De Groot, My Marriage Moved Me to Amsterdam
now there’s long distance. this is long distance on steroids. it’s not just about geography. it’s country, culture, language. more of a quake than a shift. messy, messy business. though there’s a lot at stake, we all but fucking light up over packing our lives up, wrapping our tongues around a new words and sounds, stretching ourselves to encompass more of the world. sandra and the paris-new yorker are over, but she’s all the ‘richer’ for having done it. she’s multilingual. knows new york, paris and munich like a native. she’s rich, the serb would say, rich. | ieishah clelland, rich girls
What do you think? Could you move to another place to be with someone?
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