LDR in the dorms

[Chloeowiee]

Hello fellow LDRS! I am new to the site but not to Long Distance. My high school sweetheart and I started our LDR last September. He went off to college in California while I stayed here in Washington. So far we have experienced many ups and downs, but it has brought us closer together. We skype every night (crazy I know). We cannot go to sleep without saying goodnight to each other. We struggled at the beginning, but thanks to this site we have found plenty of things to do together. Our favorite is to skype and watch netflix together.
The best thing about our long distance relationship is that we have both grown and when we do see each other we cherish every moment. The worst thing about the LD besides the obvious is that he lives in the dorms. We don't have a lot of privacy when it comes to our conversations and there are a lot of distractions from people wanting to talk to him and whatnot. He has also said that it is hard for him to talk to me when the guys are around. It can be very frustrating at times. Any advice?

Thankfully though he is coming home for the summer! Only 20 more days!

[BlueCat]

Hey there, great to know that you're finding things that work for you. I would love to be able to talk to my SO every day, I feel quite jealous :P lol. Not sure what to suggest about the privacy issues. I suppose your SO could always make plans to go out with the people in his room, then fake a sicky so that you guys can talk in private, lol.

[snow_girl]

Welcome to lFAD! Glad things are going well for you too. Not much advice other then plan skypes for when the roommates are out? Hope you have a wonderful summer together!

[floridaellen]

I'm in college as well and dating my high school sweetheart :] I don't live in a dorm though - any potential roommates of mine would hate me!

Most of my friends with boyfriends who don't go to my college either take a walk around campus while talking to their SO on the phone or plan Skype dates for when people aren't around. Sometimes they even Skype outside as long as they are far away from people, such as by a pond or on a remote bench. It works for them!

[frompanthertomustang]

Welcome to LFAD!

Oh, sweetie, our situations are very similar! My boyfriend and I Skype every night and talk every day on the phone/text. We both live in the dorms... so it's double the trouble. And I see your profile picture... It seems your boyfriend and I are attending the same University! Well that's a coincidence. I will definitely say that it's horribly difficult to Skype with my boyfriend in the dorms... there are constantly people coming in and out and actively trying to distract me. In the dorms here, my best advice would be to ask him to find a stairwell (depending on what dorm he is staying in) to Skype with you in: they're a lot less populated and quiet! Also, getting his roommate(s) involved in protecting your "Skype time" could also help. I am forever indebted to both my roommates for turning away visitors/going outside in the hallway to see people because my boyfriend and I are talking!

I wish the very best for both of you!

[efish1042]

My SO lived in an apartment style dorm so he had his own room and this wasn't really problem for us. I do think floridaellen and frompanthertomustange have good ideas. If your university has wifi around campus, I would be inclined to skype outside while relaxing or studying. That and work my schedule with my roommates as well as my SO so that I can have the dorm to myself for a while and we could skype.
I'll be attending the same university as him in the fall, so thankfully this shouldn't be a problem for us, but I hope you find a solution that works for you!

[kittyo9]

I live in a dorm and my boyfriend and I try to skype at least a few times a week. I am fortunate that my roommate is in and out a lot, but sometimes she just stays in bed all day. However, she also has a boyfriend back in Turkey (she is from Turkey) who she skypes with at random times (very loudly, might I add), so sometimes I just return the favor...

Otherwise, we just talk on MSN messenger a lot when she's here, then switch to Skype when she leaves. I don't really like when people can hear my conversations, so it can be a real challenge when we haven't Skyped in a while and we really want to. I do, however, make an effort to learn my roommate's schedule, so we can talk or do other things () during the day.

[lonelyinlove]

Welcome!

I don't really have much advice, but when I lived in a dorm, my friends would go the club alot & im not much of a club person so it was often a nice time to talk to my SO in privacy....

[Yaaamiii]

Welcome to LFAD! My SO and I are both in dorms as well, except his was apartment style so he had his own room. We're both back for the summer. I lived in a normal style dorm. When my SO and I sykped, I either just talked out loud (which my roommate didn't mind), or if it was something private, we'd get on google video and type everything. If it was private and we weren't on google, we'd start speaking in Spanish. No one really knows Spanish where I go to school so it worked out like that for me..

[kat4301]

if you have the funds for it you guys could invest in iphones (or whatever the android equivalent is) and get facetime or skype on your phones. Then you can have webcam on the go, I used to find quiet spots in the library and we could talk there. And as much as dorms can suck, you will be much more greatful when you get first your apartment. I remember feeling so amazed at all the privacy I got in my first apartment.

[Jazi]

Welcome to LFAD . I get to skype with my boyfriend everyday too, isn't it great? :P

on the dorms thing.. I've never lived in a dorm, it's not a huge cultural thing here in Australia so I have no idea what it's like. Most people live at home or in shared houses when they are in uni over here.

if you have the funds for it you guys could invest in iphones (or whatever the android equivalent is) and get facetime or skype on your phones. Then you can have webcam on the go, I used to find quiet spots in the library and we could talk there.

^ This is a really good idea. You could even get an Ipod Touch which you can download Skype onto and as long as you are in range of some decent WIFI then you can skype anywhere! I know a few people who use their Ipod Touches for this and it works really well for them.

[Lumos]

Most college campuses have wifi throughout the entire campus, so it would not be too hard for your boyfriend to find a secluded area somewhere to chat. Also, places like Starbucks work. I've seen people talking on skype there before.

The semester is almost over though, right? Hopefully he can find a better living arrangement for next year

[WakeUpSusie]

So I'm super sleepy and won't write a long response about this, but I just wanted to say that I dated my high school sweetheart long distance all throughout college without any major issues or breaking up. We closed the distance when I graduated last May and are now engaged to be married this upcoming October We both had completely fufilling college experiences complete with both playing NCAA sports (I played soccer, he played baseball), both studying abroad for a semester, and being in lots of clubs in addition to excelling at school. Going away to the college I went to and choosing to stay with my boy were two of the best decisions I ever made for myself. I never worried about him cheating on me and the same with him. We both are definitely and TOTALLY not that type, which made it somewhat easier being apart.

It might seem like the odds are against you, and according to the odds, they are. I just wanted to share my success story and show that if two people are truly committed to each other, it can absolutely happen! College was one of the best times of my life and I am SO glad I went away for it, but staying with B was also the best decision. I wish you the very best of luck, you can do it!

[Chloeowiee]

Thanks for your advice everyone! It's good to hear that I'm not alone