big time difference- how do you cope/communicate?

[Nynalith]

We went from a 9 1/2 h difference to 10 1/2 to 4 1/2 to 3 1/2 and are now back to 9. And every time we have another change it is really confusing and frustrating for the first month or so...somehow it's been working out, but its still frustrating to wait in front of the computer just in case he might show up...

[Kiyama]

We went from a 9 1/2 h difference to 10 1/2 to 4 1/2 to 3 1/2 and are now back to 9. And every time we have another change it is really confusing and frustrating for the first month or so...somehow it's been working out, but its still frustrating to wait in front of the computer just in case he might show up...

Maybe you can try and schedule your call times? That's what we do, at least roughly and it works ok. Having said that, I wouldn't "wait" just in case he'll show up. You'll be sure to be frustrated that way

[Nynalith]

Maybe you can try and schedule your call times? That's what we do, at least roughly and it works ok. Having said that, I wouldn't "wait" just in case he'll show up. You'll be sure to be frustrated that way

We mostly schedule our call times, but sometimes I just can't help waiting for him (even when I know he's not going to show up).

[Sugar]

We have a time difference of 9 hours ( im ahead of him) and we have a daily routine : He has to go to work early so he is home around 10pm my time, then we talk for an hour on skype and after that its time for me to go to bed and he has still time to do whatever errands he needs to do while he is at work, we send each other about 2-3 short emails on facebook, basically just telling each other that we miss and love each other, or if something important happens like i passed an exam or anything like that, our partner is the first one to hear about it

We do rarely use phones to make calls, for us Skype works way better, its cheap and we hear AND see each other Saturdays are reserved for our friends, because madly in love or not, you need to keep your social life alive lol

But sitting infront of the computer and waiting for him to show up, i think that would be frustrating? We have our fixed daily dates, and we make sure to let each other know if one of us is going to be late or cant make it. Random conversations would be very unsatisfying for me because as a partner you deserve to be in your partners schedule on a daily basis It wouldn't be different if you actually lived together already

[aomnomnom]

it used to be 12 hrs differences, now it has gone down to 4. but it still sucks cus he could only email a few times a day about his life and sweet talks. I miss seeing him, but im lucky cuz i could keep busy with school until he comes back (or goes back on land lol)

[AllyCat]

He gets up really early and i stay up really late

[Nynalith]

sometimes I call him in his mornings to wake him up, we both feel as if we were closer together then... thankfully, calls abroad are really cheap for me (about 5 cents a minute)

[Moon]

Schedules and a bit of sacrifice work for our 7 hour difference. I go immediately home after work (anything I need to do waits until later), and he stays up way too late Unless there's something else going on, that's what we stick to. Even on weekends, we'll chat an hour or two earlier, but we mostly stay on our schedule, since it works so well for us.

[lucybelle]

I can tell you starting tomorrow. Going on a trip for 2 weeks with a 8 hour time difference!

[13000km]

When we were LD we had a 15/16 hour time difference. What worked for us was having a fixed time of the day to talk to each other. We only made exceptions when we had other plans with friends, but for the most part there was a consistent daily pattern.

[Babypuppy21]

There is a five hour time difference and it goes to four for a few weeks. I don't want to complain not after having read about nine hour time differences sheesh! We make it work..lack of sleep and catching up on the weekends is my new past time..but you make sacrifices for the one you love and it's always worth it.

[Lady Death]

13 hours no DST, 14 hours with DST

Well, we got used to each others' schedule.
I try to be online before lunchtime(which means it's almost bedtime for him)

No luck for me staying up at night, he wakes up late.

[nickki]

When we first met we had a 7 hour difference, now its only 6.

We usually talk on my way to work via text, throughout the day via email, on my lunch text, and he goes to bed right before I get off work. So I have to go all night without talking to him. Which is ok I suppose because I am usually pretty busy with my kids & household chores when I get home until I go to bed. The days we dont get to talk much because one or the other is busy SUCK.

[Prisca]

Me and my SO have a 7h difference. We talk a few times throughout the day if he isn't too busy with work, otherwise I go to bed early at night and when he gets back from work I let him wake me up and we talk until he goes to bed.

[ordbkk89]

We have a 12 (sometimes 13 with DST) hour time difference. Like others have said- at least it's easy to figure out since it's the same number, just different AM/PM. haha! During the week he works long hours and I'm in classes for grad school and studying so we rely on email/gchat and sending short texts. On the weekends we try and set aside time to look forward to. Many times it ends up one of us ends up falling asleep on Skype, so the other one may nap for a bit. Maybe a little creepy to some (?) but I love being able to wake up next to him/fall asleep with him, even if there's still the darn computer screens separating us. Bottom line: compromise, patience, and adaptability. Oh the crazy things we do for love!