PHOTOS BY DANIEL LI PPITT

David and Jordana Weiss:
"Because we were far apart,
we didn't take things for granted."

It's a difficult road, but some couples
will go the distance for true romance.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

few months ago, I met a
great guy from Milwau-
kee. Jewish, cute (tall,
with sandy brown hair),
funny, he had a lot of qualities I
was looking for. Except location.
At first, we said we'd visit, see
what happens, perhaps a rela-
tionship would grow. Which
would mean continued sporadic
visits. Indefinitely.
In the end, we didn't even get
together once because it just
seemed like too much of a has-
sle. For me, the thought of a
man I had just met flying in to
spend an entire weekend alone
with me was a little awkward.
For him, the cost of getting to
know someone you might really
like who lived a $200 plane tick-
et away, and would not likely re-
locate, was too high.
So we said adios.

A

46

Alexandra and Matthew May: Crossing the Atlantic for true love.

Of course, friends offered their
two cents on the idea of starting
something up that would be in-
definitely long-distance.
You don't have to stop dating
other guys, advised one friend.
The distance forces you to take
it slow, said another.
Starting out long-distance
also diminishes the potential for
success and increases the po-
tential for miscommunication,
as you have mostly conversation
to cement the relationship. And
it immediately forces a couple
into serious mode, as they have
to spend large chunks of time to-
gether from the get-go.
But long-distance doesn't
have to lead to heartbreak, and
several Detroit natives have
lucky-in-long-distance-love sto-
ries to prove it.
Lisa Kuppersmith Weisner

and Kyle Weisner dated from
California to Chicago for two and
a half years. Matthew May met
Alexandra Westcob at Camp
Tamarack; she's English, he's a
native Michiganian and they
dated long-distance for the bet-
ter part of four years until they
married. Jordana and David
Weiss dated between suburban
Detroit and Baltimore for two
years before they tied the knot.
Laurie Remer and Jayson
Greenberg, both local, live apart
while he completes a medical
residency in Houston and she
finishes graduate school at the
University of Michigan. Even af-
ter they marry in December,
they have no choice but to keep
separate homes until she fin-
ishes school.
They all say the distance is
not easy, but definitely worth it.

