The Cavalier Daily
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Long-distance relationships at U.Va.

Humor columnist Anav Singh reveals just how hard it is to keep up a long distance relationship at U.Va.

 You’re a three hour bus ride from the nearest major airport, and train tickets rival the price of your college tuition.
You’re a three hour bus ride from the nearest major airport, and train tickets rival the price of your college tuition.

Long-distance relationships can definitely work! Unless you go to school in Charlottesville, Va. 

Think about it buddy — you’re a three hour bus ride from the nearest major airport, and train tickets rival the price of your college tuition. Without the comfortable cushion of a family trust fund, it’s hard to dish out around $500 a semester purely towards the logistics of your relationship. The Blue Ridge Mountains offer a stunning view, but the closer you are to them, the further you are from your high school sweetheart that goes to another university. 

Yeah, you can travel to your significant other on one auspicious weekend when your accounting homework gives you some respite. However, the problem isn’t getting there — it’s coming back. Once you get a taste of places where shops are open past 9 p.m., there are more than five bars and students that are not all from NoVa, why would you ever want to make the trip back down country roads taking you home to a place you don’t belong?

There are a few ways to cut costs, though. For starters, try posting on the “Hoos Riding Hoos Driving” Facebook group for a chance at getting a ride to your destination. If you’re not going to NoVa, however, that chance is less than that of a non-legacy, low-income applicant getting into an Ivy League school. Furthermore, be prepared for other desperate U.Va. students piggybacking on your post on the group, in hopes of stealing your spot in a generous driver’s car. If you somehow emerge victorious in the “Hoos Driving” Hunger Games, sit back and relax. Don’t forget to pay the driver any amount they ask for, because we know you won’t back out now.

Another option could be to politely ask your significant other to visit you at U.Va. Convince them about how the mountains are a “good break from city life” and conveniently forget to tell them there’s literally nothing to do here on weekdays. Hey, at least you’ll get to spend the much-needed quality time with them. Take them out to dinner at 7 p.m., and when they complain about how early it is, explain to them the scientific benefits of eating before 8 p.m. I’m sure there’s an article about that somewhere. Hopefully they don’t stay for more than three to four days and you won’t need to have the awkward conversation with them about “doing something fun” when you’ve ticked off every item from that list. Maybe show them the Rotunda again? Reinstate how beautiful it is and its status as a World Heritage Site! It’s often tempting to ask your significant other to visit over spring break or fall break. Don’t make that mistake. Don’t invite them to a college town when nobody’s in college. Nobody wants to travel for six to seven hours to visit just another town. 

At the end of it all, I really do hope your relationship works out. If you feel you’re with the one, don’t let them go over trivial problems. Charlottesville really makes the distance feel like more, however, ~love knows no distance~ am I right?

Anav Singhis a Humor Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com

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