No, not all long-distance relationships are doomed. Here's why.

You know what? Long distance relationships really get a bad rap.

Whether it’s a fear of loneliness, mistrust, or just ‘losing the spark’, the standard response from announcing a Long Distance Relationship is harsh: “it will never work out”.

The pessimists paint pictures of long and lonely nights in with only Ben & Jerry for company, and gleefully feed a niggling fear of sexy strangers knocking on your lover’s door late at night. Little wonder so many people claim they just couldn’t handle a LDR.

Well, we’re here to tell you the good news – it’s not that bad.

Thanks to our omnipresent smartphones, staying together whilst miles apart is easier than ever before. With the help of photo-sharing apps, online calendars, and WiFi connected phone calls, the days of waiting and wringing your hands are over.

Here are our top pick for smartphone apps that you and your partner can use to stay together, apart.

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Snapchat

Yes, that’s right folks: there is actually more to Snapchat than Kylie Jenner’s makeup tutorials.

For those NOT on Snapchat, welcome. No seriously, get on it – it’s fun, it’s quick, and it has augmented reality filters that will have you and your long distance lover in hysterics, regardless of the fact it’s 3am their time.

And the best part? You images and messages are deleted after a few short seconds, meaning that you don’t need to worry about your snaps falling into the wrong hands. (Okay, fine. We’ll just come out and say it: if you’re planning on sharing sexy snaps, this is the app to do so.)

Oh, and the filters. They are hilarious.

Download it here.

Without

This app was actually designed with long-distance couples in mind. In fact, creator Jeremy Schoenherr personally built Without when his girlfriend was relocated to L.A.

The app will track how long you’ve been apart, lets you quickly and easily share photos and cute messages, will tell you the time and weather of their location, and even detect when you’re hanging out together.

Yep, Without uses low-energy bluetooth to figure out when you’re physically together. Oh, technology. So creepy, but so cute.

Download it here. 

Words With Friends

The reality of a long-distance relationship extends beyond sweet messages and sexy selfies. Sometimes you just need something to do together that is so normal, it makes you feel together again.

Enter Words With Friends. Like a virtual game of scrabble, you can play against each other at any time of the day. It sounds weird, but getting that little alert that they’ve made a move makes them seem just that little bit closer.

Download it here.

Klikaklu

Receiving virtual love letters is one thing, but having a partner who lives far from home can make your day-to-day life feel very empty of them. You know, walking past your favourite dinner spot and feeling that pang? Mmm hmm sister. We get you.

Klikaklu is a fun way to bring them back into your world, but creating ‘treasure hunts’ from afar. Basically, you can set up an adventure for your partner to go on, and they can do the same for you. It will bring them back into your world, even when they can’t be there physically.

Download it here.

Hey Tell

Between time zone differences, work, and the basic issue of living in two completely different cities; being able to tee up a phone call can be really hard.

Hey Tell will tide you over with the ability to send lengthy voicemail messages to your lover. You can have a whole conversation back and forth, at times that it suits you to respond. Besides, how much nicer is it to hear their voice, instead of a text message?

Download it here.

What was the last text you sent your partner? Post continues after video…

Whilst you might be rolling your eyes and thinking ‘yeah, duh’ – hold up. Skype has underdone some pretty major changes over the last few years, and you might be surprised at how much easier it is than the early days of pixelated video that dropped out every five minutes.

You can call landlines OR mobiles, share screens, instant message, and have super long (and soppy) video chats with no massive fees. The original and the best.

Download it here.