On this page
The short version
- As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra.
- Nobody pays to be featured, and commissions don't decide what we recommend.
- Our guides are general information, not therapy, legal, immigration, medical or financial advice.
Affiliate disclosure
LongDistance.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
In practice, this means some links on our gift guides and product pages are affiliate links. If you click one and buy something, Amazon pays us a small commission. The price you pay is the same as if you'd gone to Amazon directly. Pages that contain affiliate links show a disclosure near the top.
We may occasionally link to other retailers or makers, such as Etsy shops or brand websites. Those links are marked as sponsored in the page code, and if we ever earn a commission from a retailer other than Amazon, that is covered by this disclosure too. We don't accept payment, free products or other compensation in exchange for including a product in a guide, and we don't publish sponsored articles.
The site does not currently show display ads. If advertising is added in the future, ads will be clearly separated from editorial content and won't influence what we write. Our privacy policy will be updated before or when that happens.
How we choose products
Gift guides are written for a specific problem: something that has to cross a distance, often a border, and still mean something when it arrives. Here's how we decide what to include:
- Start from the situation, not the catalog. We begin with who the gift is for, the occasion and the budget, then look for what genuinely fits long-distance life: things that ship well, arrive intact, can be personalized, or create a shared experience across the miles.
- Check what's actually available. We research product listings, manufacturer information, and the patterns in buyer reviews (especially complaints about durability, app reliability, shipping and international use). We prefer products and categories that have been around long enough to have a track record.
- Be honest about the method. We don't claim to have lab-tested products or run trials we didn't run. When a recommendation is based on research and buyer feedback rather than hands-on use, we write it that way, and we name the caveats, such as subscriptions, app dependence or limited international shipping.
- Include the non-Amazon and free options. Plenty of the best long-distance gifts are handmade, digital, local or free. We include them even though we earn nothing from them.
- Show price ranges, not promises. Prices change constantly, so we give approximate ranges with “~”. Always check the current price, shipping time and return policy on the retailer's page before buying.
- Revisit regularly. We update guides when products are discontinued, change significantly or stop being good value, and we welcome reader corrections.
Amazon links on our site generally go to search results rather than a single product, so you can compare sellers, sizes and current prices yourself.
Not professional advice
Our articles are general information written for a wide audience. They are not a substitute for professional help from someone who knows your circumstances.
- Mental health and relationships. Our guides on communication, conflict, trust and breakups draw on published research and common practice, but they can't replace a licensed therapist or counselor. See therapy for long-distance couples for how to find one.
- Immigration and legal matters. Visa and immigration rules, fees and processing times change often and depend on your circumstances. Verify everything with the official government source, such as uscis.gov in the US, and consider a licensed immigration attorney before you file.
- Money and taxes. Guides on moving budgets, combining finances or international transfers describe general approaches. A qualified financial adviser or accountant, ideally one who knows cross-border situations, should review your specific plans.
- Health and safety. Nothing on this site is medical advice. Safety checklists for meeting in person are a starting point, not a guarantee.
Research and sources
When we cite research, we name the authors and year and describe the findings as accurately as we can. Research on long-distance relationships has real limits: many studies use small samples, and much of it focuses on college students in North America. Where we generalize, we try to say so, and where we're giving our own opinion, we say that too. Some widely repeated “LDR statistics” online don't hold up; our statistics page explains which numbers are solid and which aren't.
Examples and scenarios in our articles (“Say you're in Chicago and they're in Lisbon…”) are illustrative. They are not accounts of specific real people unless we clearly say otherwise.
Accuracy and updates
We aim to keep every guide accurate and current, and each article shows when it was last updated. Information can still go out of date between reviews, especially fees, prices, product features and app availability. If you spot an error, please tell us through our contact page.
External links
We link to outside sites when they help: official sources, research, support services and retailers. We aren't responsible for their content or practices, and a link is not an endorsement of everything they say.
Limitation of liability
You use the information on this site at your own discretion. To the extent permitted by law, LongDistance.net and its contributors are not liable for decisions made or actions taken based on its content. The full terms are in our terms of use.