12 Long-Distance Date Ideas For Couples Who Live A Town, State, Or Country Apart

Use a streaming service to stream or rent the same movie. Start it at the same time (or use Netflix Party) and talk on the phone together throughout the movie. If you don't want to be on the phone, you can also text each other.

Use FaceTime, Skype, or speaker phone to cook a meal and eat it at the same time. It'll be like you're together, but you won't have to worry about the kitchen being too crowded.

Make a simple DIY pedicure scrub, put it in a well-sealed container, and drop it off on your partner's doorstep or mail it to them. Then you can both do the scrub "together" on the same night. Send photos throughout the whole process.

Spend a night planning the next day vacation. Read about different cities or countries, look up hotels or Airbnbs, note the average costs of flights, and maybe even look up the best restaurants in the area. You could plan a pretty wonderful trip down to a T.

Start your own two-person book club. Read a book or short story together on certain nights, and talk about what you think and feel. If you want to make it steamy, read a romance or erotic novel together.

Use your dates to stay active. Plan a yoga session or do an online workout class together. Even though you aren't together, you can still be each other's accountability buddies when it comes to regular exercise.

If the weather's nice take a long walk "together" while on the phone. Use your headphones or headset if you don't want to hold the phone. Stop occasionally to take photos and send them to each other as you walk.

Put together a charcuterie board or a couple simple snacks, pull out your favorite wine, and light a few candles to create the feeling of an intimate bar. Use FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom to chat with each other. If you want to feel a little fancier, get dressed up and do your makeup.

Writer Mandy Len Catron wrote an essay, “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” for The New York Times' Modern Love column. In it, she referenced a study by psychologist Arthur Aron, who studied whether people could fall in love more quickly if they asked each other a list of personal questions. The essay, and the list of 36 questions, have since gone viral.

Set up a video date with your partner, and test out the study for yourself. You can find the questions here. They are very personal, and after you ask all of them you have to maintain eye contact with your partner for four minutes.

Pull up a chair to your biggest window, or sit on your porch and watch the sky change colors together, over the phone or video chat. If you live in an area with lower light pollution, consider stargazing together too.

Museums around the world are offering free virtual online tours amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Here you can tour exhibits in The Louvre Museum in Paris, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, or the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City, among many others.