MSBKyle wrote:
On dating sites, I tend to get a lot of people who message me and they are nowhere near where I live. Some are hours away from me, others are in a different state, and some are even in another country. I even get people out of the state and country message me on Facebook wanting to be friends or date. Why would someone want a relationship with someone online? There is little chance that we would ever meet in person. Even if you like someone online, why not look for someone who is near you? I don't believe in long distance relationships especially if I've never met the person.
Almost everyone I find interesting lives up to three hours' drive away (one hour seems typical but some are in Canada). It happens when one lives in a more rural area.
Distance doesn't matter unless one is dating just for something to do or doesn't have the means to travel.
My ex-wife and I met on Match.com while living 365mi/587km apart...met up for a few weekends...moved in together...married a couple years later (were together 17 yrs.).
I had also met someone while she was in Peru and I in New York. She moved to Switzerland and when I moved to England for university we met in Paris for the first time. We were together nearly every weekend and I moved in with her for the Summer. We're still in touch 20+ years later.
I'm just giving examples of when distance didn't matter and the relationships, given time to develop slowly, led to something significant. When being with someone doesn't require any demonstration of maturity or commitment, one can't be sure there's maturity or commitment.