I had a long-distance relationship for 3 years. We now live together, but our situation was perfect for my 20s.

The author said that a long-distance relationship taught her a lot about what makes for the right kind of relationship in her 20s.

Here she is shown with her partner while they traveled together to Lake Garda in Northern Italy.

Courtesy of Berkeley Mashburn.

I met my partner, a Frenchman, while backpacking in Europe five years ago.

When we fell in love, I was skeptical that a long-distance relationship was a good idea.

Dating across the Atlantic set us up for long-term success and had surprising benefits in my 20s.

In 2021, I met a handsome Frenchman in the lobby of a Lisbon hostel.

At the time, I was 25, and he was 22.

We had dinner together, and after a few weeks of flirting over WhatsApp , we agreed to meet again in Paris.

Maxime took me to dinner in Montmartre and showed me the suburb where he grew up.

He was kind, smart, and funny, but I expected to never see him again.

I was heading home to Texas , and he was starting his career in Europe.

But we couldn't stop talking, and after months of FaceTime calls, I went back to France.

We went skiing, and Maxime introduced me to his friends and family.