Happier Abroad Forum Community

It is an ultimate heartbreaker. A close friend moves away, and you know you will never see that person for the rest of your entire life. You might occasionally chat on the phone or through email after the person moves away, but eventually even that ceases, and that is it. The friendship is over, and there is not a single thing you can do about it.

And it gets worse. In America, when someone is moving away, they put up walls between themselves and everyone they ever met, because they know those people will no longer be a part of their lives anymore. Even to the point of not allowing any good-bye hugs, gifts, well wishes, or anything. Oftentimes, like what happens when a grudge occurs, the walls put up when someone is moving away are also like welded steel.

For example, let's say you are friends with a great bartender. And she is moving to the other side of the country in less than half a year. 4 months before her move, you could be hanging out with her at parks, fast food restaurants, the bar or tavern she works at, and such. 3 months before her move, and you notice she is distancing herself from you. Basically, she no longer chats much with you, she no longer likes taking pictures anymore, and such. 2 months before her move, and you find that she has unfriended or even blocked you from her Facebook. You might even get turned away per her request at the bar she works at, possibly even given a trespass warning. And one month before her move, even running into her at the store would even get you arrested and thrown into prison for harassment and stalking. Things can easily get really ugly and nasty when someone moves away in America.

Why is this nut job not banned?

People will sometimes dump you and your friendship when they know you're no longer going be in constant contact. Like someone from work or school, you might think they are your friends, but if you move on to a new job or graduate from school, you'll soon find they are not your friends at all.

I don't really care for making friends with most people anyhow. I know I am not missing out on much, because I've hung around with people before. And I know what they are all about. The only thing I am interested in is women, as far as people go.

I've got an old friend I visited after many years. We keep up with each other a bit through Facebook. When my wife had to stop in the Philippines when he lived there, she stayed with my friend's family at their home there. He said he would have been offended if I hadn't asked. His wife came through where we were staying on an international flight, and we took her for a day to see the sights before her connecting flight. We had dinner at their house and had a time of Bible study there, listening to his insights as someone who knows Hebrew, the last time we went back to that part of the US.

I was able to reconnect with another friend from just after my college years, too, and have dinner with him and his wife, too. We do not keep up with each other as much on Facebook. It is possible to maintain old friendships, and technology helps.