DFW to Houston. DFW to Austin. DFW to San Antonio. The Texas triangle long-distance relationship is more common than people think. I am currently in one and here is the reality.
My partner is in Austin. I am in Dallas. We have been together for 18 months. Here is what it actually looks like.
The logistics:
- Dallas to Austin: 195 miles, 3 hours by car, 55 minutes by Southwest.
- We see each other every other weekend. We alternate who travels.
- Southwest flights: $59-99 each way if booked 3+ weeks out. Source: Southwest.com.
- Driving cost: roughly $40-50 in gas round trip.
- Monthly travel cost: $200-400 depending on method.
What works:
- FaceTime every night. Not negotiable. Even if it is 10 minutes.
- Shared calendar. We know each other's schedules.
- We have "our" restaurants in both cities. In Dallas we go to the same Deep Ellum spot. In Austin we go to the same South Congress spot.
- Set a deadline. We agreed that by month 24, one of us moves. Open-ended long distance kills relationships.
What is hard:
- You miss the mundane things. I do not care about the big dates — it is the random Tuesday nights on the couch I miss.
- Jealousy and insecurity amplify with distance. You have to be more communicative than an in-person relationship requires.
- DFW and Austin are culturally different. My Dallas friends think Austin is weird. His Austin friends think Dallas is corporate. Both are right.
- The financial cost adds up. $300/month in travel is $3,600/year. That is a vacation we cannot take because we spent it on gas and flights.
Who should move: This is the question that will eventually define the relationship. Austin's tech scene vs. DFW's cost of living. Neither city is objectively better. Someone has to compromise.
Is it worth it? Honestly? Most of the time, yes. The weekends we have together are more intentional than any relationship I have had living in the same city. You do not take time together for granted when it costs $200 to see each other.
But there are Sunday nights when he drives back to Austin and I sit in my empty apartment and wonder if this is sustainable.
For anyone in a Texas triangle LDR — how are you making it work?
DFW to Houston LDR for 2 years before she moved here. The Sunday night goodbye is the hardest part. Everything else is manageable. But those drives home are brutal.