# from online to IRL -



## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

hey guys, i'm not sure if this topic has been posted before, but i'm really curious if any of you guys have ever gotten the chance to meet your long distance friends or lovers before!  

i'm curious because i'm going to meet my boyfriend for the first time here this next weekend~
i'm driving 12 hours out to cali and i wanted to hear some stories about your personal encounters. 

i've met maybe 4-5 people from online before, all of which were year+ long friends of mine and the experience is really just so amazing, but this is the first time i'll be meeting a lover.. so i'm really excited but also so incredibly nervous!

what were some of your guys' concerns? fears? did you have fun in the end? what was it like?!

*please don't flame this post about safety issues and the risks,
i know there are risks and i wouldn't knowingly put myself in harms way if i genuinely felt that something about this situation was sour.*


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## Heartcore (Mar 12, 2015)

I've met a boyfriend I had online for a while. It was actually super cute and awkward at first. So don't be discouraged if it's a little strange at first, it's kind of a scary thing for both people. I dated the guy for almost a year online, and then we decided to meet. It was so much fun though and I'm glad I met him. He wasn't the one for me, but I will always cherish the memories. Have a safe drive and a good first meeting. I hope it all works out for you!


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## Eldin (Mar 12, 2015)

Actually never! Not because I think there's anything wrong with it, I just rarely strike up friendships online. I'm kind of awkward with that kind of thing compared to meeting people irl, oddly enough.

Anyways, good luck this weekend! c:


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## Tap Dancer (Mar 12, 2015)

I'm not one for meeting people, but my sister met her boyfriend via AOL back in 1997. Together almost 20 years! (Don't ask me why they're not married because I don't know. But, hey, it works for them.) By the way, he only lived an hour away when they met. They've lived together pretty much from the start.


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

Heartcore said:


> I've met a boyfriend I had online for a while. It was actually super cute and awkward at first. So don't be discouraged if it's a little strange at first, it's kind of a scary thing for both people. I dated the guy for almost a year online, and then we decided to meet. It was so much fun though and I'm glad I met him. He wasn't the one for me, but I will always cherish the memories. Have a safe drive and a good first meeting. I hope it all works out for you!




that's so cute omg, so many of my friends and i were awkward at first. especially the time my flight got cancelled and he literally drove 5 hours up to NC ( he was in SC) to pick my butt up at the airport. 

that's too bad that you guys didn't work out in the end, but the fact that you got to meet is so amazing. ~
i really don't know what to expect going out here in 7 days, but i'm so happy it's going to happen. even if things end up awkward or boring- i know that i'll always remember this moment in my life.

- - - Post Merge - - -



Tap Dancer said:


> I'm not one for meeting people, but my sister met her boyfriend via AOL back in 1997. Together almost 20 years! (Don't ask me why they're not married because I don't know. But, hey, it works for them.) By the way, he only lived an hour away when they met. They've lived together pretty much from the start.




oh my gosh thats so cute, things like that are what make me think taking the risk is often worth the possible outcome. 
i'm really glad to hear about your sister!


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## Heartcore (Mar 12, 2015)

taesaek said:


> that's so cute omg, so many of my friends and i were awkward at first. especially the time my flight got cancelled and he literally drove 5 hours up to NC ( he was in SC) to pick my butt up at the airport.
> 
> that's too bad that you guys didn't work out in the end, but the fact that you got to meet is so amazing. ~
> i really don't know what to expect going out here in 7 days, but i'm so happy it's going to happen. even if things end up awkward or boring- i know that i'll always remember this moment in my life.



I definitely think that meeting in person is sort of the make or break of any relationship; you learn whether or not you two are actually physically compatible. But usually, if you've skyped or talked on the phone, it's practically the same thing-so it can be a good indicator. And I'm actually happy that it happened, it was sad when we broke up, but it ultimately helped me understand that he wasn't the one for me! There was no more lingering feeling of, "What if..?"


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## oreo (Mar 12, 2015)

C: AW, THAT IS CUTE! I hope all goes well when you meet up with your bf. <3
I've met a friend on MapleStory. She was literally 2 hours away by taking the bus. 
Sadly, she travels a lot with her family and move to new schools often. I've lost touch with her when she deactivated her FB. 
She was a food junkie like me and I came by her house a lot during the summer. 
I don't have any pets of my own but her 2 huskies, and the cockatoo were such sweethearts! c: ​


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## Chris (Mar 12, 2015)

I've met a few people IRL that I got close to on the internet originally. One amusing story is that I first met one of my current flatmate's online. We both live on-campus at university and randomly got assigned not only the same flat, but also our rooms are right next to each others! It took me a month or so to make the connection it was her. 

My best experiences have been with an Austrian friend I met through NaNoWriMo and it's sister sites back in 2011. Fast forward four years, and we've met twice! Once in Germany in March 2013, and then again just a few weeks ago in Scotland. Maybe someday we'll meet in her country, haha. 







Left: Mar 23rd 2013 in Kassel, Germany. 
Right: Feb 18th 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland.​
There are a couple of users on here I intend to meet with in the near future too.


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## Bowie (Mar 12, 2015)

Tina said:


> I've met a few people IRL that I got close to on the internet originally. One amusing story is that I first met one of my current flatmate's online. We both live on-campus at university and randomly got assigned not only the same flat, but also our rooms are right next to each others! It took me a month or so to make the connection it was her.
> 
> My best experiences have been with an Austrian friend I met through NaNoWriMo and it's sister sites back in 2011. Fast forward four years, and we've met twice! Once in Germany in March 2013, and then again just a few weeks ago in Scotland. Maybe someday we'll meet in her country, haha.
> 
> ...



Hey, just out of curiosity, which one is you?


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## Jake (Mar 12, 2015)

I am a baby so I would never meet anyone online unless I had known them for over a year


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## Chris (Mar 12, 2015)

Bowie said:


> Hey, just out of curiosity, which one is you?



I'm the one with the lighter-coloured hair.


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## Bowie (Mar 12, 2015)

Tina said:


> I'm the one with the lighter-coloured hair.



Oh, how fabulous!


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## DarkDesertFox (Mar 12, 2015)

Sadly I haven't gotten to experience that before. If I ever have another long distance relationship I would love to experience it. I do have some friends I talk to regularly that I'd like to meet someday as well. I wish you the best in meeting with your boyfriend.


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## Moddie (Mar 12, 2015)

I've never met up with any long distance friends that I've met through the internet, and I've yet to find a romantic partner online. But a while back I joined a local Skype chat and we occasionally meet up as a group which is pretty fun. I think there's a meet next month actually. I never really had any concerns or fears as we always meet up as a large group in a very public space. 

I hope you have fun with your boyfriend. ^_^


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## Beardo (Mar 12, 2015)

I'd love to, but it hasn't happened yet, and probably won't for a while.


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## Tap Dancer (Mar 12, 2015)

taesaek said:


> oh my gosh thats so cute, things like that are what make me think taking the risk is often worth the possible outcome.



Exactly! You'll never know unless you try. It could be a disaster, but *hopefully* it will be wonderful. Good luck! ♥


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## swimmergal98 (Mar 12, 2015)

no, i don't think i'd ever want to because you don't know who it is on the other side


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## Tap Dancer (Mar 12, 2015)

swimmergal98 said:


> no, i don't think i'd ever want to because you don't know who it is on the other side



Even people you meet in person (like at work, school, or when you're wandering around in public) can be bad. Just sayin'....


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## daniduckyface (Mar 12, 2015)

In the past I talked about it with a close ex friend of mine but he thought he was really cool because college and he didn't want to waste his time anymore with me (i'm in high school still) and he was going to be studying abroad (and was implying we don't keep in touch) and i just said screw it basically because he took me for granted most of the time and it was a very one sided friendship. Way better off now and very happy about that indeed. Funny thing is he only was 2 hours away on the other side of the state we live in and i hope i never run into him.


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## Heartcore (Mar 12, 2015)

Tap Dancer said:


> Even people you meet in person (like at work, school, or when you're wandering around in public) can be bad. Just sayin'....



Exactly. People act like the Internet is this really dark and scary place where everyone is an axe murderer on the other side, when you could have just as easily encountered a real life axe murderer walking past you at the mall yesterday. And most of the time, people who regularly interact over the Internet whether as friends or lovers, A. KNow each other for quite a while before meeting or B. Skype, call, text, and are a regular part of one another's lives.


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## swimmergal98 (Mar 12, 2015)

Tap Dancer said:


> Even people you meet in person (like at work, school, or when you're wandering around in public) can be bad. Just sayin'....



no i understand that i'm just saying you might think you know someone really well though texts but you can't know for sure until you actually meet them and get to know them on that level too since it's way easier to text someone what they want to hear than it is to actually say things to their face


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## Tap Dancer (Mar 12, 2015)

Heartcore said:


> A. KNow each other for quite a while before meeting or B. Skype, call, text, and are a regular part of one another's lives.



Good points. These days Skype is such a great thing. Back in the 90s when the Internet was new, we didn't have that. People would send pics and you never knew if that was actually their pic or a fake one. LOL. Video chats don't allow you to fool people so easily. Before ever meeting in person, talk for a while. When you're ready to meet for the first time, pick a public place and meet there.

- - - Post Merge - - -



swimmergal98 said:


> no i understand that i'm just saying you might think you know someone really well though texts but you can't know for sure until you actually meet them and get to know them on that level too since it's way easier to text someone what they want to hear than it is to actually say things to their face



I'm old school; I don't text.  But everyone you ever meet - even if it's someone you meet in person - is a stranger at first. If you're not comfortable meeting people you talk to online, that's totally fine. I don't really like people in general, so I stay home. LOL


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## Heartcore (Mar 12, 2015)

Tap Dancer said:


> Good points. These days Skype is such a great thing. Back in the 90s when the Internet was new, we didn't have that. People would send pics and you never knew if that was actually their pic or a fake one. LOL. Video chats don't allow you to fool people so easily. Before ever meeting in person, talk for a while. When you're ready to meet for the first time, pick a public place and meet there.



Believe me, I remember the early days of the Internet. B) Even up to like 2010, people were getting catfished much more often. Usually people using pictures of emo site models as who they really were. Lmao. Now it still happens, but you have to just be foolish to do so. Video chat was a blessing for LDR couples everywhere.


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## Tap Dancer (Mar 12, 2015)

Heartcore said:


> Believe me, I remember the early days of the Internet. B) Even up to like 2010, people were getting catfished much more often. Usually people using pictures of emo site models as who they really were. Lmao. Now it still happens, but you have to just be foolish to do so. Video chat was a blessing for LDR couples everywhere.



I remember back in, like, 1999 people were passing around a picture of a sexy blonde woman, claiming to be her. The same exact pic _every time_ with a different name. I discovered she was a model on an adult website and her real name was Jana. But every time that pic was passed around, she became "Kimberly" or "Stacy" or whatever. LOL

Anyway, I'm sorry OP, for getting off-topic. I think I'll shut up for the night. I've enjoyed the thread, though.


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

its so cool that all of you guys have great opinions or awesome stories about finally meeting up with someone. it's just really awesome to know you're never really alone with something on the internet. i've met so many genuine people online it blows my mind that people to this day can still say that "nobody is real on the internet and they're not your real freinds." 

i'm so glad so many of you have gotten to meet someone important to you from the internet. and thank you all soooooo much for being supportive and hoping for the best.  maybe i'll post some cute photos while i'm in cali with him. you guys rock ~


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## infinikitten (Mar 12, 2015)

No, and I love all of them dearly, but I'm just not ready for that yet. Socializing with people I've already seen a billion times is difficult enough for me, so while I'm comfortable talking to my BFFs online, flying out to see them is not only financially impossible but also just... not feasible with the way my mental state is, currently. I'd like to do it one day, though! For sure ♥

There was one guy who I was fairly close with, and I joked that since I had family living around where he was (up in Canada - I'm in the US) I should stop by and have coffee with him or something next time I visit. He ended up getting REALLY creepy about it, taking like two straight weeks off his job to plan it around me being there - and all this based on this one-off comment about maybe meeting up if I was in the area. Lo and behold, the trip up to Canada was canceled for some reason (whichever family members were organizing it backed out I think) and he started guilt tripping me over not being able to come, even though, again, it was never established that I was coming up specifically to see him - he just got that idea in his head somehow. He cleaned out his spare room and was like "You'll just stay with me instead of at your hotel!" Uh... no.

Same happened with another dude. Got real clingy, wanted to visit me when he was passing through my state, I said I had too much on my plate and he was sulky and obnoxious about it for months afterward. Literal months.

So I'm hesitant to make plans like that now, even though I know I'm keeping better company.


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

infinikitten said:


> No, and I love all of them dearly, but I'm just not ready for that yet. Socializing with people I've already seen a billion times is difficult enough for me, so while I'm comfortable talking to my BFFs online, flying out to see them is not only financially impossible but also just... not feasible with the way my mental state is, currently. I'd like to do it one day, though! For sure ♥
> 
> There was one guy who I was fairly close with, and I joked that since I had family living around where he was (up in Canada - I'm in the US) I should stop by and have coffee with him or something next time I visit. He ended up getting REALLY creepy about it, taking like two straight weeks off his job to plan it around me being there - and all this based on this one-off comment about maybe meeting up if I was in the area. Lo and behold, the trip up to Canada was canceled for some reason (whichever family members were organizing it backed out I think) and he started guilt tripping me over not being able to come, even though, again, it was never established that I was coming up specifically to see him - he just got that idea in his head somehow. He cleaned out his spare room and was like "You'll just stay with me instead of at your hotel!" Uh... no.
> 
> ...





oh goes, some people take things way too far.
i don't blame you for being hesitant about things like this~
i'm really glad you never met up with the creepies! 

i had a friend like that, who was SOOOOOO willing to pay EVERYTHING for me to fly out and stay with him for a few weeks, but his aura about it all was so off- i had to decline with the best excuse i could come up with. some people are just super creepy. 

one friend i've known for like 7 years online finally met with me last summer, i flew out to meet him finally and stya with him and his mom ( his mom is like my bff omg) but he got really touchy while i was there and i had to explain to him about the motives behind him meeting me weren't supposed to be that and that him and i aren't compatible. ( because i'm transgender and he's only into women and how he's like my older brother and nothing more) and it made the situation incredibly hard.


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## Trundle (Mar 12, 2015)

No, I'm not insecure enough to feel the need to start emotional connections with people I haven't met
I prefer face to face


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

Trundle said:


> No, I'm not insecure enough to feel the need to start emotional connections with people I haven't met
> I prefer face to face



i don't think it's very appropriate to call everyone who makes friends online "insecure" simply because they make long distance connections. and i agree that everyone deserves an opinion, but that was just really rude.


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## Jake (Mar 12, 2015)

Trundle said:


> No, I'm not insecure enough to feel the need to start emotional connections with people I haven't met
> I prefer face to face



i told u personal stuff and u said u started tearing up what a ****

i h8 men and i always will


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## Fhyn_K (Mar 12, 2015)

Firstly, cute sig! A+ for the Kpop!

I congratulate you for making a long distance relationship work! It is not easy and I cannot do what you do. From my experience, I met an individual who lived states away from my work at the time and we started off as work-acquaintances that cultivated into a friendship. Years down the line we've been each other's daily thing to do, examples being text, call, social-media, etc. Then one drunken night on my part I blurted out that if he lived in the same city as I do, I would date him. That set everything off. Our conversations kept going back to what-if situations and us discovering that the feeling was mutual. We decided that he would fly out to visit me and to summarize it all up: it became one of the best series of dates I've had. The only problem was that I loved where I lived, where I worked, and I had a plan that revolves there; as did he. So we decided to leave it at that and move on. 

My advise for you, keep going forward with YOUR best interests at heart. Do not sacrifice your goals and ambitions for love because a relationship should be something that you go home to, not what you start your day with.


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

Fhyn_K said:


> Firstly, cute sig! A+ for the Kpop!
> 
> I congratulate you for making a long distance relationship work! It is not easy and I cannot do what you do. From my experience, I met an individual who lived states away from my work at the time and we started off as work-acquaintances that cultivated into a friendship. Years down the line we've been each other's daily thing to do, examples being text, call, social-media, etc. Then one drunken night on my part I blurted out that if he lived in the same city as I do, I would date him. That set everything off. Our conversations kept going back to what-if situations and us discovering that the feeling was mutual. We decided that he would fly out to visit me and to summarize it all up: it became one of the best series of dates I've had. The only problem was that I loved where I lived, where I worked, and I had a plan that revolves there; as did he. So we decided to leave it at that and move on.
> 
> My advise for you, keep going forward with YOUR best interests at heart. Do not sacrifice your goals and ambitions for love because a relationship should be something that you go home to, not what you start your day with.





// Yesssssss kpop is life. <3 kim taehyung is my fave.


this is both a beautiful and heart breaking story to hear.
it's terrible to hear that you guys couldn't make it work, but my gosh i'm glad that you guys both knew priorities and that you tried and sometimes things just don't add up. i just recently finished a segment in my medical career and i'm lucky to have a vast range of locations i can look for work at, but i'm not willing to jump state so quickly. like you said, it's so important to chase your goals and hope for the best as far as relationships go, so thank you so much for your insight. : )


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## Kaiaa (Mar 12, 2015)

taesaek said:


> hey guys, i'm not sure if this topic has been posted before, but i'm really curious if any of you guys have ever gotten the chance to meet your long distance friends or lovers before!
> 
> i'm curious because i'm going to meet my boyfriend for the first time here this next weekend~
> i'm driving 12 hours out to cali and i wanted to hear some stories about your personal encounters.
> ...



Believe it or not, prof gallows and I have met up. We started dating in august of 2014 and I went out of my way to spend the holidays with him in December. We weren't planning on visiting until march when it was warmer but spur of the moment planning allowed us to spend time together and I had a wonderful time. I took 2 planes (first time flying ever and I did it alone!) over because I lived halfway across the country but it was absolutely worth it. When I went back home we decided it would be best if one of us moved closer so we could spend more time together so I moved over in feburary. I chose to be the one to move because I didn't have much to leave behind. I don't regret it for a second. I know a lot of people say to be careful meeting up with others and you really should be but you just need to use your head. Be smart about who you go see and make sure people know who you're off to see. Above all trust your intuition. If you have a feeling something is wrong, it usually is. Be safe on your journey and have fun!


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## ACupOfTea (Mar 12, 2015)

I've never met up with any online friends, mainly because I don't have a lot. I'd really like to meet up with one of my friends from Tumblr though. We Skype all the time and know each other pretty well, so I don't think it'd be awkward at all.


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

Kaiaa said:


> Believe it or not, prof gallows and I have met up. We started dating in august of 2014 and I went out of my way to spend the holidays with him in December. We weren't planning on visiting until march when it was warmer but spur of the moment planning allowed us to spend time together and I had a wonderful time. I took 2 planes (first time flying ever and I did it alone!) over because I lived halfway across the country but it was absolutely worth it. When I went back home we decided it would be best if one of us moved closer so we could spend more time together so I moved over in feburary. I chose to be the one to move because I didn't have much to leave behind. I don't regret it for a second. I know a lot of people say to be careful meeting up with others and you really should be but you just need to use your head. Be smart about who you go see and make sure people know who you're off to see. Above all trust your intuition. If you have a feeling something is wrong, it usually is. Be safe on your journey and have fun!




that's so beautiful! i'm so glad things worked out great for you guys  
i can easily see myself moving around the world eventually, (im still pretty young, i want to see as much as i can before i can't anymore) and i guess this was one of the steps i wanted to take! thank you so much for the wishes and i hope things end up as well as you guys did ~

- - - Post Merge - - -



ACupOfTea said:


> I've never met up with any online friends, mainly because I don't have a lot. I'd really like to meet up with one of my friends from Tumblr though. We Skype all the time and know each other pretty well, so I don't think it'd be awkward at all.




there are so many close friends i have on tumblr whom i'd kill to eventually meet. sadly some of the biggest are out of this country, but regardless- online friendships are so important to me. i hope you can meet your friend one day


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## Jake (Mar 12, 2015)

Kaiaa said:


> Believe it or not, prof gallows and I have met up. We started dating in august of 2014 and I went out of my way to spend the holidays with him in December. We weren't planning on visiting until march when it was warmer but spur of the moment planning allowed us to spend time together and I had a wonderful time. I took 2 planes (first time flying ever and I did it alone!) over because I lived halfway across the country but it was absolutely worth it. When I went back home we decided it would be best if one of us moved closer so we could spend more time together so I moved over in feburary. I chose to be the one to move because I didn't have much to leave behind. I don't regret it for a second. I know a lot of people say to be careful meeting up with others and you really should be but you just need to use your head. Be smart about who you go see and make sure people know who you're off to see. Above all trust your intuition. If you have a feeling something is wrong, it usually is. Be safe on your journey and have fun!



odamn the first mod scandal on tbt time to hit up the blog tree


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## Zigzag991 (Mar 12, 2015)

infinikitten said:


> No, and I love all of them dearly, but I'm just not ready for that yet. Socializing with people I've already seen a billion times is difficult enough for me, so while I'm comfortable talking to my BFFs online, flying out to see them is not only financially impossible but also just... not feasible with the way my mental state is, currently. I'd like to do it one day, though! For sure ♥
> 
> There was one guy who I was fairly close with, and I joked that since I had family living around where he was (up in Canada - I'm in the US) I should stop by and have coffee with him or something next time I visit. He ended up getting REALLY creepy about it, taking like two straight weeks off his job to plan it around me being there - and all this based on this one-off comment about maybe meeting up if I was in the area. Lo and behold, the trip up to Canada was canceled for some reason (whichever family members were organizing it backed out I think) and he started guilt tripping me over not being able to come, even though, again, it was never established that I was coming up specifically to see him - he just got that idea in his head somehow. He cleaned out his spare room and was like "You'll just stay with me instead of at your hotel!" Uh... no.
> 
> ...



Jake is that you.

This is a main problem with meeting people. Yeah you may video chat every once in awhile or strictly use text, but you may not know all of their personality. Perhaps they may be obsessive or just demanding in trying to know everything about you which may affect how you feel towards. Plus, if you decide to meet someone and it doesn't work out, you may be stuck with them for some days or may have to use more money to just leave.

Personally, I'd never do it, because in my experience it's more of a case of "hey I play that game let's play together" rather than actually getting to know someone personally. Plus, I'd stick with using text as, again, I don't really know them so I wouldn't know them better with video chat or the like. Because of this, they could turn out to be 10 years older and make it really awkward to meet up in real life. 

In general I just don't see it as something comfortable because you may not know them very well if at all, or you may not know about something that may turn you off. At least if you originally met them in real life you'd know things like age and you'd naturally know them better as you can see observe their personality better than through text. Of course, however, some people may be closer to each other so they pretty much know if they like that person or not so there's not a huge issue in meeting them, but I personally wouldn't because in my experience I don't generally chat with people to know them on a personal level, not counting that you may not even like them if you get to know them better.


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## Kaiaa (Mar 12, 2015)

taesaek said:


> that's so beautiful! i'm so glad things worked out great for you guys
> i can easily see myself moving around the world eventually, (im still pretty young, i want to see as much as i can before i can't anymore) and i guess this was one of the steps i wanted to take! thank you so much for the wishes and i hope things end up as well as you guys did ~



I do have to say, it's been the most adventurous thing I've done but well worth it. I've been happier than I ever have been. There was no akwardness between us, it was just completely natural when we met officially. He's my best friend and I love him. I do hope that you and your lover have as awesome of a time as I had when I first met up with gallows. Its worth it to take a chance <3


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## tae (Mar 12, 2015)

Kaiaa said:


> I do have to say, it's been the most adventurous thing I've done but well worth it. I've been happier than I ever have been. There was no akwardness between us, it was just completely natural when we met officially. He's my best friend and I love him. I do hope that you and your lover have as awesome of a time as I had when I first met up with gallows. Its worth it to take a chance <3



this just warms my soul and i really want to stay positive and hope that everything plays out better than expected. i don't think it'll be too awkward, but it'll be surreal to be able to finally physically see him and his mannerisms put into life~
thank you so much,  i can't wait for these 7 days to hurry by.


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## Shimmer (Mar 12, 2015)

I've met my boyfriend twice now in person! First time was last year in June and the other time was last Christmas. 

We met on a My Little Pony forum (don't laugh xD) and we've been together for 2 years and 5 months. I live in Canada and he lives in New York City. It's been pretty hard but I feel that it's getting easier as time goes on. It sucks to not physically be with him but I feel like he's with me all the time. We play online games together and watch anime to have something fun to do while we're apart. We Skype every night and fall asleep to each other's voices. We also buy each other gifts and open them on cam together so that's fun too. 

Other than that, I haven't met anyone that I met online in person. I plan to though. It's so fun!


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## M O L K O (Mar 13, 2015)

I have a bff I've known for 6 years from brazil but she lives in brazil and we're poor so no
but if I met gnoixami (or however u spell her dumb username) I will fight her in the snow and take her dog


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## Trent the Paladin (Mar 13, 2015)

Kaiaa said:


> Believe it or not, prof gallows and I have met up. We started dating in august of 2014 and I went out of my way to spend the holidays with him in December. We weren't planning on visiting until march when it was warmer but spur of the moment planning allowed us to spend time together and I had a wonderful time. I took 2 planes (first time flying ever and I did it alone!) over because I lived halfway across the country but it was absolutely worth it. When I went back home we decided it would be best if one of us moved closer so we could spend more time together so I moved over in feburary. I chose to be the one to move because I didn't have much to leave behind. I don't regret it for a second. I know a lot of people say to be careful meeting up with others and you really should be but you just need to use your head. Be smart about who you go see and make sure people know who you're off to see. Above all trust your intuition. If you have a feeling something is wrong, it usually is. Be safe on your journey and have fun!



Oh damn, ya'll keep progressin! Permission to visit ya'll for lunch? lol

But there's plenty of folks I wouldn't mind meeting for various reasons, but I don't really have many plans to meet any of them (not entirely sure the feeling is mutual let's be honest) outside of attending a wedding in December. Might meet up with the happy couple before that, but seeing as they live a little far from me I don't think it'd be possible unless I just took a week off to go chill with them or something.


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## ShinyYoshi (Mar 13, 2015)

I never seem to meet anyone online that lives close enough to me to meet IRL. I have had some online friendships that probably would have been awesome to have IRL, but as I said, everyone lives so far. 

And now that I think about it, I don't really have many online friends these days. All my friends are at my university or at a different one in the state. I don't really have online friends to plan on meeting.


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## Boosh (Mar 13, 2015)

I met my very best friend online 10 years ago. We met about 6 months after we started talking and have met up about 4 times a year since (we've stayed at eachothers houses heaps of times). She's coming to my wedding next year


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## nammie (Mar 13, 2015)

yea I met someone I used to talk to online when I was 12? 13? when I entered university bc someone else told me we were going to the same uni so why not meet up
shes super nice and we're still good friends 4 years later!!

I've never really had any concerns over safety or anything about the ppl I talk to online bc I have no interest in meeting any guys irl and idk I'm not really scared about meeting girls and I only meet if we're on campus or something lol

some other online ppl I met had the blandest/most awkward personalities ever irl tho... but they seemed perfectly normal online so tbh personally I don't think I could ever get close enough with someone I've never met face to face to consider them a bff or anything lol like I doubt I'd fly out or go out of my way to meet someone I met on the internet, I'd rather fly out to see my family or something.


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## joslyn.png (Mar 13, 2015)

i met this guy on isketch (lol) and he lived in england. we clicked really fast. we talked for around 3 years before he decided to come and see me. it was pretty amazing meeting him. i think meeting people in real after knowing them for so long is a wonderful feeling. the only thing, of course, is to be careful and to make sure they are who they say they are. and to always meet in a public area. other than that, i think it's such a great experience!


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## xTurnip (Mar 13, 2015)

Warning this will probably end up kinda long hah...

My mom and I used to play Diablo 2. I was pretty young, probably not even ten yet. My mom & I joined a clan called The Misfits and after I think like 2 years of playing the whole clan met up at an internet cafe and we all played D2 and other games together for like an entire week. There was a campsite near by and we camped out for awhile. It was really fun. 

My mom and I really befriended a man (he was old enough to be my Grandfather) that used the online name Djoser and played a Necromancer in the game. My mom used to get on Teamspeak and let us all three talk and he became a really good parental figure for me. (My parents weren't good role models. They were more focused on bad things instead of the kids they had.) Anyway! After my mom stopped playing I was still too young to be playing this game alone so my mom let me play with Djoser as long as I wanted. Djoser invited my family and me out to where he lived (Pennsilvania) for a little vacation and we had so much fun. After my mom and dad split up he helped us move. We saw each other at random times for the next few years. (Oh I totally forgot to mention his name wtf... It was Bill.) We fell out of contact for a year or two, I had school and was going through a rough patch. He found me and my mom on Facebook and we would talk semi regularly. He didn't message for awhile, he finally told us that he was sick (cancer) and he did some chemo but it didn't really work out. He passed away about 6 or 7 mobths ago. It hit really hard.

My point is, the internet can help you make wonderful friendships. Bill and I were friends for the majority of my life.


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## akabetty (Mar 13, 2015)

I met my husband online. We were myspace friends for a really long time and eventually just decided to meet. Before that, I had never met anyone that I had talked to on the internet and I am really glad I chose to, obvs.

Good luck meeting him! I hope it goes well :3


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## DarkFox7 (Mar 13, 2015)

Unfortunately, I've never gotten the chance to. I'm planning on meeting him when I'm 18. He's my online lover as well (though we're technically not together yet). We've known each other for four years, met on Flipnote Hatena. I swear to you, he is THE true male version of me. We are so much alike, and we love each other so much. We always have something to talk about, and though we're not a couple, he showers his love on me daily anyway. "Hi Grace! I love you! How are you today? By the way I love you!" Legit, he says "I love you" in almost every other message he sends. Been this way for four years. It's like I never get old for him. We USED to be together, but I broke up with him 2 years later due to preferring real life relationships. But time has passed and we've already agreed that we're going to get back together if me and my current boyfriend ever break up. We're still meeting either way, no matter what. He's not just my lover, but my best friend that listens to me and cares about me.


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## tae (Mar 13, 2015)

i hope all of you that want to meet your friends / loved ones get the chance one day to finally do so.  
and those of you who aren't sure / don't want to meet them- i hope your friendships stay strong regardless if they ever hit real life or not.


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## infinikitten (Mar 13, 2015)

Regardless of my weird/creepy experiences, I do still look forward to the day when I feel like I can handle going out to see the friends I've made online~ Only one of them is a member of this forum (Valval!) but I've known her for a couple years now (lmao I lost track of how long, sorry bb if you see this) and our whole little "group" has visited each other except for me and my partner. I want to get in on that one day! Literally all of them have cats btw so I'd be lying if I didn't say that wasn't also a motivating factor; people with pets just make me feel so much less awkward, more at ease etc. haha

I'm sure there are more positive stories out there than negative ones, like how negative reviews and negative news always get more attention than the positive stuff. So far I've only had the creepy guys being pushy about meeting up with me, but at the same time I also know people who've met their husbands or wives online. Actually, Valval met her husband and bf online :O I should point her toward this thread and see if she wants to share. They're all super adorable.


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## valval (Mar 13, 2015)

Hooo boy, I have met so many very, very important people online and then IRL!

My husband and I met and were really good friends on a fantasy book series fansite (wheel of time, yay). We ended up falling in love, meeting, and getting married a few years later. I'm in Utah, USA and he's originally from Melbourne, Australia and was living there when we met :O I've also met online/irl: three of my bffs, several other good friends, and my boyfriend. (I'm poly, so married + another relationship.)

It can be SUPER AMAZING AWESOME, and it can be not so great, but I really stress this - be safe, let people know where you are, and try and have a good time once you're with the person you've known from online. Online chemistry may not always translate to IRL chemistry, and it's important you both understand that when romantic feelings are involved. All that said, I think the internet is no less valid a way to meet friends/loves than IRL ways :3


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## infinikitten (Mar 13, 2015)

valval said:


> Hooo boy, I have met so many very, very important people online and then IRL!
> 
> My husband and I met and were really good friends on a fantasy book series fansite (wheel of time, yay). We ended up falling in love, meeting, and getting married a few years later. I'm in Utah, USA and he's originally from Melbourne, Australia and was living there when we met :O I've also met online/irl: three of my bffs, several other good friends, and my boyfriend. (I'm poly, so married + another relationship.)
> 
> It can be SUPER AMAZING AWESOME, and it can be not so great, but I really stress this - be safe, let people know where you are, and try and have a good time once you're with the person you've known from online. Online chemistry may not always translate to IRL chemistry, and it's important you both understand that when romantic feelings are involved. All that said, I think the internet is no less valid a way to meet friends/loves than IRL ways :3



YOOOOOOO
she did it
listen to this lady
/points


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## Bon Bonne (Mar 13, 2015)

I'd love to meet some of my friends, but I could never get into a relationship with someone online. thankfully I have no interest in such a thing in the first place...
but yeah. I have one friend who actually isn't that far off from me, only next state. but he's so busy with life, who knows when I might be able to meet him. I think it'd be really fun, though. he said he wanted to see me last summer, but it never got to happen. ah well. someday, maybe.


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## tae (Mar 13, 2015)

valval said:


> Hooo boy, I have met so many very, very important people online and then IRL!
> 
> My husband and I met and were really good friends on a fantasy book series fansite (wheel of time, yay). We ended up falling in love, meeting, and getting married a few years later. I'm in Utah, USA and he's originally from Melbourne, Australia and was living there when we met :O I've also met online/irl: three of my bffs, several other good friends, and my boyfriend. (I'm poly, so married + another relationship.)
> 
> It can be SUPER AMAZING AWESOME, and it can be not so great, but I really stress this - be safe, let people know where you are, and try and have a good time once you're with the person you've known from online. Online chemistry may not always translate to IRL chemistry, and it's important you both understand that when romantic feelings are involved. All that said, I think the internet is no less valid a way to meet friends/loves than IRL ways :3




thank you so much for all the kind words and sharing your experience! : ) 
i'm hoping the romantic feelings only increase when we finally meet- i'm going to stay as hopeful as i can! 
i was telling a friend today that this next weekend will either make or break the relationship, but i really feel that it's going to just make it better than it already is. and with me almost done with my degree in the medical field- who knows, maybe i can find a nice job closer someday.


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## pippy1994 (Mar 14, 2015)

Yeah I've met a few online boyfriends, never worked out though. Although I am going on a date in a week or so, I've found someone. :3
Have known his for nearly 3 years, we've been talking a bit more over the past few days. I took interest in him and asked him if he was interested in dating.


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## unravel (Mar 14, 2015)

In tbt: Aeu and booshoe.


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## spCrossing (Mar 14, 2015)

No, because most of them live in different parts of the world and it would be a miracle if I met them IRL.


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## dizzy bone (Mar 14, 2015)

I used to go on a forum for coding/pixeling when I was younger. I had about 7 or so close online friends from there. I met about 5 of them when I moved to the states for college. I've always been really comfortable meeting my online friends but I still don't really know about online dating. I've only met one guy that I met online and it was super weird. But that's probably because I was really nervous and awkward about it. 

I was really close to meeting this guy I knew from WoW when I was in highschool but my brother moved servers and I never found him again lol.


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## Yoshisaur (Mar 14, 2015)

I went to a forum meetup once! It was really cool, people from all over the world came. (it was for the premier of a Vegas show!) None of my really good friends came to that one but everyone is pretty much just like they are online as they are in person!

I also met someone I was dating online in 2013 (still together!). I was fairly nervous picking him up from the airport. I was worried he'd be different in person. He wasn't! For me the most awkward thing was him meeting like my family and friends and stuff. I thought they were all judge-y since we met online but that only lasted for a second.


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## PurpleLutari (Mar 17, 2015)

I met up with two of my best online friends (not from TBT, from a different fandom entirely) just last year - it was amazing, even if we were all really nervous and had no idea what to do/talk about  We've known each other for years and yet as soon as we started talking irl.. such awkwardness 

I've seen so many people talk about the risks and all that but like.. there was never any of that with my friends?  For starters two of us were under 18 so of course our parents came with us, and it was in a fairly public place too so.. yeah.


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## tae (Mar 18, 2015)

tomorrow is the day i leave! i'm so excited!

thank you all so much for telling me your stories and opinions. you've all been so wonderful and i wish i could ask every one of you even more about the experiences you had ~

everyone be safe this weekend and i'm sure i'll post lots of photos when i get back : )


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## Feloreena (Mar 18, 2015)

Good luck for tomorrow, I hope you and your boyfriend have an amazing time together. 

I've met quite a few people in person that I've met online first over the years: 

The first time I met someone I had spoken to online first was when I was 14 I think, he was my cousin's boyfriend and I'd spoken to him on World of Warcraft a fair bit (she met him on WoW originally) so I saw him when I was at her house every now and then. I'd spoken to him a lot on Skype so it wasn't weird to meet him and we both got on the same. 

A friend from Norway came to visit me when I was 17 for a day. This was kind of awkward to be honest, I'd spoken to him quite a lot on Ventrilo but I wasn't really interested in meeting him. He didn't give me much time to think about it either, he just announced that he was going to be in my city in a few days.

When I was 18 my boyfriend at the time came to visit me. I'd been speaking to him on and off since I was 13, so it was nice to finally meet him, and it wasn't awkward because we'd spent a lot of time video-calling. I was nervous and shy at first of course but that went away quite quickly. We were together for just under a year, and I met up with some of his friends I had spoken to online when I went to visit him too.

Then when I was 19 I went to visit my boyfriend at the time. I was nervous and shy again but it went away quickly, it's easy if you've done a lot of video-calling and are being yourself. We were together for almost three years.

Finally, I'm in the Computer Gaming Society at my university, so I actually ended up speaking to a lot of people via Skype when we were playing League of Legends together (arranged through the Facebook group) before I met them in person at LANs or other events. This was not weird at all because my experience of talking to these people had been through voice chat from the start. I also met my current boyfriend this way, he's a friend of one of my university friends in the Computer Gaming Society and we played a lot of League of Legends together before we met up. It wasn't awkward because I'd spoken to him on Skype so much, and we both liked each other just as much in person. 

I might have missed a person or two, but I've had generally good experiences with meeting people online. I put this down to spending a lot of time in voice/video calls with the people beforehand though!


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## yosugay (Mar 18, 2015)

i met my boyfriend online and then we met irl and he left to go back to ny and then came back to where i am after like a month and now he lives with me. dreams come tru~~~


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## Espurr96 (Mar 18, 2015)

A few times, a long time ago. Those days have long been gone.


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## Aryxia (Mar 19, 2015)

Eldin said:


> Actually never! Not because I think there's anything wrong with it, I just rarely strike up friendships online. *I'm kind of awkward with that kind of thing compared to meeting people irl, oddly enough.*
> 
> Anyways, good luck this weekend! c:



I thought I was the only one! Anyways, Good luck with your boyfriend OP c:


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## cosmic-latte (Mar 19, 2015)

I have good friends that live in Canada, New York, and Texas. We're all in/about to go to university, so it's hard to meet up, but we hope to someday! We've all been friends for about 8 months now.


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## Tao (Mar 19, 2015)

I've met 3 people IRL that I met online (not including 'friends of friends' that I would have ended up meeting regardless).


With the first person we were 'romantically involved', though I refused to make it official until we had met. It was somewhat long distance (at 15 it doesn't take much to be long distance) and it was like 6 months till we met in person.
We just 'didn't click' in person. It felt like I was talking to a completely different person and it just didn't feel natural. It was just pure awkward. We stopped talking entirely not long later since meeting kind of killed it.




The other two were two friends and I started speaking to one of them because of the other. 

The one I started talking to first, again, we just didn't click and it didn't take long for us to just stop talking to each other entirely. She was a nice enough person and there wasn't particularly anything wrong, it just "wasn't right". Kind of like how milkshake and pizza are both awesome but turn into a soggy disgusting mess when you mix them.

The other one (the one that I was 'introduced to') I still got along with really well and we continue to be good friends to this day (what...9 years later?).




So, 1 out of 3 worked out well.



I think people just tend to think that if you get along with somebody online you will in person and that's not necessarily the case. Body language and what a person physically does or how they act is pretty important and it's an aspect you just don't get online. Even webcams don't really portray it very well.


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## infinikitten (Mar 20, 2015)

taesaek said:


> tomorrow is the day i leave! i'm so excited!
> 
> thank you all so much for telling me your stories and opinions. you've all been so wonderful and i wish i could ask every one of you even more about the experiences you had ~
> 
> everyone be safe this weekend and i'm sure i'll post lots of photos when i get back : )



AHHHH! Awesome ♥ Cheering for you! Hope you have an awesome time


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## KaydeeKrunk (Mar 22, 2015)

I online dated for a while and met one guy who was really amazing but it ended up not working out, luckily because I wouldn't have met my now s/o whom I am going to marry. I have plans to go meet "my Australian" someday, which will be super awkward because he has been in love with me forever and still is? He used to message me all the time telling me how he still did even while in a relationship with his girlfriend... and how he thinks of me all the time. Still he is my best online friend and I really just need to meet him someday soon, cause I love him in a friend way.


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## Shadow Star (Mar 23, 2015)

While I have no cute romance stories of lovers to share, I have met up with some very close friends. It started out as an advert for people aspiring to become youtubers to record some videos with me so we could all get settled and not have to face it alone. Two joined me straight away and we got close then around the summer we had another join us and then two more followed just after my birthday. That was about 2 years ago now since I met them.

What worked well for us was that the majority of us live in the UK albeit a bit scattered. Last July; myself and three out my five friends met up for the first time and recently we met up again to celebrate a birthday. We're hoping to meet up about 3 more times this year as well, so I'm seriously looking forward to it.

Like any meeting, it was quite awkward to begin with but we soon fell into the active conversation and now when we meet it's just like a normal get together. XD

In the future, we're planning on saving up money so we can either get our Canadian friend over here or we can all go and visit her. ^_^


That being said though, I did have a boyfriend online once, but the relationship didn't last because we realised how long it would be until we could meet and felt it couldn't work, so we broke it off. He was really nice though and I still talk to him occasionally and we have fun in online games.


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