"I Hate Catch Up Calls!" "I Feel Abandoned!": Your Biggest Long Distance Friendship Problems, Solved
August 3, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readOn the Liz Moody Podcast, host Liz Moody and her real-life long-distance friend Lee tackle the trickiest questions about maintaining friendships across miles. The conversation is grounded in the premise that long-distance friendships require different tools than local ones, and that many common frustrations stem from mismatched expectations rather than a lack of care.
The "Catch-Up Call" Trap
One of the episode's central insights is that the standard "catch-up call" — where friends take turns reporting on what's new in their lives — often kills long-distance friendships. Lee calls it "the death of friendships" because it turns connection into a homework assignment. The solution is to replace reporting with shared experiences. Liz suggests watching the same TV show and texting about it, starting a long-distance book club (where the book becomes a jumping-off point for deeper conversations), or using conversation starter cards. Even harmless gossip — about celebrities or mutual acquaintances — can create the casual bonding that catch-up calls lack.
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What you'll learn
- 1 Long Distance Friendship Problems, Solved
- 2 (00:00) **Episode Introduction** - Liz introduces the episode format with her real-life friend Lee answering listener questions about long distance friendships
- 3 (01:01) **Question 1: Uneven Effort in Long Distance Friendship** - A listener feels like she's the only one keeping the friendship going with a college friend
- 4 (03:19) **Question 2: Feeling Hurt When a Friend Moves Away** - A listener feels abandoned after a close friend moved abruptly
- 5 (08:42) **Question 3: Supporting a Friend With Aging Parents From Afar** - A listener wants to know how to support someone going through a slow-burn crisis long distance
- 6 (13:33) **Question 4: One-Sided Visiting** - A listener always visits her friend but the friend never comes to see her
- 7 (15:28) **Question 5: Not Keeping Up With a Friend's Kids** - A listener asks if she needs to follow her mom friend's children's milestones
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Long distance friendships can be so hard. Today, my real-life long distance friend Leigh and I are answering your most difficult to talk about long distance friendship questions, the ones that feel tricky to bring up to your friends. These are all real questions or situations that you sent in.
This is part of my new series where I ask my real-life relationships to come and weigh in on your biggest struggles about that relationship.
🎧 What you’ll learn:
• How to make long-distance friendships feel close and fun
• How to figure out which communication style works best for the both of you
• How to stop the dreaded "catch-up call" from killing your friendship vibe
• When a friend moving away stings, how to reframe it so it strengthens your bond
• What to do when you're the one always reaching out (and how to tell if it's a communication problem or a friendship problem)
• How to support a friend through a crisis from 3,000 miles away
Get the FREE conversation starter download we made for you and your long distance friendships here: https://www.lizmoody.com/convo
Check out the previous episode in this new series: “Asking My Husband Questions Women Are Too Scared to Ask”
For more from Leigh Weingus:
• Substack, The Aesthetic Edit: https://theaestheticeditnewsletter.substack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighweingus
Ready to uplevel every part of your life? Order Liz’s book 100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success now!
Connect with Liz on Instagram @lizmoody or online at www.lizmoody.com. Subscribe to the substack by visiting https://lizmoody.substack.com/welcome.Buy our cute sweatshirts, conversation cards, and more at https://shop.lizmoody.com/.
Use our discount codes from our highly vetted and tested brand partners by visiting https://www.lizmoody.com/codes.
To join The Liz Moody Podcast Club Facebook group, go to www.facebook.com/
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