It all depends on the two in the relationship and how they feel. I mean it has to be a mutual feeling/agreement or whatnot, otherwise youd be kidding yourself.
Im with my girl of 2 years, she lives in Port Mac, I live on Central Coast, and man, yeah its been hard. There are a few things we will b coming up against in coming months bcos she has been accepted into a uni even further away from me. But the thing that is stopping us from breaking it off mutually and walking away is that we both realise there is something there, and dont want to end it, no matter how hard it may be. So I guess my point is, that people can share their thoughts and ideas, but when it comes down to the crunch, only the two people involved are going to know exactly how they feel. And all serious relatoships are going to be hard work.