Farewell Messages for a Friend: 50+ Things to Say Goodbye

Saying goodbye to a friend who is moving is harder than any work farewell, because nothing about it is procedural. Here are 50+ original messages for a friend leaving town, leaving the country, or just leaving you behind for a while.

Send yours in a free friendship ecard once they have gone.

Quick goodbye messages

1. Going to miss you enormously. Good luck with everything.
2. This is not goodbye, it is just further away.
3. So happy for you and so annoyed about it. Go well.
4. Miss you already. Go and have a brilliant time.
5. Good luck! Come back with stories.
6. Wishing you everything good in the new place.
7. Off you go then. Ring me constantly.
8. Going to be very strange without you here.
9. All the best. You are going to love it.
10. Safe travels and good luck. Miss you.

Heartfelt goodbyes

1. You have been the constant in a lot of unstable years. Distance does not change that.
2. I do not know what I am going to do without you ten minutes down the road.
3. Thank you for a decade of showing up. Go and be happy — I will still be here.
4. Some friendships survive distance and some do not. This one is going to.
5. You are the person I ring when things go wrong. That is not changing because of a postcode.
6. Genuinely delighted for you and genuinely gutted for me. Both at once.
7. Thank you for every ordinary evening. Those are the ones I will miss.
8. Go and build something good. Then send me the address so I can come and inspect it.
9. I have been lucky to have you close by. Now I will just have to be lucky at a distance.
10. Whatever happens out there, you have a place to come back to.
11. You are taking a large part of my routine with you. Come back sometimes.
12. Not saying goodbye. Just see you soon, from further away.

Funny goodbyes

1. Leaving me here alone. After everything. Unbelievable.
2. Good luck! I am keeping the things you lent me. That is the arrangement now.
3. Off you go. I will be fine. I will not be fine.
4. Congratulations on your escape. Take me with you next time.
5. Have a wonderful time and be slightly miserable about missing me.
6. Good luck! Your spare room is now my spare room. I have booked it.
7. Miss you already, and you have not actually left the room yet.
8. Fine. Go. Live your life. Selfish.

When they are moving abroad

1. Different country, same friendship. Go and enjoy every bit of it.
2. Wishing you an enormous adventure. Ring me when the time zones allow.
3. Go and be brilliant somewhere far away. I will visit and overstay.
4. New country, new everything. You are going to be very good at it.
5. Safe travels. Send photographs of things I cannot afford to see.
6. I am proud of you for doing this. Terrified for me, proud of you.
7. Have the adventure properly. Do not rush home on my account.
8. Going to miss you across several thousand miles. Worth it, apparently.

When you are the one leaving

1. I am going to miss you more than I am letting on. Thank you for everything.
2. Leaving the city, not the friendship. You are stuck with me.
3. Thank you for making this place home. That is why it is hard to go.
4. I will be back constantly. Consider yourself warned.
5. You have been the best part of living here. Come and visit immediately.
6. This is the bit of moving I have been dreading. Thank you for all of it.
7. Same me, worse postcode. Call whenever.
8. Going away, not going anywhere. See you very soon.

Short goodbye messages

1. Going to miss you.
2. Not goodbye — see you soon.
3. Go well. Love you.
4. Miss you already.
5. Safe travels!
6. Come back often.
7. All the best. Ring me.
8. Love you. Go and enjoy it.

How to write it

1. Say the sad part out loud. Pretending you are only happy for them makes the card feel like a work leaving card.
2. Name something ordinary you will miss. The Tuesday pints, not “your friendship” in the abstract.
3. Make one concrete plan. A visit with a rough date does more than any promise to keep in touch.
4. Do not make them feel guilty. They are already anxious about leaving people behind.

Send it — and pair it with a gift

A free friendship ecard is a good way to check in a few weeks after they have gone, which is when it is hardest. See also miss you messages and friendship messages:

FAQ

What do you write to a friend who is moving away?

Say you will miss them, name one specific ordinary thing you will miss, and make a concrete plan to see them. The plan is the part that helps.

Should I say I am sad, or just be positive?

Say both. A card that is only upbeat reads as though the friendship was casual.

What if they are moving abroad?

Acknowledge the scale of it and be encouraging — most people moving overseas are quietly terrified and need permission to be excited.

What do I write if I am the one leaving?

Thank them for making the place home, and be specific about when you will next see them.

What is a good short message?

“This is not goodbye, it is just further away.”

When should I get in touch after they move?

Two to three weeks in, once the excitement has worn off and the new place feels empty. That message lands harder than the leaving card.

More farewell collections

• Bon voyage messages