<human>: Guy and I "met" on a dating site years ago, he turned out to be just passing through my state but we hit it off and more or less became pen-pals of sorts.

Over the years through various relationships on both our ends we would periodically check in with each other, talk about our dating woes and confide in each other, both admitting we liked each other, etc etc.

More recently we are both single but still separated by geography and where I live is pretty expensive so I'm not sure it's likely he'll ever come here (he has no family or other ties except maybe for work)

My problem is I get along with him so well that it's definitely affecting how I see other guys that could be potential dates and/or relationships.

What do I do to change my perception of him or others? I obviously am comfortable with familiarity but logically I know it's not healthy or even worth my time to hope for something that may never happen but this isn't a logical situation... It's a damn shame too because feelings and years of contact..

Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: should I let go of this deeper friendship with feelings if it's hindering my own life progression? If so how do I do this?