I would say spending time in person is much better than being in a long distance relationship. Its not about the money or time spent when you both are together.
Either of the party would expect to spend time together on Skype as you used to do in person esp the opposite sex. You may plan to go out with your friends or for a movie but the other person may feel sad/depressed cos they could not spend time with you in person. I hit a rough patch when i used to do these long distance stuff and finally put a full stop to it. All the problems were solved by both us staying in one place
It may be different in your case but be prepared before you get into one