By Contributing Author
When you’ve settled into a new home in a far-flung corner of the world, you probably still want to feel connected to your friends and family back home. Here are three ways to stay in touch and keep everyone updated about life in your new neck of the woods.
Send a Wi-Fi Message
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If you’ve moved internationally, you may quickly realize that using cell phone data can be more expensive than it is back home; those roaming charges and per-text fees can really add up. For that reason, try exploring an alternative messaging service like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp that will let you send texts over any Wi-Fi connection. With a messaging app, you can drop someone a line or forward along a photo from virtually anywhere in the world at no cost. Apps like these are commonly used in countries that don’t offer cell plans with unlimited data, so becoming comfortable using them can help you better communicate with the locals and not just folks back home.
Give a Jingle
When you’ve moved to another country, and are perhaps becoming a bit homesick, hearing a familiar voice may be just what you need to cheer up and reconnect. However, as with texting, international calling can become a costly endeavor, so consider signing up for a service that uses Voice Over Internet Protocol technology. Tapping into a resource can allow you to make low-cost international calls from virtually anywhere by using VoIP. You can send and receive phone calls from almost any device, making it easy to maintain family ties even when thousands of miles separate you from those you love.
Start a Blog
Rather than taking up hours of time reaching out to each of your friends and family members individually, why not create a one-stop resource for updating everyone on your doings? While maintaining personal connections is important, there are other ways to stay in touch that will let you reach a larger audience. Embarking on an overseas move is a great reason to start a blog to document your new life, whether you share something as grand as an adventurous expedition or as mundane as a trip to the local market. Discussing your experiences in a public forum not only lets you preserve their details for your own reflection, but it can also give your friends and family an intimate insight into what it’s like to live in your new world. As an added bonus, many people are able to reach a large following with their blogs and can even generate some decent income by posting frequent updates about their exploits.
Drop a Line
Finally, though it may seem anachronistic amidst all this talk of using tech to stay in touch, sometimes nothing beats putting pen to paper. A lovingly-composed missive can mean the world to the friend who receives it, and there’s nothing more personal than a letter written with your own hand. Even dropping a handwritten postcard in the mail can forge a more meaningful connection than a hastily-typed text ever could; there are some apps available that let you design cards with your own photos for an extra-personalized touch. Don’t count out the old-fashioned postal service as a great way to stay in touch.
If you’ve moved overseas, keeping connected to friends and family needn’t be a difficult task. Whether you opt for high-tech solutions like blogging, VoIP calling and messaging through apps, or you favor the old-school option of writing personal notes, what’s important is that you stay in touch and share your new life with the ones that you love.
Photo credit: Brooke Cagle / Unsplash
