Keeping A Close Relationship With Loved Ones Abroad

Simple phone calls or skype conversations can’t be the only thing we can do to keep a close relationship with friends and family back home. Just because we have simple reliable technology to keep us all close, doesn’t mean we can stop being creative with our means of communication.

Jazz Up Your Skype Life

Video chat is a very common way to talk to relatives and friends back home, but there are ways to take this simple face to face conversation to the next level.

You can set up movie dates with friends and family while on video chat. Set a date and pick a movie, rent or download movies or series and play it at the same time as your loved ones. This way, you can simulate being there with them and share comments as you watch the movie or point out favourite scenes as though you’re right beside them.

Another way to jazz up your Skype life is by giving a virtual tour of your new country of residence. This can be done via mobile phone or mobile touch pads with 3G service. Take your friends and family to your favourite spots in your new city and share stories on how you found it or why it’s special to you.

Download IM Apps

The best chat apps have group chat features, you can use this to invite groups of friends and talk to all of them anytime. On group chat, it will be fun to bounce topics around all of your friends instead of the usual one on one conversation. Here are some of the most accessible and best quality IM apps out there today:

1/LINE (Naver)

Developed by the Korean company Naver, this app slowly started to gain popularity by its signature stickers and extra features. It can also be accessed and downloaded in a PC to connect your conversation from your phone to your computer depending on what you’re using or where you are. Some of its features are LINE game, voice messages and voice calls. The most adored feature of this app is the wide range of incredibly expressive and funny stickers you can send your friends and keep your conversations alive.

2/ WhatsApp

This app is more of the clean, simple and reliable form of instant messaging. WhatsApp has features like group chats, share photos and videos and share locations to your friends. The best thing about WhatsApp is unlike other free IM apps out there, they do not sell ads, which means your message platform will be clear of any annoying messages or pop-ups and you can feel a little more secure with using it for your basic needs.

   3/Viber

Most people would say that Viber is the pioneer of free voice calls and in a way it is. This is the first widely known free voice calls IM app that was released. At first it was exclusive to iPhones but now it has extended its service to Blackberry, Android, Nokia, Windows Phone and Bada. Like LINE, you can also download Viber on your desktop for better access. Viber still claims they have the best quality for free voice calls in the market; while we can’t say that for sure, we certainly know it is one of the best.

Make An Effort

Your presence can be felt even without being there physically. There are so many ways that you can send a thought or feeling other than the usual virtual ways to stay in touch with loved ones. You can surprise them with gifts or even a simple card on their birthdays or special occasions.

You can also put in extra things on these simple items to make them special like printed out pictures of your favourite places, foods or things you want to share about your new country of residence. You can make a scrap book, a letter or a personalized post card of your new experiences that you want to share with them or make a quirky personalized invitation to visit you in your new place. Even the simplest items can be so special if you personalize them. This way, your loved ones would know that you are making an extra effort to be close to them and that your thought is with them no matter where you are.