Staying in touch with your family while you’re overseas can be really challenging. Many of us are on the hunt for affordable international calling but the good news is there are few options of relatively cheap ways to stay in touch. Some thirty years ago, it would have been both much more expensive and challenging to keep in touch. Thankfully, modern technology has allowed us the ability to make the world seem even smaller even when you’re half a world apart from your friends and family. Here are my top tips for keeping in touch overseas:

If you’ve got a smart phone, you can take advantage of apps that allow you to make free calls from Android or even from your iPhone. All you’ll need is a WIFI connection or a mobile data plan that allows you to use the data. Even if you have to use your own mobile phone data, it works out to be so much cheaper than if you were making an international call.

Often overlooked, emails are a great way to keep in touch while you’re away and they’re free too! You can send long ranty emails or just short updates, whatever works best for you. Emails are a great option when you’ve got some photos you want to attach or when you are on a really different time zone than to the people you want to keep in touch.

If you’re like me, and too lazy to give your friends and family constant updates, why not get Facebook? You can simply post updates of your travels and you can let them browse them as they please. Just be careful not to make people too jealous – there’s only so many beach photos with cocktails in your hand that people can tolerate before getting annoyed.

You probably expected me to say this, but it’s a great way to keep in touch and it also serves as a keepsake for you when you’re a bit older. You can look back on all the fun and adventures you had. Friends and family can leave comments as they please – it’s a great way to keep in touch.

Do you have any tips for keeping in touch while overseas?