Sharon Kalipai – Maintaining strong bonds and staying connected with friends and family after you move to a foreign country is never easy. The longer you’re away, the more strenuous it is to stay meaningfully connected to people you’ve left behind.
How can you keep in touch with your aging parents? How can you foster deep relationships between your children and their grandparents or cousins living back home? How to let your extended family know that you still care?
These are just a few of the many questions that pop up in the mind of anyone who is relocating from a place they spent their entire childhood in. Besides, the thought of not being able to see your close ones regularly can be really scary. For example, you may be worried about losing touch with your closest friends but luckily even if you don’t talk to your best friend for a couple of years, you can find people pretty easily online nowadays, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get back in touch.
Here are 6 tips that ensure distance doesn’t put a strain on your relationships, and you continue to see, talk and stay connected to your loved ones whilst overseas.
Take charge
Don’t be astonished if some of your friends ( and even your relatives) back home won’t take proactive measures to stay in touch with you once you move abroad. It’s sad, but sometimes the harsh reality is – Out of sight, out of mind!
You might get taken aback when your closest pal won’t email or call you regularly, tag you in memes or stay updated about your day-to-day activities. No need to get hurt by taking things personally!
Some people are just not good at maintaining long-distance relationships, especially the ones who haven’t lived abroad themselves. So, if you actually want to stay in contact with your loved ones, you will have to do your best to initiate conversations so that the relationships keep on going (even if you’re making the lion’s share of the effort)
Stick to a communication timetable
Due to differences in time zones, it’s easy to lose track of time and two days turn into two months. And you end up hurting your loved ones back home. Try to contact friends and family during the least busy hours of the day which works well for both the time zones.
Make sure you find a quiet place to connect with them to avoid distractions. Partial attention can be very upsetting on the other end. Try to maintain a two-sided conversation. Of course, they would love to hear about your experiences, achievements and day-to-day news but don’t make the conversation all about you.
Stay active on social media platforms
Utilize all social media sites you have at your disposal to catch up with your friends and family on a regular basis. Share pictures, videos, and stories so that they can see your lifestyle and become familiar with your new friends. Plus, these apps will never let you forget your sweetheart’ birthday, parents’ anniversary and other important events.
Start a blog
Writing a blog is another way to keep your loved ones updated about your day to day activities and experiences. This will prevent you from telling the same one hour story to your wife and then narrate the same story all over again to your parents later. Yes, writing a blog is a lot of work to do but still an incredible way to recall your time abroad once you return home.
Writing a blog is another way to keep your loved ones updated about your day to day activities and experiences. This will prevent you from telling the same one hour story to your wife and then narrating the same story all over again to your parents later. Yes, writing a blog is a lot of work to do but still an incredible way to recall your time abroad once you return home.
If you are a beginner to this, and unsure of how to start a blog, there are some really useful guides and tutorials online.
Send cash back home
Nothing speaks ‘I care’ quite like a gift on your parents’ anniversary or your best friend’ birthday. However, if you’ve been living abroad for a long time now, there is a good chance you have no idea what shirt will look good on your nephew who was young when you left.
So, it’s better to send cash to your loved ones so that they can buy gifts for themselves. Use a money transfer operator like Ria Money Transfer and send money to family members at affordable rates. You can send money to 149 countries in just a few minutes. A little gesture can bring long-term happiness in their lives.
Visit friends and family regularly
Traveling back home frequently might seem time-consuming and an expensive affair. But, if you actually care about the people in the home country, you must budget time and money efficiently so that you can go home once every one or two years. Encourage your close friends and relatives to pay you a visit once in a while. They’ll feel more connected to you when they see your life abroad.
These tips help you build relationships and stay connected to friends and family while living abroad. With social media apps at your disposal, a balanced schedule, and an optimistic standpoint, your loved ones will surely feel good about your time away, and maintaining strong bonds will be fun.
Shift Frequency © 2019 – Maintaining strong family
bonds while living abroad