[upnorthkyosa]

How did you deal with living so far away from your family? Can you recommend some strategies that we could use to keep in touch?

[Marie P]

Hi John ,

We chat most days with family and friends via MSN and Skype ,web chats too so the kids have plenty of contact with Grand parents .

We also have a forum a bit like this one ,I post photos and information about what we have been upto ,so we don't have to keep telling the same information over and over.

The family also post photos and their news too .

Marie x

[sarahw]

Pretty much the same -

Phone (there's a great phone company called Telediscount - check the internet for their calling rates from UK to NZ - I think its still 2p a minute - for those who don't have internet its great to keep in touch - cheaper than phoning from one end of UK to the other!) Set up regular times with family for calls.

or if you've got i/net then SKYPE is free

Internet MSN or Yahoo Messenger with webcam - pre-arrange times with your friends/family - Ian often has a webcam chat with the boys just before they go out for a lads night out (whilst he's having his brekkie!).

E-mail - my parents & I e-mail at least once a day with photos etc.

I send postcards to children in the family of NZ animals & sights - they love it.

We have a video camera & recordable DVD drive & send DVD's home of holidays, our daughter & where we live etc.

Make CD's of pictures or get spare photos printed & send them.

We have a website that we update monthly with photo album, details about where we live, photos of our house & contact details, news page, details of daily life in NZ - buying a house, shopping, etc. for friends/family interested in moving over so we don't have to repeat ourselves 50 times! I send an e-mail to a long list of friends/family every time the website is updated & people go in & can see how we are without us sending tonnes of e-mails backwards & forwards saying the same thing.

Really these days there is no reason to feel so far away from home as say 10-20 years ago when you only had expensive phonecalls to keep in touch!!

People often ask my mother how she copes with me being so far away & she laughs & says that she speaks to me much more often than she does my brother who she sees 2-3 times a week!

[Diny]

Ditto to all of the above - modern technology means the world is a small place.

Also - my hubby gets zillions of airmiles a year which enables me to go home every 7 or 8 months (if we don't use them we lose them) .... I'm VERY lucky in that respect.

Diny

[Natalieb]

Hi everyone,

We are moving to NZ hopefully by Nov 2007. I am currently training to be a web designer and on my course I need to set up a website so am looking at designing a website about my family when we living in NZ. This way all my family can have a look at the site and find out what we are doing.

Maybe if it works I could use my website as a template, and offer this as a service for other migrants, obviousy being recently trained it would mean I wouldnt charge silly amounts of money for changing/updating migrants sites.

It worth thinking about anyway!!

Natalie xx

[Moorf]

Nice idea, although blogs seem to be cornering the market for "keep in touch" sites.

[K&CS]

You're all so good. We speak or email family once in a blue moon, but then they're not exactly falling over themselves with interest about how or what we're doing, but there you go. Funnily enough, I've been in touch with friends via MSN and email so much more than family - strange how things turn out, isn't it? In fact, I must remember to let my family know I've moved - don't think they even know we were buying a house!

[Natalieb]

No way, im sure they all miss you - they probably dont want to get in touch because it will make them miss you even more xx

[jubjub]

I have msn chats with mum & dad nearly every day, with the webcam so they watch AJ have his brekky or playing in the lounge.

I am ashamed to say that the folks that dont have email, only get birthday & xmas cards with a wee note in :o , I dont actually speak to anyone on the phone anymore!

Hubby parents are not so hot on the pc, but still check out our photo website weekly, and we send small videos over of AJ for them. They speak every week and alternate who calls who so the cost gets spread evenly.

We also have a video camera now, so they will be getting movies in the mail!

The world really is a small place these days, and I get far more family gossip from my cousin in the states, than my family in UK who actually see each other regularly!

[Natalieb]

Im scared about telling my mum and dad. God im 31 but feel like a kid when it comes to these things!

Natalie xx

[Moorf]

Im scared about telling my mum and dad. God im 31 but feel like a kid when it comes to these things!

Natalie xx

hahah glad I'm not the only one!

But like Kate, I rarely speak to folks back home, even when we lived in Scotland and they were in Sussex I only saw them maybe once or twice a year and phoned once in a blue moon!! I chat via MSN with my brother and dad and friends (mum hates MSN) but that's about it! :o

[diforsyth]

My parents still live in Scotland whilst my brother & I both moved away many, many years ago. We have always just relied on a fortnightly quick catchup on the phone and a visit once or twice a year...and this is while we were both in Great Britain.

As it worked out, I will be seeing my parents sooner in NZ than I would had I stayed in Jersey and it's cheaper for both of us to call now regardless who calls who i.e. about the equivalent of a half pint of beer for an hour.

David.

[katandbob]

Be aware that it also goes on your broadband connection - I used to do all of the above but now have major problems due to the fact that Telecom are so backward in replacing copper wires! anyone not living in a CBD or near their exchange will have problems

Woosh are useless as they dont support MSN or Skype. :mad:

Email attachments take ages to download.

I can get on this site - other wise i think I would have gone nuts!

I love my house but am frustrated that Telecom expect their customers to accept a two tier customer service! :confused:
I have msn chats with mum & dad nearly every day, with the webcam so they watch AJ have his brekky or playing in the lounge.


I really miss seeing my grandson via webcam - last time was a month ago and the connection lasted a few minutes :wah

I have contacted both Telecom and Woosh and they basically use the "IM SORRY YOUR TOO FAR FROM THE EXCHANGE!" excuse! BUT still expect me to be a happy customer! HA

So if the internet is important to you dont take the sellers/real estate word as gospel!!!!

Kat (PS Sorry for the moan but I miss my family :( )

[Lupin]

That sounds tough Kat :(

Can't be long now though until your daughter and grandson come over for a visit.....hope you get broadband proper soon :)

[katandbob]

That sounds tough Kat :(

Can't be long now though until your daughter and grandson come over for a visit.....hope you get broadband proper soon :)

Yep its tough, I have strong tendancys to chain her in the basement and hobble her - visions of MERCY...popping into my head :D

haha........(kats cracking up)

I bet that telecom regret sending me a customer survey form...... ooooh I had a catartic experience sheding my frustrations in that form!

I told them straight how I feel!

if we wanted sat. bb its £700 and 100+ a month and I cant afford that no matter how much I want it

Kathttp://jbrunod.free.fr/toshop/smileys/ME16_T.gif

[Jonathon1977]

We brought a Vonage internet phone over from the US with us. This gives our familys a USA number to dial so they can reach us at anytime wihtout additional costs. This seems to bridge the divide quite well for our families.

I know nothing is better than being there but we also on occasion used web cams and e-mailed digital pictures for the visual aspect. At the end of the day I think we will end up flyig to the US every few years to make the situation 100% livable.

Regards,

Jonathon

[Carol]

The short answer to your question is I don't - not very well.

I miss them all terribly - and despite actually physically TAKING them a laptop the last time we were there 2 years ago - it still isnt fully functional.

It has taken a huge toll on me over the last 10 years....And short of winning a lot of money to buy me my own personal jet - I dont really see an answer.

"We" are a family though. There are 5 people to consider.

My husband is incredibly happy here as are the 3 kids.
"I" miss my family far too much for my own good.
It is really very very hard......still.
:(

[Diny]

"We" are a family though. There are 5 people to consider.

My husband is incredibly happy here as are the 3 kids.
"I" miss my family far too much for my own good.
It is really very very hard......still.
:(


Totally know where you're coming from on this one. I don't cope very well without my clan.

However, there's no 'I' in team. There's 4 of us to consider. Hubby loves it here (it's his home land after all), both boys are 50/50 - happy here - would be happy to go home.

At the end of the day, we'll stick together - where ever what ever.

Diny

p.s. There may not me an 'I' in team but there's a 'me'.

[KerryS]

I've never really noticed the difference between being in NZ and being on the other side of London to my family. My parents would spend at least six months of the year abroad anyhow, so I would often go long periods without seeing them. They would go to remote places too, so often without any phone or email contact (I don't think my Mum would even know how to turn on the computer actually!)
I see my brother more often now - he lives in Perth, so I go over at least once a year to visit him and vice versa.
My parents now spend their winter months between Australia and NZ, so if anything I see them more not less!

I keep in touch with other family members by calling once in a blue moon, no different to when I was living 16km away, rather than 16,000km.