Are you an expat who pays too much for telephone calls?

Communicating by taking emails an action further

There are many reasons that stop people from moving home. For now, lets concentrate on those people who do decide to leave their mother land behind or who jump from country to country to make brand new lives for themselves. Are you amongst those individuals whose home address appears to be forever changing?

Fortunately for expats, improvements in technology mean we don’t need to depend on traditional mail any longer as contact is literally, at your fingertips. Email & social media is now a favourite method of communication and makes staying in touch with family & friends cheap and easy from almost anywhere in the world. This method of communication has actually made the expat way of living a lot more feasible, convenient and practical. Friends & family, work colleagues & customers are simply an email or social media message away.

However, emails are no longer just enough though. Hearing a familiar voice far more reassuring and sometimes highly essential for sheer peace of mind. Likewise, it puts the problem of distance into perspective. Yes, we could be on the opposite sides of the world however, we are really only just an email or telephone call away. Ultimately there is nothing better than contacting loved ones with an unexpected call simply to say hello, or to involve them (virtually) in days of celebration. We need to have the ability in an emergency situation to just pick up the phone and make an important call without it costing us an extortionate amount of money.

So, picture having the ablity to call somebody anywhere in the world without having to worry about the cost of the call! Believe it or not, thanks to Skype, this is now possible. Perhaps some of you are already using Skype, or maybe you’re one of those that have been too cautious to try it. Perhaps you haven’t heard of these telephonic services that are readily available to us simply by using a computer, mobile (cell) or iPad etc. Well, it not only works, but it is cheap and has improved levels of communication between people worldwide. People & organisations are spending more than 2 billion minutes per day connecting with each other on Skype which is more than 33 million hours of people singing, laughing, joking & staying in touch*. So you can just imagine the sheer global reach by using Skype.
All that’s required is a computer or suitable device. You don’t even have to own your own individual computer as access to Skype can be made from any computer (or suitable device) once you have an account set up with them which only takes a short while to do. You can then just easily log onto your account to make your call. If you are using Skype via a computer we do recommend that you use a good quality headset.

If the individual you are calling also has a Skype account, neither of you will pay a penny for the call. However, if you are making a call to a normal landline or mobile (cell) phone number you are charged for the call, at an incredibly low and affordable rate.

If, improving the effectiveness of your chosen method of communication as an expat is important to you, why not give Skype a try? It may just be the solution you are looking for.

*Figures taken from the official Skype blog dated 04/03/2013