staying in contact??

[Guest smith843]

Hello all

 

Just wanted to ask what would be the best way ( and cheapest ) to stay in touch with family in the u.k?

Have a mobile phone that won't work abroad and we are taking our laptop but may not have internet connection for a while. Have sorted out skype and webcam for later.

 

But for the first couple of weeks what is best???

 

Many thanks:wubclub:

[Hayshake]

Look out for phone cards, they are for sale in many places, and you just dial a very long number and your UK number and you get through. They cosy about 2p a minute.

 

As an alternative, join a library and use their computers, you may have to book in advance for up to an hours free usage.

 

Best of luck

[Guest swampo]

As an alternative to the broadband connection it may be worth considering one of these new fangled 'dongles' which plug into your computer and you can ge internet access anywhere. We have one in the UK as our short term rental did not have broadband available. Checked it out whilst on our reccie and they have the same thing over there for $39 per month (on contract) for a 5 GB allowance.

 

Thanls for info on phone card though, will definately look into that one.

[Diane]

The phone cards are available at delis (corner shops) some supermarkets, and places like Blockbuster Video. We use a Daybreak one. Costs about $20 and you dial a local number, then your 'pin' code (from the card) and calls to the Uk cost around 0.5c a minute. We got one when we first arrived, and you can use payphones (call cost about 40c) to call back to the UK if you don't have a landline here. I have registered my credit card number with them now, and when the credit is running low, just recharge with another $20, which gives you something like 800 minutes call time. Plenty, even for me! For info, the international code for dialling to the UK is 00 11 44 then drop the '0' from the local area code and dial the area code and the number! Watch out for 0870 type numbers though - there is a site (www.saynoto0870.com) where you can get alternative numbers if you need to call to a UK bank for example.

Internet is free to use in most libraries, and once you get set up with your own connection wherever you're living, there is SKYPE.