Discover how to keep close with family and friends while embracing work-life balance during your overseas career adventure.

Regular virtual hangouts can help maintain the rhythm of relationships, providing consistent touchpoints that keep relationships vibrant and active, despite physical distance.

I like Daily calls. They can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, keeping you more closely bonded with your loved ones. This frequent communication ensures that you're up-to-date with each other's lives, making it easier to maintain strong, supportive relationships despite the physical distance.

Last updated on Jun 17, 2024

Here's how you can maintain connections with your family and friends while working abroad.

Working abroad can be an exhilarating experience, but it often comes with the challenge of staying connected to your loved ones back home. Maintaining these connections is vital for your emotional well-being and can help you feel grounded in your new environment. With the right strategies, you can bridge the distance and keep your relationships strong, despite the miles that separate you. It’s all about finding a balance that fits your new lifestyle and leveraging technology to make distance feel insignificant.

1 Regular Calls

Setting up regular calls with family and friends is a cornerstone of staying connected while working abroad. Choose a schedule that works across time zones and stick to it, whether it's a weekly video chat or daily text updates. This consistency provides a sense of normalcy and continuity in your relationships. It's important to prioritize these calls just as you would any important meeting, ensuring that you're fully present during these interactions to foster a sense of closeness.

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Xhorxhina Taraj

Cloud Advisor at Accenture Microsoft Business Group | Top Data Engineering Voice | Top Cloud Computing Voice
I like Daily calls. They can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, keeping you more closely bonded with your loved ones. This frequent communication ensures that you're up-to-date with each other's lives, making it easier to maintain strong, supportive relationships despite the physical distance.
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2 Virtual Hangouts

Embrace the power of virtual hangouts to simulate the feeling of being in the same room with your loved ones. Platforms that allow group video calls are perfect for celebrating birthdays, holidays, or just having a casual catch-up session. You can watch movies together, play online games, or even cook the same recipe simultaneously. These shared experiences can create new memories and make it feel like distance isn't a barrier to your relationships.

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Xhorxhina Taraj

Cloud Advisor at Accenture Microsoft Business Group | Top Data Engineering Voice | Top Cloud Computing Voice
Regular virtual hangouts can help maintain the rhythm of relationships, providing consistent touchpoints that keep relationships vibrant and active, despite physical distance.
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3 Snail Mail

In an age dominated by instant communication, sending snail mail can be a delightful way to show someone you care. The personal touch of a handwritten letter or a care package filled with local treats can mean a lot more than a text message. It's a tangible reminder of your presence in their lives and can be treasured for years to come. Plus, receiving mail from overseas can be an exciting event in itself!

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4 Local Visits

If possible, plan visits to your home country or invite family and friends to see your life abroad. These visits can strengthen bonds and give your loved ones an insight into your new world. They can also serve as a much-needed break for you, providing a touch of familiarity amidst the adventure of working abroad. Even if visits are infrequent, they can be highlights that everyone looks forward to.

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5 Shared Projects

Engage in shared projects or hobbies with your friends and family. This could be anything from starting a book club, collaborating on a blog about your experiences, or working on a fitness challenge together. These activities keep you connected on a regular basis and give you something common to talk about and work on, despite the physical distance between you.

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6 Emotional Support

Finally, don't underestimate the importance of emotional support. Be open about your experiences and feelings while working abroad, and encourage your loved ones to do the same. This two-way communication helps maintain a deep connection and ensures that you have a support network, no matter where you are in the world. Remember, maintaining connections is not just about sharing the good times but also supporting each other through the challenges.

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Lynze Ballay

Fractional HR | Start-Up People Strategist | Remote Company Builder
Find someone who has also lived abroad in your friend and family circle, and enlist them into your support team. There will be times when it is challenging to relate to friends and family that have not been in your shoes before. When they see you struggling, the initial response may be "come back home!" But, if you have a fellow or former expat in your circle, they will be able to empathize with your struggles more deeply while also understanding your choice to live abroad in the first place.
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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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BARBORA HORÁKOVÁ

🏔️Your Living Abroad Energiser Enabling You To Lose The Weight of Stress, Overwhelm & Exhaustion & To Achieve Your Mountains | Coaching for Ambitious Professionals & Boosting Expat's Energy for Things that Matter 🏔️
I am not going lie; this can be challenging, especially when experiencing expat fatigue - because we sometimes feel the pressure to show how everything is under control, and that isn't the case. We don't want to show it to our loved ones in our home country. - If you struggle with maintaining the connection, talk to someone about it - either to your friend, someone you trust, (or reach out to me - I'm here to listen)
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Here's how you can maintain connections with your family and friends while working abroad.

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1 Regular Calls

2 Virtual Hangouts

3 Snail Mail

4 Local Visits

5 Shared Projects

6 Emotional Support

7 Here’s what else to consider

Working Abroad

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Here's how you can maintain connections with your family and friends while working abroad.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Regular Calls

2 Virtual Hangouts

3 Snail Mail

4 Local Visits

5 Shared Projects

6 Emotional Support

7 Here’s what else to consider

Working Abroad

Rate this article

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