Maintaining good family relationship when moving abroad

Maintaining long-distance relationships and staying connected with your friends and family after you move abroad is never easy. At some point many people find themselves moving far away from their loved ones, which can be really challenging for everyone involved.

However, bare in mind that being far away from your loved ones doesn’t mean that you cannot stay close. It’s just that you will have to engage different approach and strategy to maintain your relationship even if you are miles away. The distance shouldn’t put a strain on the relationship with your friends, family or partner.

Staying connected with friends and family after moving abroad

Being half a world away from your loved ones gives you a totally new perspective on how to stay in touch with the friends and family at home.

– First strengthen the relationship with the family members who have moved with you. Make the relocation easier on you and your family. No matter how you feel or what you do, make sure you do things that make you happy during the moving process. If you are moving with the kids, help them cope with the relocation stress and respect how each family member deals with this life-changing event.

– Exchange contact details with your friends and family members prior to the move so that you can reach each other easily.

– Thanks to the modern technology, there are a number of applications and tools for you to stay in touch with your friends after you move abroad. By making use of numerous online tools you can beat or at least reduce homesickness and nostalgia. The truth is that you are going to miss some of the most important events in your friends’ lives, but social media apps may help you alleviate the strain and keep you up to date with your friends’ important activities and events.

– Schedule video calls and chats. Use all communication apps you have at your disposal to stay connected with your loved ones after you move abroad. If you and your friends are living in different time zones, schedule a conference call or chat that will work for everyone involved. For that purpose, social media networks can be put to good use and you may want to plan to talk to your friends once a week and catch up.

– Make your friends realize that you are still interested in their feelings, activities, news and maintain a two-sided conversation. Your close friends will want to know everything about your move and overall experience, but try not the make the conversation all about you and your experience.

– Don’t be surprised if some of your friends won’t take proactive steps to maintain the relationship with you. Sad, but sometimes true – out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, some people won’t be interested in staying in touch with you regularly. Also, bare in mind that you will need to do your best to keep some relationships going (if they are worth the effort).

– Schedule your next get-together so that you will all have plans to look forward to. If you live abroad, you can start saving money a couple of months in advance for your next get-together or vacation.

– Even remotely you and your friends can do something together – listen to your favorite music or watch the movie and discuss it afterwards. You don’t need to give up on all activities that you were doing before just because you and your friends are miles away. Instead, maintain your positive attitude and think as if your friends were just one click away. It’s not the same as being close to your friends in person, but it will give you the the possibility to maintain your special relationship until your next gathering.