Living abroad creates a new necessity: getting in touch fluently (and cheap) with the rest of the family back home. In this past 5 years living in Canada we’ve found different methods to achieve that. Some of them worked good and some other not that much.
Let me share with you our top choices to call from Canada to the rest of the world:
- Skype: With a good Internet connection like the ones provided by Rogers or Bell, you can have enough broadband to call back home with Skype. All you need is an account. Of course, the other side will also need an account and a good Internet connection. If you prefer to video chat, both parties will need a webcam. The only drawback? Internet connections in some countries are not that good and that can make the experience a real pain.
- Yahoo, MSN or Google Chat Clients: Probably all of you have an email account with one of these companies. And also your family abroad can have one. Although all of them offer chat clients with video capabilities and the fact of both parties having an account make things easier, the problems with Internet connections in some third world countries, problems with bandwidth and low quality service do not help that match.
- Phone: The good, old, classic telephone! Almost everyone has one. Does not require learning new skills, can be affordable. What else?! For using the phone, my best recommendation are Phone Cards. And to buy Long Distance Calling Card the best place is Ontario Phone Cards. An awesome site where you can buy phone cards to use all around Canada to call anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost using you credit card or even PayPal. Best part? The send you the Calling Card by email, so you can start calling in just minutes.
What are your recommendations?
{ 3 comments }
We used Skype for a while because it was so economical but it wasn’t consistent with connections and time delays made it frustrating. We use MSN occasionally but it is not the same as hearing someones voice. I prefer the phone but I’m still searching for a better alternative…
Thanks for dropping by Laura!
Skype, as many VoIP clients works fine when both parties have good connections, and that’s not always true sadly!
So far, a good calling card and a phone seem unbeatable!
I’m a huge fan of Skype, especially since it introduced unlimited calls to a whole list of countries. For less than $6 per months, I have unlimited calls to France, isn’t it great?!
Comments on this entry are closed.