1. First tip, consider not being connected. There was a time when people traveled months on big ships and didn't see family for years. They would write long epistles about daily life among the natives and offhandedly mention the birth of their son two years earlier to grandparents across the sea. Invariably the delay wasn't that big a deal because the son had probably already succumbed to dysentery and so the letter would quickly move on. There's something great about being disconnect and unplugging and using the time to think and discover things about yourself. So, before you go replicating your American life in another place, remember why you wanted to travel to that other place to begin with. Consider going it alone and forgoing the connections.
But lets be real, who really wants to disconnect? We live in the age of satellite phones and solar powered camping espresso makers and how could your mother sleep if she didn't know exactly how you were? So, now that you've decided not to escape, lets move on:
2. Money. "Money don't buy everything, it's true. But what it don't buy, I can't use"
The reality is that spending local currency and setting up local bank accounts is not really that hard. People have been doing that for centuries. But if you have any outstanding bills to pay in the US or credit cards then it becomes important to figure out how to get money back and forth between your adopted country and the US. First of all, realize that many US banks won't accept international money transfers. This is something to investigate before you leave. If your bank does, then good job, and all you need is the routing info (often including the SWIFT code) of the receiving bank. If not, then you're stuck using wire transfer services (like Western Union) that will invariably charge you a fee. I recommend Charles Schwab Investor Checking. They offer a free checking and investing account that does accept international transfers. Set this up before you leave, as most banks consider it sketch to get an international call claiming to be an American who wants to setup an account.
Secondly, you'll need to get money out of your American account. You'll likely do this via ATM since putting your US atm card into a foreign ATM will let you take out money in the local currency. You do have to watch out for fees including: foreign ATM fee and currency conversion fee. Essentially you're not using a Bank of American ATM and so BofA will charge you and you're making BofA do math to convert your dollars to Krugerrand and so they'll charge you more. Looking for a bank that has low fees is important. Once again, I recommend Charles Schwab as they don't charge for foreign ATM's (in fact they usually reimburse you whatever fees the other bank charges) and they don't charge for currency conversion.
Finally, remember that if you use American credit cards overseas you have two problems. One is that they may also charge you a currency conversion charge and two is that you'll have to pay them back in US dollars. This can be fine if you are getting paid in a US bank or you have somebody else paying your bills, but otherwise it means that you'll have to pay money every month to send your local currency earnings back to the US to cover your American credit cared which you've been using in other countries. It might be best just to get a local credit card and avoid the hassle, but many countries have credit cards with higher rates than the US. Once again, finding a credit card that doesn't charge for currency conversion is ideal, such as the American Express Platinum Card or the Visa Travel Cards. Additionally, they often have perks such as airline lounge access.
2. Phone
Most of us will be using Skype or some other internet service to keep in touch with the folks back home. Even if your brother and sister are cool with GChat or face time, grandma and grandpa are going to expect you to call them via that thing on the wall (not the photo of Reagan shaking grandpa's hand, the other thing, with the dial on it). Plan on spending the first 10 minutes of every phone call explaining what time it is where you are and why you sound so clear on the phone. And if the time difference means you're a day ahead of them, that'll just blow their mind. "How can it be Tuesday there?" Answer, "Magic". But if you want people to be able to call you back, you'll probably want a US number. After spending weeks trying to explain to loved ones how to dial the international access code, then the country code, then my local number I quickly realized they would never do this, even if someone were dying. So, for dollars a month you can get Skype to give you a US number. When you call others, that's the number that shows up on their phone. When they call that number, it rings on your computer. It's ideal in many ways; otherwise plan on no one every calling you while you're away. Additionally, it keeps businesses from treating you like some Nigerian scammer when you call up to clarify a problem with your bank statement.
3. Mail
Most of us imagine that when we're away, we'll just stop receiving US mail or that our loved ones will place those class reunion notices in a bottle with our name and island on it and then chuck it into the ocean to eventually find us. Or that every so often a care package of baked goods and letters from home will arrive. If you believe that, then I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. The reality is that international snail mail (while much better than it was 100 years ago) is expensive and slow and sometimes unreliable. If you're like me and you need to keep your medical license and other things up to date (and for some reason the DEA doesn't like sending your prescription pads to an overseas address) you should invest in a digital mailbox. For 10-20 dollars a month, they give you a US address and they electronically scan and email all your correspondence. If you need something, like a credit card, forwarded they can send it along. They'll even deposit checks for you while you're away. I recommend Travelling Mailbox, but there are others that are popping up all the time. Just be aware that you have to give the legal permission to receive your mail, so you have to set this up before you leave and be aware that if you forward your old mail to the new mailbox in another state, then some of your credit cards and other companies will get an address notice saying you left town. This is how I became a member of the New York Medical Society, though I never joined, but my digital mailbox was based in New York.
4. Calendar
And that's enough for now. Next up, I'll discuss how to stay on top of news, radio, magazines, and books from back home. Hope you've enjoyed this and found it helpful.
