TIPS - Best ways to keep in touch with spouse while waiting

[RCVmini]

Hello everyone,

Like many of you I too am awaiting the paperwork to get my wife over to Canada from Vietnam.  She is finding the long distance apart diffiuclt.  I do not enjoy it either but I am used to travel away from home for long periods of time due to my work.

Even though she is not enjoying the wait time I tell her that at least in modern times we have instant communication and lots of ways to contact each other.  I know that if this was even 10 - 15 years ago it would be harder and a lot more expensive.

To keep in touch I thought I'd share some of the things I use to help keep connected to each other.  Most of what I use is free and I find it amazing that we can stay so connected for next to no money.

Skype - out of all the software out there this one is my favorate, you can use a computer, smartphone, tablet or even specific webcam endabled tv divices to stay in touch for free or nearly free.  Its easy to use and best part is you can see the other person.

Gmail - Phone calling on gmail - you can make calls from your computer to any phone number in Canada and the USA for free through google's gmail.  All you have to do is log into gmail look on the bottom left of your contacts list and you will see a little green phone icon.  open that up and dial the number you want and it will call using your computer speakers and mic (or headset).  You might need to install the google chat app but it will prompt you if that is the case.

iPhone and Android phone/tablet apps

1) Talkatone
Best app for this is one called "talkatone" its in your iphone "app store" OR android "play store"
if your spouse is in another country (my wife is in Vietnam) they can use this app over wifi or 3g to call direct to ANY PHONE number in Canada and the USA for FREE.  it routes the call to google-voice servers in California.  You will need to set up a gmail account if you don't already have one.

My wife uses this app to call me every day for at least 1 hour.

2) Dell Voice - like talkatone but this one gives you a CANADIAN phone number and works over wifi or 3g data.  Set up a canadian phone number and then have your wife/husband use it on their tablet/phone/computer over seas and you can call to them (my dailing a canadian phone number) and they will be able to answer it where ever they are.  I tested this in Vietnam and it works from there.  I was able to recive call on my Dell voice canada number while hooked up to wifi in Hanoi.  This is also 100% free.


Textme - iphone and android - gives you a canadian number that you can text to.  My wife uses this to text my canadian cell number through her data connection with no long distance or text charges from her cell phone company in Vietnam.

Viber - lets you text, send pictures, email apps etc to each other.  Both people have to have smart phones with data for this one so we only use it when both of us are on wifi or 3g data.

Dropbox - This lets us share files, pictures documents all in one location.  You can install dropbox onto several phones/tablets/desktops.  This has been very handy for getting our sponsorship paperwork in one location that we both can access easily.


For those of you who's wife or husband may not be tech-savy, there is a program called "Team Viewer" that lets you remotely control the desktop of another computer to install/trouble shoot skype, tech problems when they occur.


Hope this all helps, I know it has helped me and my wife keep in touch while spending $0 to talk every day and share pictures and files so we know what each is up to.

Let me know if you have questions on how to set this all up.

[firstladyking]

I use Skype and my hubby calls me from Jamaica because their long distance plans are so much cheaper than ours.  He connects with me during work hours at least 1-2 hours, then he stays on the phone with me while I commute to and from work.  Then we're on Skype all night long and all week-end long.  Skype is AMAZING, in this day and age a long distance relationship could not thrive without it.  The ability to see each other and talk is so cool.  Yahoo Messenger also has a talk and see option as well and does exactly the same thing.  The gmail thing works well too and my hubby uses that more when he's in the US and wants to connect with me.

GOD BLESS YOU

[KJG]

my husband is from Cuba so we have to settle for emails, texting and phone calls 

[Mez007]

We have Been Using  Blacberry Messenger (BBM) since DAY  1  with my wife.

[aarongpasha]

Hi RCVmini: Thanks for your good infos. I got a query about how to set "Team viewer" in my laptop to connect with my wife's laptop. Because sometimes I need to help her going thru some troubles in the computer. Please explain step-by-step. Thank you so much in advance for your help. Apasha.

[DCGelfling]

We also like to use Google Hangout sometimes. Since many of his friends are going to be my friends once I move in with him, getting to video chat with my husband plus some of his friends helps that process along.  We've also done Google hangout with him, my family, and me.

[CKnD]

I use Skype .. Video calling from my PC, Laptop, mobile phone, and TV. I stay connected and chat with my wife all the time 

Best part is it's FREE 

[Sunshine87]

My husband and I use Kik for texting. It's a free app and available for both iPhone and android.. we like it because you can send pics and play games through it, and it shows when the message has been delivered and read like BBM. And because it's free 

[ready_fi_move_on]

Magic jacks what's been keeping my hubby n I t alking...skype ..bbmas well

[RCVmini]

Hi RCVmini: Thanks for your good infos. I got a query about how to set "Team viewer" in my laptop to connect with my wife's laptop. Because sometimes I need to help her going thru some troubles in the computer. Please explain step-by-step. Thank you so much in advance for your help. Apasha.

Here is a step by step for teamviewer.  Basically you both have to download it and have it on your computers, you can set it up so she has to give you a 4 digit password every time you connect or set it up for automatic connection.

http://www.magnatraining.com/teamviewer/

[RCVmini]

We also like to use Google Hangout sometimes. Since many of his friends are going to be my friends once I move in with him, getting to video chat with my husband plus some of his friends helps that process along.  We've also done Google hangout with him, my family, and me.

Thanks for the review of Google Hangout, I've never tried it but I'll give it a shot as it allows multi-person video chat for free (where skype makes you pay)

[annabruce]

Anna and I both used Skye, paid the $3 monthly fee for talking between Canada and the USA, and then made use of the Skype-to-go feature.  In this way we were able to talk for a few hours a day on our cell phones without any additional llong distance charges other than our usual monthly cell phone plan.  It worked extremely well.  A similar plan exists for about 20 other countries.

[veradis]

Sooooo jealous, like KJG's husband, my husband is from Cuba. No email access in his town and my phone doesn't receive texts from Cuba. So we make do with bad-quality 75 cents a minute phone calls. He sends me letters sometimes with Canadian tourists who can mail them when they get back...they often have rose petals in them. I would take Skype over rose petals any day though 

[Bold9900]

Hello RCVmini,

I'm also sponsoring my wife from Vietnam, we use SKYPE, Facetime,Teamviewer, Dropbox, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and MSN. I find all those method works very well for us.

Can you share your timeline?

Thanks,

[aerogurl87]

When my boyfriend and I were apart we used skype and wore out the unlimited text messages for our phones. I think we averaged about 2000 texts to and from each other for the months we were apart. And I remember one month he called me and went over his free minutes, so much so that his bill was $700. So yeah, skype became our best friend from that point onward along with free nights and weekends from our phone companies.