5 Tips for Staying in Touch with Loved Ones While Traveling
Digital nomads are known for diving headfirst into new cultures, chasing after their dreams, and boldly exploring uncharted territories (all with a decent internet connection, of course)!
In addition to their location independence and laptop lifestyle, nomads tend to boast a robust international network. Even those who work online recognize that a supportive community promotes happiness by providing a sense of purposeful belonging.
Travelers maintain relationships with people from all over the world, whether it be from their birthplace, workplace, or somewhere in between. Being social is not only fun, but necessary to living a healthy lifestyle: loneliness poses one of the most profound threats to individual health. So, how do people manage relationships with loved ones who are in different cities, countries, and timezones?
Long-distance relationships are undoubtedly difficult, but thanks to the internet, they are not impossible!
Here are my 5 top tips for staying in touch with the people you love most while embracing a wanderer’s lifestyle.
1- Use your calendar to schedule phone dates.
Scheduling a conversation may sound un-sexy, but navigating time differences, demanding work schedules, and family commitments make it all too easy to lose touch with close friends. Every Friday morning, I have a 30-minute Facetime call with my mom to stay in touch, which helps ease the communication difficulties that come with living in different hemispheres. I usually use this website to plan out multi-time zone meetings.
2- Show your friend/s that you are thinking of them.
After a tiresome day at work, few have the time or energy to stare at a screen to FaceTime their long-distance bestie.
Instead of video calling, you can show your friend/s that you are thinking of them in other ways. Recommend a movie, podcast, or song that makes you think of your friend. Make them a playlist. Send a postcard or a care package in the mail. Even a quick, “Thinkin’ bout you!” text can go a very long way. Remember that your friends are not mind readers, and won’t know how much you miss them unless you tell them.
3- Run through a list of questions to ask each other back and forth.
Question-asking can be a fun way to maintain asynchronous conversations. While I spent the summer in New York, my boyfriend was in Thailand, meaning we had to operate under an 11-hour time difference. One of our favourite ways to pass the time was to use a list of questions (like these ones) to continue to deepen our relationship. Although these questions are for couples (some NSWF) they can still be applicable in platonic relationships.
4- Don’t take it personally if you have a lag in communication.
When I first moved to Thailand from New York, I was butt-hurt when my best friend didn’t return my texts, calls, or social media interactions. I thought that they were so selfish for ignoring me when I felt like the one stranded across the world without the support of my hometown community. However, when we finally spoke after 2 months of little to no contact, we bounced right back to where we left off. It turned out that they were going through a ton of personal stuff, just like I was. Give people grace by remembering that we all have a lot going on.
5- Recognize that some relationships do not last forever.
One of my absolute favourite relationship analogies is from Mel Robbins’ podcast episode Where Did All My Friends Go? She compares friendship to a tree: you have leaves, branches, and roots. Leaves are necessary and serve an important purpose in your tree’s life, but they only last a season. What stays with you forever is the lesson or experience that came with those leaves. The branches, which are stronger and last longer, can weather the changing of the seasons. But sometimes a very strong storm breaks the branches from the tree. And then there are the roots of the tree, which represent the people in our lives who are genuinely always there growing alongside us. Your root is someone that you can call at any time to cry to when you feel like the world is against you. Through all the changing of the seasons, recognize that although not everyone is a root in your friendship tree, they all are vital to the growth of your tree.
Maintaining connections while leading a nomadic lifestyle will allow you to thrive in community. Set some personal goals for yourself (such as a 5-minute catch-up session with a friend) to continue nurturing your relationships. Remember that a little goes a long way!
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This week’s article was written by one of our Rebels, Abby Stack. She’s looking for a role in sales/ marketing- so if you know of anything for this talented wordsmith- drop her a line!
Stay rebellious,
Michelle