Staying in Touch After Aliyah – The 5 Ways You Can Maintain Overseas Relationships Once You Move to Israel

Making Aliyah is rewarding in countless ways. You get to immerse yourself in a new culture, connect with your heritage, and find a sense of belonging. However, this process is also incredibly challenging in other regards. One of the biggest challenges when moving to Israel is leaving your friends, family members, and other loved ones behind.

But the good news is that modern technology offers numerous ways to continue to see, hear, and speak to your loved ones despite the distance. This guide will walk you through the top five ways to stay in touch after Aliyah, helping you battle homesickness and maintain strong relationships across borders. You’ll also read about the top five tips to make each call, video chat, or message count. 

The Top 5 Ways to Stay in Touch After Aliyah

There will be numerous things on your mind after landing in Israel. Still, one of these things should top your list of priorities – taking care of your telecommunication needs. This means setting up an internet connection, getting a local phone number, and exploring available mobile data plans to stay connected in your new home.

Since you probably don’t speak Hebrew yet, your best option is an Anglo-friendly service provider like TCS Telecom, which can assist you in English. This choice will prevent you from making costly mistakes as you navigate your telecommunications setup.

With this setup out of the way, you can use these five ways to stay in touch with your loved ones.

1. Get Some Face Time With FaceTime

There’s arguably no better way of staying in touch with your loved ones after making Aliyah than using a video-calling app like FaceTime. This app allows you to see and talk to your friends and family in real time, providing a sense of closeness despite the distance. Better yet, FaceTime works seamlessly across multiple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers, letting you share your Aliyah journey wherever you and your loved ones might be.

Of course, this app is Apple-exclusive. If you’re an Android user, don’t worry – plenty of video calling apps can deliver the same user-friendly and reliable experience. For instance, apps like Skype and WhatsApp offer similar features, allowing you to get face time with your loved ones anytime. 

2. Zoom in for a Virtual Hangout 

Technically, this option also refers to video calls. However, FaceTime calls are usually much more casual and often done on the go. Scheduled virtual hangouts, on the other hand, have a more structured and planned feel, ideal for group gatherings. Think of these “meetings” like you would think of a coffee date where you can catch up with friends or colleagues in a relaxed setting. Throw some food into the mix, and make it a (virtual) lunch date!

Zoom is one of the best apps for these fun hangouts, but Skype and Google Meet will also do the trick.

3. InstaConnect via Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are also wonderful ways to stay in touch with your loved ones back home. These social media platforms allow you to keep virtually everyone updated while adding fun stories, smiley photos, and quirky videos of your day-to-day life in Israel. With these fun attachments and posts, you can make your loved ones feel right there with you as you navigate your new life.

4. Create a Cozy Chat Lounge

Let’s not sugarcoat it – not all photos and videos are fit for sharing publicly. Sometimes, you just want your closest friends and family to see a particular moment, like celebrating your first Chanukah with the local community. 

Luckily, it’s chat groups to the rescue!

Use apps like WhatsApp, Viber, or Telegram to make separate groups with your friends and family and share all the special moments and updates privately. Of course, you can even send (and receive) some silly updates like what everyone had for breakfast that day. It’s all about keeping that intimate connection strong and sharing genuine experiences with the people who matter the most to you.

5. Catch Up the Old-School Way

Sure, all the new technological advancements in telecommunications are fun. But there’s also something nostalgic about catching up old-school style – using traditional voice calls. Now, calling abroad from Israel is notoriously expensive. However, with a foreign virtual number and the right international calling package, you can enjoy unlimited incoming and outgoing calls at incredibly reasonable prices. 

Best of all? These calls don’t have to be long and take up too much of your busy schedule. Call up your loved one, put them on speakerphone, and go about your chores, adding a modern, multitasking twist to an old-school tradition.

How to Make Each Contact Count: The Top 5 Tips

There’s no doubt about it – distance can wreak havoc on virtually any relationship. That’s why it’s crucial to not only stay in touch but make each voice call, video chat, or group message meaningful. Here are five ways to achieve this.

1. Schedule Weekly Updates

With how hectic life can get, it’s incredibly easy to lose track of time and go days (and even weeks) without talking to your loved ones. And even when you do talk, these conversations are usually short and shallow, as they occur on the go. But this isn’t the way to maintain a strong overseas relationship with your loved one. So, make sure to schedule more in-depth calls at least once a week to keep your bond strong despite the distance. 

Of course, don’t forget to account for the time difference. Even if your home country is only a few time zones away, like the U.K., finding a suitable time for both parties guarantees uninterrupted quality time together.

2. Delve Into Details

“I visited Tel Aviv and had a great time” would be a decent update if you plan to save the details for when you see that loved one in person. But newsflash – there are no in-person encounters when you’re oceans away. So, when talking to your loved ones, spare no details. Talk about the Tel Aviv Anglos you met, where you went, what you did, and every little adventure along the way. Filing the conversation with vibrant descriptions and lively anecdotes is the only way to bring your experience to life for your loved one.

3. Strike a Balance

So far, this guide has mainly been geared toward the best ways for you to express yourself after making Aliyah. After all, you’re the one with all the new experiences and adventures to share. 

However, listening to (and inquiring about) the experiences and adventures of your loved ones back home is equally important. So, follow up with previously shared stories, ask for photos, and show genuine interest in their lives every time you talk. This way, you’ll maintain a balanced (and reciprocal) relationship despite your unique circumstances.

4. Do Things Together 

Just because you and your loved ones aren’t physically in the same place doesn’t mean you can’t have fun together. So, use some of your scheduled calls to watch movies, play online games, and discuss books from your virtual book club, adding moments of laughter, excitement, and shared experiences to your communication. 

5. Plan Your Visits

As incredible as your online communication options are, nothing beats a face-to-face reunion. So, whenever things get rough, and you miss each other terribly, talk about your next get-together in Israel or your home country.

TCS Telecom: Bringing People Together

Most of these convenient ways to stay in touch after making Aliyah wouldn’t be possible without a reliable telecom provider. So, put your trust in TCS Telecom and effortlessly connect (and stay connected) with your loved ones no matter where they are.