In my last post, I talked about what systems I set up for mail delivery, addresses for bank statements and other financial institutions, etc. Well, that is what I did some 7 years ago when I moved here. Since then, I believe that I have made a change for the better, and one that you could take advantage of right from the start.
As an American ex-pat living in the Philippines, I consider it important to maintain a presence in both countries. Primarily my presence in the USA is for the purpose of keeping a US presence for my business, but from time to time it has personal use too. I consider two different things important in maintaining that US presence: reliable US telephone service, and a mailing address in the USA. With those two things, I can do business with people in the USA, and they don’t even know that I am not there as well. This is a real advantage for me, and it can be for you too.
For my telephone service, I have been using Vonage, which gives me a US telephone number, and when somebody calls, the phone rings right here in my house in Davao City, Philippines! Also, I can make calls to any phone number in North America for no extra charge. I pay $25 per month for this service. However, over the past month or so, Vonage seems to be in trouble financially. They recently lost a court case, and I am not sure if they will make it through this rough patch or not. Because of this, at this time I am recommending Lingo instead of Vonage for this service. Lingo will give you the same service, and the price is similar also. I have included a graphic with a link to Lingo on the left sidebar of this blog for your convenience.
When it comes to mail forwarding, I have been using a service called “Access USA”. Access USA started out as a mail forwarding service for people who travel around the USA in their RV’s. They have a mailing address at Access USA, and their mail is forwarded to wherever they happen to be at the time. A few years ago, Access USA added ex-pats and others living abroad to their target audience, and thus, they are now serving people like me. I have a street address in Bradenton, Florida where I can receive my mail, bank statements, UPS and FedEX deliveries and such, and then Access USA forwards those items to me here in the Philippines. You can choose how often the items are sent, for me I get a lot of mail – mostly business – so I have my accumulated items forwarded to me weekly. You can do it monthly, or whatever works best for you. You can even have them hold the item until you tell them to send it. It’s a very convenient service, and I recommend them highly. I have been using them for more than 3 years now, and they made a mistake on my mail one time. That’s a good record, and I’ve been happy with them. I have included a banner below with a link that will take you to sign up for Access USA, if you are interested.
So, with these two tools, I am able to maintain a presence in the Philippines (since I live here) and also in the USA, where I come from. It’s the best of both worlds, and a real life saver for me!
Bob,
Another form of communication that I found to be very effective is an internet text called chikka.com. I can text and receive text for free. It does have its limitation, though. The person sending you a text on your cellphone here in the Philippines has to have a computer. And you have to have a computer to text them anywhere in the world. Usually, the recipients of your text will incure a 10 cents fee on their cellphone for receiving your text. Till next time….
Thanks for your suggestion, Julius. Personally, I have not found SMS to be an important part of my business, but I know of other business models that are built around that, so it may well be very helpful to others.
Take care!
Bob,
Skype offers phone numbers throughout the world for about $50 a year.
Hi Arcamaede – A lot of folks like Skype and use it. There is a problem for using it in the Philippines, though – they won't take payment from here! I prefer Vonage to anything else out there, and feel that Lingo is also a good solution. I have a number of reasons for that. It is just, in my opinion, the best solution for here.
Hi Bob,
My son and his filipino wife are moving to Davao next month with their 3 children. From a Grandmothers point of view how did your mother cope with saying goodbye to them? I have visited with them 2 times but am in no position at present to move with them.
Hi ann – It was very difficult for my Mom when we moved here. What I felt was right for my family, and what my Mom thought was right for her were to completely different things. Over the years, Mom has come to realize that I did what was right for me and my wife and kids. That doesn't mean that it is easy for her now, but at least she understands my reasons for making the move. I recommend that you accept the move, take every step possible to stay in close touch with your kids and grandkids, etc. Have your son invest in having broadband internet at home so that you and he can talk over a VOIP telephone connection, which will cost nothing, or next to nothing to use. There are many steps that you can take to keep in contact.
My Mom has agreed to write a post or two on this blog in a few days or weeks. I will ask her to see if she can write about her experience in how she handled the move that we made.
Good luck to you, ann.
Lookie here, what I found
http://www.callvocal.com/
It's based in the Philippines and is also a VOIP andyou can also have a US Phone number.
Hi Bob,
This is great info but can you go into a little more detail about setting up the account ?
Hi Clay – Thanks for visiting! 😀
I'm not sure if you are talking about the Vonage Account or if you mean the Access USA account. Either of them are quite easy, though.
For Vonage, just go to Vonage.com and click the button that says "Sign up now". Go through the form, fill it out with your information (name, address, credit card, etc.) They will send you a router for the service to work, you plug it in following the directions, and you are online with your new VOIP telephone. If you live in the Philippines, you will need to give an address in the USA where they can send the equipment, as they don't ship abroad. They don't care if you use it abroad, they just won't ship it to you abroad.
For the Access USA, just do the same thing, go to the website (www.myus.com) and click on the button with red letters that says "Sign Up". Fill out the form and you are in business.
If I am missing something in explaining how to do it, please let me know specifically what you are asking. I am not trying to be hard, I just want to explain everything, and don't want to miss an important detail for you.
Thanks for the info, I visited the vonage site but when filling out the form, where you are ask to submit your current telephone number, When I submit the number in the Philippines it kicks it back and says the service isnt available for that calling area. Just wondering how you accomplishe that.
Hi Clay – I suppose you can enter any US number. Perhaps you could leave it blank. As an alternative, you could call them and sign up over the phone, I would guess. It have been about 4+ years since I signed up, so I didn't realize there was any problem with that. If you have a US address where they can ship the goods, I would assume there must be a phone number at that address, and I would recommend putting that number.
Good luck, Clay.
I dont think I want to use the U.S. number. My idea was to use the number in the philippines and keep the cell phone here in the U.S. and when my wife wanted to talk with her family she could just call the cell number and we wouldnt have to worry about buying calling cards.
Thanks for the info
Ah, OK, Clay. Now I understand! You are looking for a service that Vonage doesn't provide. Vonage provides US Phone numbers, not Philippine numbers. This article is about how Americans who move to and live in the Philippines can have an American phone number to stay in touch with their friends and family in the States. The service you are looking for is sort of the opposite of what Vonage offers. 🙂
Haha yes I know. I was just trying to figure out how to make what you have done work to my advantage. I suppose I could use a number here in the U.S. and send the cell phone to the Philippines with DHL
Hi Clay – The Vonage is not a cellphone. It is a signal that comes through to a regular wired telephone. It can certainly be used here, though. You need to set up a DSL connection to the Internet for your family member here in the Philippines. Then they need the Vonage ATA box and a telephone. After that you can talk to your heart's content.
yes I understand that it works through the internet connection,Here in the states you can connect your cell also and when the home number rings the cell also rings. Thats the whole reason we never got our cell service with vonage. Who would want both the home phone and the cell phone ringing at the same time ? There would be a loss of privacy right ? Thanks again for the info