Agree with this. But this sitter is from the US, and in my experience Americans don’t use WhatsApp. No idea why.
no need to since there are no communication issues between states like there are, for instance, between European countries. I know tons of Americans who use WhatsApp but only those who travel or have contacts overseas.
well, maybe so, but this person is travelling internationally. We don’t have “communication issues” in Europe - where did that idea come from? - we simply communicate as we need to
So you can easily call any country in Europe with every phone plan on offer with no special dialing requirements, packages or fees? It’s just as easy as dialing a number in your home country? Because that’s not my experience at all. In my experience calling or texting other European countries can be quite expensive - which is why people use WhatsApp. Whereas in the US, it’s all included in the cost of your plan.
This is not true in many cases. Like often a cell plan in Europe only allows you to text or call only in that country or a small number of countries. Otherwise you often pay extra. That’s why many people use WhatsApp — to avoid extra charges.
If you know otherwise, please specify what carrier you use that allows calling and texting all across Europe for no extra charges. Many of us would want that. I’ve planned Christmas markets travel (not involving any sits), for example, and could use such a plan across multiple European countries.
In the U.S., many of us have unlimited texting and calling across the entire country (nearly the same size as all of Europe), without any extra charges. If so, unless you travel abroad or have family or friends you often contact abroad, WhatsApp is superfluous.
Personally, I’ve used WhatsApp for ages, because of family and friends abroad. Plus, it’s used in many countries among hospitality / tourism businesses, so it’s useful for travelers abroad. Using it for sitting abroad has been incidental.
There also are a number of alternatives to WhatsApp, so various people who did use it before might no longer. Or some just never used WA. If you’re curious, just google “WhatsApp competitors” or such.
Are you using a specific carrier that you can recommend that doesn’t charge extra? That was my question. The link shared is useless to me. Visitors don’t usually want to sign a contract, BTW.
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Visitors aren’t even able to sign a contract. I’ve lived in Europe for over 10 years now and am unable to sign a contract, even if I wanted to, because I’m not a resident.
Wow, that would be a pain. I’ve gotten SIM cards or e-SIMs in a bunch of countries, but they’ve all limited calling and/or texting, even when I’ve asked for unlimited access. A pain.
In some countries, I’ve had family or friends loan me spare cell phones. In Morocco, my guest house loaned phones out routinely.
yeah, I go through about 6 sim cards/year, sometimes more. It’s a giant waste of plastic and super annoying, but there is no decent way around it while living in my van because of roaming limits. Free from France is so far the best SIM I’ve found for roaming with 35GB/month at only 20 euro and it works in non-EU countries. But living in the van and tethering to my phone for a hot spot means that’s not enough data for me.
Once I settle and establish residency in France they’re who I’ll get a contract with.
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My phone plan allows me to use my phone in all of Europe (incl. EU, EEC, UK and Switzerland) for the same prize as home (Roam like home) but there can be limits if you use your phone more (for longer) abroad than in country of residence.
Are you on a contract or can you get that plan as a visitor? What country did you get it in or can you buy online? I have several weeks ahead of Christmas markets travel, so I’d like to get a plan / SIM / eSIM ahead if possible for five or six EU countries.
As far as I know the Roam like home is an EU/EEC-thing, I thought maybe it is because of some EU-regulation and applicable all over Europe? At least for residents?
I’m not sure how this will play out for non-EU-residents, maybe a fellow member here will come to the rescue.
In the meantime I found this:
We use Smarty (pay as you go) which allows calls and text and upto 12GB data when in the EU. We pay £5.40 pm each. We generally use free hotel wifi (use VPN) or cafes so our data 24GB between us was plenty for the odd occasion we needed to use google maps on roaming etc. Obviously not enough for those guys needing to use it for work or heavy downloads.
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Thanks. I skimmed and that looks similar to what I’ve previously read. I might default to my U.S. plan for the Christmas markets travel, because I won’t be long in several countries. That’s still suboptimal, because the signal and speeds tend to be crummy, from what I’ve read. Usually when I visit various countries, I automatically get a SIM / eSIM, but I’m there for longer on those trips, so I go through the trouble. But I’ve had to get multiple cards for various countries. A pain.
Thanks, Shannon. Does anyone know whether you can buy this if never in the U.K.? I won’t be there at all for Christmas markets travels.
If you are from the US, sign up for TMobile Magenta which includes international roaming. One of my children who travels throughout Europe and other countries frequently has this. Because his usage is heavier, he adds the international plan, good for 30 days, at an additional cost of $50. Covers calls, roaming, etc. You can view more details online.
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Probably not. Would have been good if you were coming to the UK first and had an address to use and mail it to. Then you could have set it up for roaming, but if you are skipping the UK this time then it would be better if any of our European friends on here know of something similar?
I am just starting to look at e-sims for my NZ trip but suspect my phone is too old. It does have duel sim capability so may need to get a local sim from the airport or sent to my friends home.
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Unfortunately, I don’t want to switch U.S. carriers, because I have grandfathered plans which have become a steal. All of our phones and tablets rely on those plans, so I wouldn’t disrupt them for trips abroad.
I understand. You can also check out Airalo esimm? I have not used it before, but I was on a sit without wifi and the host recommended it. I never did, but he said it worked great.
Thanks. I used Airalo before and had to get e-SIMs for different EU countries. But I’ll check again to see whether that’s changed.