It may be very different today, with the Internet and all, but.......

After we were out for a year, doing everything by the net, we started having problems ordering stuff and having it sent to us.

When we departed, we tossed our old phones. AND.... the places we were trying to purchase from NEEDED a valid phone number! Our old number had been taken over by some one else.

So, we purchased a yearly "Skype in" phone number. We keep it even now! Works any place we go as long as we have a computer of some type.

Just a thought.

Greg