Hi. I’ll be moving to the Philippines in a few months. I plan on staying for at least a few years, if not permanently, though I’ll still visit the US once or twice per year.

I have been racking my brain for months trying to figure out a way to keep and access my American phone number while there. An AFFORDABLE option.

I just need to keep (1)my current number, (2)to be able to make and receive calls, to have (3)voicemail access, and (4)to send and receive text messages.

I ONLY need to use it to field important calls in the US, and to receive voicemail when I miss them. Also to be able to do text verification to sign into online accounts.

My phone is dual sim, and I will absolutely have a Philippines phone plan to handle all of my normal calls, texts, data usage, etc. I just need a cheap solution for keeping my US number for VERY IMPORTANT, occasional use.

I have looked VOIP, but the language on their websites is all about attracting customers, and less about the intricacies and minutia of using the service.

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Could someone with some experience keeping a long term, cheap, US phone plan of some sort while outside of the US weigh in and share some wisdom? Thank you!