Talking to My Long Distance Relative

I have a relative who lives abroad who I barely get to see. At times I find it rather upsetting as I used to see them all the time. I normally communicate with them using a messenger application such as Skype. I have recently discovered Google Talk which is terrific. It is easy to use and can easily receive messages. I am not a huge fan of social media and tend to stay away from Facebook and twitter. I try and speak to them online at least once a week. I normally chat to them in the evenings. I am considering paying them a visit in a couple of months.