Staying in Touch in the USA

Our guide to keeping your friends and family up to date on your great American adventure.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones are popular in the US, and if you are planning on
applying for a lot of jobs they can be useful, as it means employers can keep in touch with you. You can either buy a handset with a ‘pay as you go’ option or subscribe to a contracted price plan.

US Mobile Phone Operators

Cingular
Verizon Wireless

Useful numbers

Operator - dial 0
Emergency – 911

Making calls internationally

• To call the US from overseas dial 0011 + city/area code + local number
• To call the UK from the US dial 01 + 44 + city/area code (minus 0) + local number
• To call Australia from the US dial 01 + 61 + city/area code + local number
• To call New Zealand from the US dial 01 + 64 + city/area code + local number

It's cheaper to call overseas off peak. Off peak times vary, depending on where you want to phone. If you are using public payphones, which can be found on most streets and public places, use either 25 cents for a three minute local call, or a phonecard. You can buy phonecards in newsagents and shops that offer cheap international calls.

Time zones

• Hawaii is 10 hours behind GMT (Honolulu)
• Alaska is 9 hours behind GMT (Anchorage)
• USA Pacific is 8 hours behind GMT (Portland, San Francisco,
  San Diego)
• USA Mountain is 7 hours behind GMT (Denver, Salt Lake City)
• USA Central is 6 hours behind GMT (Dallas, Chicago, St Louis,
  New Orleans)
• USA Eastern is 5 hours behind GMT (New York, Miami,
  Washington DC, Boston)

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