Traveling is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable, and ultimately relaxing experiences in our lives. It gives us a chance to broaden our horizons, see new sites, try new foods, and escape the drudgery of our day-to-day lives.

Unfortunately, our day-to-day lives don’t always get the memo that we’re traveling. Emergencies and crises back home don’t care that we’re thousands of miles away, spending our hard-earned money and vacation time trying to escape them.

Maybe a pipe bursts and floods the basement while we’re lying on the beach. Or maybe a parent has an accident, or a bill goes unpaid, or an important client needs your attention ASAP and has little regard for where you are or what you’re doing.

The last thing you want to do while you’re on vacation is try to contact a flood repair company or wake a neighbor in the middle of the night to make sure the garage door is closed. These events, of course, are a normal part of life and can’t be controlled. But with a little bit of forethought, they can be minimized.

With just a little bit of planning and the help of technology, you can set up some safeguards so that unexpected events are taken care of and you can enjoy your vacation the way you’re supposed to—without thinking about home.

Get Your Parents a Medical Alert System
If you have an elderly or sick parent, then you know that the worry and responsibility of making sure they’re taken care of is something that doesn’t take a break from anything. Going out of town is especially difficult when you’re worried about your parents, but new medical alert devices provide solid monitoring services and innovative tech that will give you peace of mind while you’re away. These devices are equipped with GPS satellites, fall detection, automatic alerts, and more. Additionally, you can set emergency contacts as you please, so you can designate another caretaker while you’re away, who will be contacted if needed.

Medical alerts are a great way to care for your elderly parents and ensure that they’re in good hands even if you’re not there to respond yourself. 

Install a Smart Home Security System
Technology has given us so many solutions to control things remotely, and smart home security systems are no exception. Unlike traditional home security systems, which only alert the authorities and the homeowner, these new systems allow you to actually watch your home from afar. You can view a live stream of your home on your phone from anywhere in the world, meaning that anytime you get nervous that you left the door unlocked, or worry that you accidentally posted your vacation details on Facebook, you can simply tune in and confirm that your home is safe from intruders.

Many smart home security systems also have monitoring services that will send authorities to your home in the event of a breach, meaning you get the best of both worlds—having direct visual access to your home, and having a team there to respond.

Ask a Neighbor to Be Your Point of Contact
It’s almost impossible to anticipate any number of household issues that can come up at a given time. Whether it’s a burst pipe, a fire alarm, a broken window, or a leak in the roof, these are issues that can’t wait and must be dealt with immediately. This is why it’s important to have somebody else as your point of contact while you’re out of town. Ideally this person would be trustworthy enough to have a spare key, and someone who lives close or can respond quickly. That way, if there’s a leak, burst pipe, or other issue that needs to be attended to while you’re away, your point of contact can be there to check up on it, let the repair person in, or help with whatever else needs attending to without you having to make urgent phone calls for help. 

Travel Should Be Stress Free, But Life Intervenes
There’s no way to fully prevent issues from coming up while you’re out of town, but there are plenty of ways to minimize their impact and the stress they cause on you. By turning to technology, smart security, medical alerts, and good old neighborly help, you can have direct access to everything happening back home and control any emergencies from afar.