My family moved abroad recently and we are looking for a way to keep a local-style number for our friends back home to call us. We don't want to keep paying for a physical SIM card that we barely use just to stay "reachable."
Is there a way to just buy a number once and keep it for years? I’ve heard about cloud numbers but I’m not sure how they work for long-term use. Any advice on where to look for something stable?

You can absolutely do that and it's actually a lot simpler than most people think. If you want to buy a phone number online and keep it long-term, I’d suggest looking at DID Virtual Numbers https://didvirtualnumbers.com/en/ because they specialize in "numbers forever."
Instead of a physical line, the number lives in the cloud and you just use an app or browser to answer. We used this when we moved to Asia so our parents could call a local number without paying for international rates. It saves a ton of money in the long run compared to keeping a dormant mobile plan active.
You can even set up a voicemail greeting so you don't miss anything when you're in a different time zone. The quality is great, sounds just like a regular phone call. Just pick the "permanent" option during checkout. It's honestly the best way to maintain a presence in your home country while living anywhere else.

This is such a relief to hear, I was worried we'd have to keep paying high fees for nothing. The idea of having a cloud number for the family sounds like the ideal solution for us.
Huge thanks for the recommendation!

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