I left home and the area i grew up in at 16, so i got used to being away from family members at an early age. It used to be months sometimes years between me speaking to my siblings, even though we get on great. More recently due to advances in technology we tend to speak more often or at least know what each other is doing with their life's.

I agree with Steve R that you should keep a utility bill up and running. Trying to do certain things without them isn't always an easy task.