WHY THIS family TOOK THEIR TEENS ON AN epic RTW adventure

Posted: 1/18/16 | January 18th, 2016

Yesterday in Buenos Aires, I had lunch with a family of digital nomads. They’ve been on the road since 2008 working on software and app development all over the world (their son was born in Mexico). The wife, Kelli, asked if I met a lot of families traveling on the road.

“Selvfølgelig! These days, there are a lot,” I said.

When I started traveling the world, taking your kids out of school for a year away was weird and social suicide. Now, I think there is a big support community online and hundreds of blogs to provide encouragement and help families make the leap.

It was funny she asked that because today we are doing a family profile on the blog. I want to share the story of Staci, Mason, and their kids. They’re a middle-class family from Iowa that set out on a round-the-world trip. Today, they tell us how they did it and share their advice for other families out there!

Nomadisk Matt: Fortæl alle om dig selv.
Staci: We are the Schwarz family. My name is Staci, my spouse is Mason, and our kids are Ian (19) and Lily (16). We live in Des Moines, Iowa, and are traveling the world together for about 4½ months. (It’s the first time out of the country for my spouse and kids!) In our previous lives, I was a pricing analyst and Mason was a printing press operator.

Why did you and your family decide to do this trip?
Four years ago, I read the book One Year Off by David Cohen about how he and his partner sold their home and took their three children on a one-year trip around the world, and I could not get over it. I told my spouse I wanted to do something similar, and with no hesitation, he said yes. His mom died unexpectedly when she was not much older than we are now, and that really affects the decisions we make to not put things off, assuming we have plenty of time to get around to doing them.

How are you funding this trip?
We saved for almost four years by doing basic things like cutting back on entertainment and eating out. We went through our house and garage and sold a ridiculous amount of stuff that we didn’t need or use — we had a book sale where we sold 700 books. 700!

We also used some of our retirement savings. We have found that this seriously freaks people out, but we look at it this way: we are young and have a lot of time to work. We firmly believe that investing our money in a life-changing experience is a far better use of it.

What did your pals and family think?
There were some mixed responses. because we talked about it for so long, I think there was a sense of doubt about whether we would really follow through, but once we quit our jobs and booked our flights, all of our pals were incredibly excited and supportive. We couldn’t have asked for a better support system.

Our parents were concerned about some of the places on our itinerary (namely Turkey), and we do have a couple of family members who think that it was downright stupid and irresponsible for us to quit our jobs to travel.

And that’s OK. Not everyone is going to understand or support every life decision we make.

Did you change anyone’s mind now that they see you’re traveling and just fine?
Well, the couple of people who thought we were stupid when we left still think we are stupid. I think my mom has had the biggest change of heart. She was really worried about the places we were going and just fretted about our safety, but as we’ve been traveling and posting pictures and blogs about our experiences, she has gotten really excited about traveling the world and has started a list of places she wants to see.

She was so inspired by our day at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai that she wants to go volunteer there for a week.

My parents have never left the United States, and I love seeing my mother so inspired and excited about traveling.

What did you do about school? Are you doing classes remotely?
Ian was able to take a training program at a technical school in welding and finished his certificate a few weeks before we left, but Lily’s school offered to let her take her junior year online. We were really relieved about this since we were all a little concerned about homeschooling on the road.

This was a big concern for Lily — probably the one thing that initially kept her from getting really excited about the trip — so once that fell into place, she was able to stop worrying and get excited about the travel. She has been able to work at her own pace through the coursework, which has been terrific because we don’t always have a reputable Internet connection everywhere we have been.

What’s been the hardest part so far?
There have been a few hard parts. Our first few days were really difficult. just simple things like finding food or figuring out how to get around was a challenge. Lily and I did not adjust well at all, and we both cried a lot. We look back now and it’s fantastic how comfortable we have become withFlytter til nye steder. Jeg har set så meget vækst hos mine børn i deres selvtillid og evne til at finde ud af nye miljøer og situationer. Det er virkelig fantastisk at se.

Også Indien. Indien var hårdt – så mange mennesker, så meget forurening, så meget fattigdom. Skrald overalt, folk op i dit rum hele tiden. Vi var dårligt forberedt.

En ven fortalte mig, at ”Indien er ikke for alle, men giv det lidt tid.” Det var gode råd. Jeg er stadig ikke sikker på, at Indien var for os, men vi er glade for, at vi gik. Det var bestemt i modsætning til noget, vi nogensinde har oplevet. Vi blev helt overvældede hele tiden, vi var der.

Hvilket råd har du til andre familier, der gør dette?
Hvis du vil gøre det, kan du absolut få det til at ske. Folk laver alle mulige undskyldninger for, hvorfor de ikke kan rejse, men hvis vi kunne få det til at ske, så kan virkelig enhver. Det er bare et spørgsmål om at beslutte, hvor dårligt du vil have det og derefter gøre det til en prioritet.

Den tid, vi har tilbragt sammen på denne rejse, har bragt os så tæt som en familie og set mine børn opdage skønheden og magien ved rejsen har uddybet min egen oplevelse og gjort det så meget rigere.

Folk vil sige til os, “Du er så heldig at kunne tage denne rejse.” Jeg tror ikke, dette er sandt. Vi arbejdede virkelig hårdt mod dette mål. Vi fik det til at ske. Og hvis vi kan gøre det, kan enhver alvorligt. Det er ikke at sige, at det var let – vi er ikke de mest disciplinerede mennesker i verden. Det betyder bare, at hvis du vil have det dårligt nok, vil du gøre, hvad det kræver for at få det til at ske.

Hvad har været dit foretrukne øjeblik indtil videre?
Dette vil variere afhængigt af hvem du spørger i vores familie. Lily siger, at hun virkelig elskede den madlavningsklasse, vi tog i Chiang Mai. I Varanasi satte Mason sig ned og talte med en gruppe børn, der spillede cricket og havde et virkelig fantastisk øjeblik bare forbundet med dem.

For mig vil jeg sige, at templerne på Angkor Wat har været de mest bevægende, men hvis jeg er ærlig – og lidt osteagtig – er mine yndlings øjeblikke, når vi alle sidder rundt og taler om, hvad vi gjorde den dag, eller hvor vi skal hen Den næste dag, og vi er helt uforfeltet af de overdrevne skemaer og forpligtelser, vi har derhjemme. Denne gang sammen er dyrebar for mig.

Hvorfor tror du, at færre familier gør dette? Var der nogen store hindringer, der kom i vejen i starten?
Jeg tror, ​​at mange familier er bekymrede over omkostningerne og den tid, der bruges sammen. Omkostninger var altid en hindring for os, og vi endte med at udsætte turen i et år, så vi kunne spare mere og få et bedre budget til at finansiere vores rejser. Børnene fik en masse forbløffelse fra deres venner i retning af “Hvordan vil du tilbringe så meget tid med din familie uden at dræbe hinanden?”

Vi har ikke fundet, at dette var et problem. Bortset fra nogle øjeblikke, hvor vi er lidt grouchy med hinanden – som også sker derhjemme – er vi kommet godt sammen.

Når det er sagt, hvis du ikke nyder hinandens selskab derhjemme, kan langvarig rejse være vanskelig. Men vi har været nødt til at lære at arbejde sammen som et team for at håndtere ting som rejsedage. Og når vi først sad fast på et bjerg i 12 timer, så vi var nødt til at tage os af hinanden, og disse ting har bragt os nærmere som familie.

Selvom vi ganske vist var en temmelig stram familie til at begynde med.

Hvad synes dine børn om denne oplevelse?
Nå, jeg spurgte dem lige nu, og dette var deres svar:

”Det har været øjenåbnende. Det er svært at tage det hele ind, mens du gør det, og det ser ud til, at ‘dette er mit liv i dag.’ Vi tror, ​​at folk forventer, at vi siger, at det er livsændrende, men vi føler ikke det endnu. Det er for svært at forklare mennesker derhjemme, hvordan det føles at sidde i et tempel og lytte til buddhistiske bønner i en time og forklare denne oplevelse på en måde, som folk vil forstå. ”

Da du planlagde denne store tur, hvad var nogle af de frygt, du havde?
Jeg er en stor fed bekymring. Jeg bekymrer mig om alt, så jeg ville ligge i sengen om natten og tænke på alle de mulige ting, der kunne gå galt til det punkt, hvor jeg gjorde mig skør. Sikkerhed var min største frygt. Hvis du tror på nyheden, er verden et forfærdeligt, forfærdeligt sted, hvor alle prøver at dræbe dig, og intetsteds er sikkert. Vi har fundet, at sandheden er så grundlæggende anderledes. Folk er fulde af venlighed og gæstfrihed, og vi er blevet taget godt af i vores rejser af perfekte fremmede.

Hvad er to ting ved rejser, du har lært, der har fået dig til at gå, “Wow, det er så enkelt, ikke?!”?

Den store uoverensstemmelse mellem det, vi får at vide om nyhederne, og hvad der faktisk sker på jorden. Alle var bange for, at vi var i Tyrkiet, men Tyrkiet var, hvor vi havde de mest positive oplevelser med mennesker. Folk gik langt ud af deres måde at få os til at føle os velkomne, sikre og plejede. De har bestemt påvirket vores hjerter og vores tur på den mest positive måde, og vi ser tilbage på vores tid der og er så rørt af de mennesker, vi mødte.

Hvor mange mennesker taler engelsk og hvor godt. Vi troede, at kommunikation ville være ensubstantial obstacle for us, but it has literally been a nonissue. everywhere we have gone, people have spoken terrific English, and we have never had an issue arise due to miscommunication.

Become the next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. here are more examples of people who found work overseas to fund their trips:

Why a 50-Year-Old couple sold it all to travel the World

How (and Why) This 72-Year-Old is Backpacking the World

How families and seniors Can use the information on this Website

How this 70-Year-Old couple Bucked tradition to travel the World

How to travel the world on $50 a Day

My new York Times best-selling paperback guide to world travel will teach you how to master the art of travel so that you’ll get off the beaten path, save money, and have a deeper travel experience. It’s your A to Z planning guide that the BBC called the “bible for budget travelers.”

Click here to learn more and start reading it today!

Book Your Trip: Logistical tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a low-cost flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t forget travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

SafetyWing (best for everyone)

Insure My trip (for those over 70)

Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Ready to book Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.