Why We Decided to Travel Full-Time with Our Kids
- Alanna Gabbett
- Nov 15, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 26
As a family of four with two young children, the thought of starting a life of full-time travel is daunting. With both of our children under the age of five, we face unique challenges. From locating essential items like diapers and baby food to managing long walks and navigating public transport, traveling with little ones can be quite demanding.
In this article, we explore:
The Beginnings
From the beginning of our relationship, we both shared a strong desire to travel. Just nine months into dating, we started exploring the world together. Our journey began with a trip to Mexico, followed by adventures in Europe, where we visited Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, and Ireland.
We got married in 2019 while still attending college, and welcomed our daughter, Isla, in 2020, the same year Ryan graduated from nursing school. However, as life became busier with wedding planning, school, and the arrival of our daughter, our travel plans unfortunately took a back seat.
With these changes in mind, we decided to relocate to another state, purchase a larger home, and focus on growing our family for a while.
We had created a beautiful life for ourselves and our children in a large, five-bedroom home at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Our lovely city was known for its excellent school system, which would be perfect for our kids when they reached that age. We were conveniently located near beaches, playgrounds, a zoo, an aquarium, a theme park, and many other enjoyable activities. However, to maintain this lifestyle, we both worked full-time on opposite shifts due to the lack of childcare, leaving us unable to afford even a yearly vacation.
We soon realized that the life we were living was not fulfilling our dreams. We were unhappy with our daily routines and needed to find a solution. After countless hours, days, and even weeks of discussion and planning, we made the decision to move again. We chose to sell our home and our belongings to live abroad.
Our goal was to show our children the world and help them develop an appreciation for its diverse cultures and people. We believed this would be the best gift we could ever give them. We wanted them to experience different cultures, see how others live, try new foods, and explore the countless beautiful places on this Earth. We understood that it would be the hardest thing we would ever do, but we also believed it would be worth the struggle.
The Financial Aspect
What about finances? How can we afford a life of full-time travel? This is likely the most significant aspect of our entire plan, as we need a source of income to cover transportation, accommodation, food, and all the miscellaneous expenses that arise.
The answer isn't straightforward and is still a work in progress as we explore what will work for the long term. However, a key factor is Ryan's job. As a nurse, he has access to travel opportunities that typically offer higher pay than traditional staff positions. Before we sold our home and embarked on our first international adventure, Ryan resigned from his staff nurse position and accepted a travel assignment in another state.
This new job paid more than both of our incomes combined, allowing me to quit my job to take care of the kids and our home while Ryan worked across the country for three months. The company provided him with a stipend to find his own housing and even covered his transportation and food costs for the trip to that state and back. With this extra income, we were able to save a significant amount for our travel fund for the rest of the year.
During our first year of travel, we managed to budget for a 7-month trip by utilizing the extra income from Ryan's travel job, along with funds generated from selling our belongings. We created an emergency fund using the money obtained from the sale of our home, which went directly into our savings account.
In our planning process, we conducted thorough research and categorized each expense with its own budget. We allocated specific budgets for food, transportation, and other categories. Additionally, we set aside some extra funds to cover any unforeseen expenses or to treat ourselves if we wanted to indulge a little while traveling.
Our New "Homes"
When it comes to accommodation, we found that renting an apartment is the most cost-effective option for our travels. This choice gives us access to a kitchen and, in many cases, a washing machine, which will save us money on food and other expenses. Preparing most of our own meals is the best money-saving tip we can offer anyone traveling. Dining out, particularly in touristy areas, can be quite expensive, even in otherwise affordable countries.
Additionally, when grocery shopping, we recommend seeking out stores located outside the main tourist areas of the city. Prices in these locations are often significantly lower.
We found that Airbnb was the best option for us because we could easily find 1- to 2-bedroom apartments at reasonable prices, tailored to our needs. Some listings even offered cribs or travel cribs, which were perfect for our baby. Additionally, most places provided essential items, such as cleaning products, laundry detergent, toilet paper, bed linens, and towels. One of the greatest advantages of using Airbnb is that many hosts offer long-stay discounts for reservations of a week or more, making it ideal for those looking to stay longer in each location.
We always make it a point to check Booking.com, as they offer fully furnished apartments for rent. We have booked apartments through their platform many times without any issues. Typically, when looking for accommodation, we compare options from both Booking.com and Airbnb.
Another option we’ve heard about from other long-term travelers is using Facebook groups. There are various groups available, some focusing on expats and others on digital nomads, which feature listings for long-term apartment rentals in different countries. Although we haven't personally used this method yet, we may consider it in the future. Many listings in these groups often come fully furnished and include all utilities.
Documenting Our Journey
Documenting our journey was an important aspect of this adventure for us. We wanted to show our children all the experiences they had before they could remember and to keep a record of the amazing places we visited and the things we did for years and decades to come. To achieve this, we bought a high-quality camera for taking pictures and videos, a drone, a new laptop for video editing, and all the necessary accessories. It wasn't cheap, but we viewed it as an investment in our family and our future.
The toughest part has been learning how to use the equipment. Neither of us had any experience with photography or editing, so this was all new to us. We watched some videos and took online courses to get a feel for things, knowing that we would continue to learn as we went along.
Editing has proven to be the hardest challenge. With a baby and a toddler in the house, focusing on editing a video for hours is nearly impossible due to their constant need for attention. So, for anyone following our journey and watching our videos, we want to assure you that we are learning with each video we produce, and we promise that the quality will improve over time!
We are excited to share our journey with the world, demonstrating that traveling with children can be rewarding, and that wealth is not necessary to explore the globe.
Each product we mention is available on Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. We assure you that every product we recommend is one that we've personally tried and trusted, guaranteeing its quality and durability, as tested by ourselves and our children.
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