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Best Things About Travelling the World as a Family

A lady in our Living Differently group was telling me yesterday how a photo I shared had stuck in her head and constantly inspired her to keep working towards her own dream lifestyle. It was the one below, taken in Richmond Upon Thames, London. Home, after too many years away.

It was incredible to be back walking familiar streets once more, and what screams “Britain” louder than a game of cricket on The Green.

So I thought I’d take time to indulge my own memories and find my favourite images from the last almost 4 years of travelling round the world with my kids. They are the ones that maybe show the best things about our travel lifestyle. They are the moments of pure joy, of freedom and of learning. I hope you enjoy them and they inspire you to live your own dream.

They’re all from our Instagram account, which I don’t use so often, but there are some nice pictures over there illustrating our physical journey and our path to financial freedom.

Travelling the world with family, London, Richmond Upon Thames

But what is the dream? What is it that we’ve achieved that we’d like you to move towards too?

What are the Best Things About Travelling the World With Kids?

It’s freedom. Freedom to go wherever you please, tomorrow if you like.

It’s really getting to know your kids and they you.

It’s learning greater self-confidence and self belief. It’s knowing that you can.

It’s being your own boss.

It’s freedom from big debts and big bills, no more working to pay them. Instead work to fund adventure and your dream lifestyle.

It’s trusting in the universe, enjoying an abundance mindset and moving forward towards your dreams.

It’s not being tied by anyone else’s schedule, no 9 to 5, no school run. Every day is a weekend day.

It’s being able to spend time with the people you love, when they need you, or you them.

It’s physical freedom, you can sit still, lie in a hammock or move and use your body. You can eat and rest as you feel. You can run, swim, bike or climb, with no restrictions. My husband has the freedom to train for and compete in his triathlon events on any continent.

It’s freedom to be the guide on your kids’ educational pathway. You don’t miss one second with them and they learn what they want or need to learn. You will know exactly what they’re learning and what they’re experiencing. No bullying, no peer pressure, a closer bond.

It’s their freedom to learn what they want, at the pace they want.

It’s freedom to rise with the sun or stay in bed. Whichever you prefer.

It’s job satisfaction.

It’s meeting new people and making new friends who think more like you.

It’s deep global understanding and knowledge.

Some of my favourite photos from the last few years of travel.

Langkawi boy with crab
Langkawi 2015. Kids, beaches and crabs, perfect.
London Eye with kids
A selfie on the London Eye, escaping the crowds on a school day. Fun family memories.
An early morning train ride in beautiful Sri Lanka. Wind and sea spray in his hair. Less up-tight health and safety allowing it.
Kids audio guides at the British Museum
Fascinated by learning. Audio guides at one of the world’s greatest museum collections. The British Museum, London.
Dubai Arab costume.
Torturing your children by making them do cute stuff when they think they’re far too grown up. Dubai.
Burj Khalifa beach Dubai
A few days before we’d been building a model of the Burj in freezing Romania, then we were there!
Sontaran Naval Museum Greenwich
Pretending to be a Sontaran instead of learning history.
Burj al Arab with kids
Dad’s famous neck nuzzle at the Burj al Arab light and water show.
Tattoo age 50 woman.
My 50th birthday. Free to be me.
Kids Thai Cooking Course
New friends to play and learn with. Chiang Mai
Mitsubishi breaks down
Laughing in the face of every problem. Things always work out. Sexy breaks down again
Doctor Who TARDIS London
A love of Doctor Who runs in the family. Enjoying that together.
12th Birthday Greece
His 12th birthday in his dream country, Greece. All the family could be there, no work to take dad away.
Ironman Phuket selfie.
Dad gets to indulge his Ironman addiction, here in Phuket.
Frost park London
No school, free to enjoy a frosty morning.
Raining in Prague
All together in the rain. No worries about getting wet. Prague.
Phuket Iron Man
Work for us is occasional hotel promotions, we get spoiled rotten and the kids have a ball. Ironman meets Iron Man in Phuket
Sadhus in Kathmandu
No, they’re not scary, they’re just people, as interested in us as we are in them. Kathmandu.
Maya cartwheel
There’s no better way to learn about the Maya. Guatemala
Stnow in Istanbul
Snow. It never happened back in Queensland. Istanbul
High Diving Lessons London
Right place, right time. A week of high diving lessons with Olympic champions in London
Stone carving lessons Mamalapuram Jeremy the turtle.
Learning from a master craftsman. Stone carving lessons in Mamallapuram, India. We still have Jeremy the turtle.
Kathmandu Nepal Harry Photos
Boo training to be paparazzi, he took all but one of these photos of Harry. Kathmandu.
Mum and Dad are on this trip too, having fun.
Sand dunes in Dubai
Freedom, total, complete freedom. And as D said, yet another biome.
Lantern Festival Thailand
Magical moments. Releasing the old, welcoming the new. Thailand

Welcome to our new readers, you’re joining thick and fast, hundreds per month. We’re glad you’re here and we hope you can help and inspire you to live your dreams. If you’re interested in our FREE Facebook group, where I can answer your questions online and through Facebook live, you’ll receive an invitation when you sign up below. 

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The best things about travelling with your family

As always, we’d love it if you’d say hi in the comments. Are you new here, do you have big dreams or plans of your own?

I haven’t posted much recently, bogged in technical problems. Our next posts will be on useful and essential plugins for new to intermediate bloggers, on that trek to Tengboche Monastery with my 11-year-old, on solar-powered chargers, or on what?  What would you like to read?

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The Trek from Lukla to Tengboche Monastery with my 11 Year-Old

Rosie

Thursday 25th of May 2017

Great to read your blog, we are travelling with our kids too, Time to move on from Grenada at the moment, off to Mexico next to experience the whale shark migration and learn about Mayan culture. Time I also started blogging and trying to make this lifestyle pay, always great to see a family are successfully doing that. Our aim was to sail the world but we discovered so many places we want to see are inland so now we are without a boat and wandering wherever we can. Happy travels!

Alyson Long for World Travel Family

Thursday 25th of May 2017

Thak you Rosie! Lots of whale shark luck.

Agness of Fit Travelling

Tuesday 28th of March 2017

I love reading about your travel experiences. Great post, indeed!

Dawn

Thursday 23rd of February 2017

Wow - loved seeing all those photos! As a family that is currently living traditionally at the moment (and not hating it), it definitely makes me want to sail away again. Still trying to figure out what "Living Differently" looks like for us...seems to have periods of freedom and adventure and other times of routine, but still adventure. I love the photo of you on your 50th - your smile tells everything. Thanks!

Nina

Tuesday 21st of February 2017

Thanks Alyson, Great photo's! I have been following your bog for the last year or so and we are now 3 weeks into a 12 month backpacking trip with our two children. We were well travelled before the kids, and had managed a 10 week Europe trip and 3 week Indonesian trip in the last few years. You gave us the confidence to see that it can be done on tight budgets with kids. We are now living well on NZ$50 per day (US$35). You also got me started blogging and understanding more about amazon affiliates. Thank you! Nina www.strikingthebalance.weebly.com

alyson@worldtravelfamily

Tuesday 21st of February 2017

I'm glad to hear that Nina particularly as so many people think these low budgets are unobtainable. I've had a couple of people question a $100/day budget. It can be done and it's really not so hard. Good on ya!

Irene

Saturday 18th of February 2017

I love your pictures! Genuine question here. What are your thoughts on savings and investments? For example, saving for the kid's college or just being able to contribute to a 401K? Thanks and may you all continue to enjoy your great adventure.

alyson@worldtravelfamily

Saturday 18th of February 2017

Kid's college and 401K are alien to us Irene sorry, we're not American. I don't actually know what a 401K is. We have a 3/4 million dollar house sitting in Australia, that's our investment and nest egg, we have no need to save extra.....we hope! We also have various bits of pension here and there that will probably be worthless by the time we get to them. I'm not pushing them towards university, if they decide they want to go we'll make it happen, but degrees are of decreasing value and the cost is crazy. I went to university, had a lot of fun but my degree certainly never gave me job satisfaction, I was much happier once I started being creative through art, graphic design, websites and photography, all skills self taught. We'll see how their interests develop as they get older and figure it out from there. Thanks for your question.