We have played around with the idea of becoming a nomadic family with a location independent lifestyle. Ok. To be clear, I have played around with the idea of becoming a nomadic family. Three weeks in a car, however, with the kids squabbling in the back seat has convinced my husband that idea is a sure path to insanity. Yet, I still wonder why parents should put their travel ambitions on hold because they have a family. More and more families are adopting a location independent lifestyle and bringing their kids on a world adventure. Kids have just as much opportunity to benefit from long-term travel as as parents.
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What Does Nomadic Family Travel Entail?
Newsflash! You don’t have to wait until your kids go off to college before you can travel the world!
Long-term nomadic travel is nothing like a corporate transfer with a job where typically things like housing, moving costs, and transportation is taken care of for you. Neither is nomadic travel similar to a sabbatical from work where you put your ‘regular’ life on hold for a while and effectively take an extra long vacation.
Remember as a digital nomad family you need to carry everything your family owns – so that eliminates all those big plastic toys for the kids.
With nomadic family travel, you are typically moving from destination to destination, paying for everything out of pocket, and arranging all the practicalities yourself.
When you are travelling with children, you’re now needing to take more things into consideration to ensure that your kids will grow up leading happy and fulfilled lives just as they would in any other location.
What are some important considerations before you uproot your family into a location independent lifestyle?
Planning a Location Independent Lifestyle
Research, research, research. We cannot emphasise the need for research enough.
In conducting your research, it’s also important that you create a checklist of considerations for a smooth move. And, definitely reach out to nomadic families in the digital nomads community for their advice and expertise. For example, we have spoken with the Wuebkers of Passing Thru about some of the pros and cons of a location independent lifestyle which they achieve through housesitting.
Most families want to become a location independent family so they can spend more time together
Some important things to think about when you become a location independent family include monetary considerations:
- Are you going to sell your home or rent it out?
- How will you make money to fund your location independent lifestyle?
- What’s the cost of living at your location(s)?
- How will the locations you are considering work for a digital nomad with family in tow?
- Will your location(s) have a digital nomads community where your children can socialise with kids their own age?
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There are, of course, other things you need to do to prepare for your move, such as what you will do with your personal possessions and what to do about your children’s education. For example, do your kids enjoy playing a musical instrument? Hopefully it’s some thing lightweight like a flute because there’s no way you can carry a double bass around the world!
Reaching out to a digital nomads community is a really important step – there will be things you have not thought of but that others will know about.
How do digital nomads make money?
Digital nomads make money to fund their lifestyle in a variety of ways. The lucky few have jobs that are portable where the income (and the obligations) are steady. Everyone else will cobble together cash flow from a variety of sources. Having a steady stream of income will cushion the ups and downs that come with being your own boss.
The best jobs for digital nomads involve blogging and selling products and services.
Online Jobs
You may be the lucky nomadic family where the adults have jobs that can be done from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection. The best jobs for digital nomads are online – such as being a virtual assistant, online English teacher, web designer or a writer.
Rental Income
Nomadic families may rent out their house instead of selling it. Renting their home will allow families to earn passive income while they travel. Depending on where they chose to travel and how they live, this passive income may be enough to cover their expenses. For example, we know a family who have rented out their house in Islington, and are currently living in South Africa off their rental income.
A location independent family can use rental income to fund their travels.
Savings
Nomadic families may choose to live off their savings for the time that they are travelling. If they have chosen to sell their home before travelling, they will have a chunk of money to see them through their travels.
An Online Business
Many digital nomad family travellers set up their own business to either totally or partially fund their travels. One of the best jobs for digital nomads is becoming a blogger through which you can sell products or services as well as talk about your travels.
Nomadic families may also blog about their experience or start an online business to supplement their income. According to globest.com, e-commerce sales will account for 25% of retail sales by the year 2025. Digital nomads are jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon!
The great thing about e-commerce is that it allows you to travel the world with your family as well. To get started, all you would need to do is figure out what you want to sell, buy your domain name, and build your store. Once your store is built, your family’s financial growth possibilities are endless.
Is A Nomadic Family Lifestyle For You?
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to moving abroad with your children but it’s not an impossible feat. There are families all over the world living the nomadic family dream and your family can too.
A digital nomad with family will still feel her time torn between the need to make plans/earn money and spending time with the kids.
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More families are considering becoming a nomadic family and adopting a location independent lifestyle. What are the practicalities for becoming a digital nomad family and integrating into the digital nomads community? Budget | Off the Beaten Path | Trekking | Bucket List | Wanderlust | Things to Do and See | Culture | Food | Family Travel | Wanderlust #familytravel #bucketlist #wanderlust #travelwithkids
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