Becoming a nomadic family, it may have been the dream for many years – living life on the road as full time travelers, homeschooling, visiting all those destinations you’ve always dreamed of.
Having location independence, whether you’re looking to embark on long-term travel or just want to have more freedom at home, comes with its price.
We were really fortunate to be able to live and work full time, whilst simultaneously homeschooling our kids, and live a completely nomadic lifestyle for 12 years in total.
We traveled around Australia, the United States, and took short trips to different countries in between, before deciding on our permanent base in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Many people ask us what it was like to have lived a digital nomadic lifestyle and how we managed to keep up with schooling and balance parenting with adventure time.
So, to answer all the FAQs we get about our lifestyle, we’ve prepared this guide on things you should know before you transition to a nomadic lifestyle. Because the truth about digital nomad families that no one tells you about, it’s harder than it looks!
Things to know before nomadic life with kids
You’ve finally got your online business set up and the chance to work remotely.
You’re at the stage where you feel comfortable in your job and have dreams of traveling the world, so now you’re thinking about becoming digital nomad parents.
When you have kids, every decision you make effects them, so it’s natural you’ll be weighing out the pros and cons before you sign up for this free flowing digital lifestyle.
Take it from me – it ain’t easy, but neither is a white-picket-fence life with kids.
Each comes with their own set of issues, you just have to work out which lifestyle will give you the greatest buzz in the up moments.
Here are some things to consider…
1. How will your children learn?
If you’ve got school aged children, you’ve just invited a few extra hours of work into your life – the teaching kind. How are you going to cater to your child’s education while you are living a nomadic lifestyle?
Based upon my experiences as a former teacher, your children will learn far more traveling than they will in a traditional schooling classroom.
But, the law says you’ve got to be accountable for their education.
We did distance education while traveling Australia. I’ve written a detailed post here of my opinion and experiences.
Distance education will save you time having to create lessons and units of work yourself, but there is a fair amount of work your child will have to do. You as the supervisor will also have to find that time.
For those with a bit more flexibility and time freedom, homeschooling could be a better option.
You’ll be in charge of creating, implementing, assessing and evaluating all lessons that adhere to the formal curriculum. This is what we did in the USA.
Then there is world school or unschooling, where you just let the kids engage with life and learn that way. We did this mostly at the end of our USA RV trip. It was great.
You need to consider how much time you have to invest in your child’s education, and manage this around your remote work.
Older kids tend to do better with online learning as they adopt more independence, but younger kids may need more involvement from you.
Our daughters are now in a traditional school and are thriving. They are way above grade level and have fantastic grades. Their teachers can’t believe they had never been in school before.
No matter what style you choose, your child will learn more from travel, so go embrace those experiences. You can find a style that best suits your circumstances and it can evolve as you evolve.
2. How slow will you travel?
Contiki style trips – you know 6 countries in 6 weeks through Europe work well when you’re 21.
Actually, I’d like to say they’re never a good idea.
When you have kids, and working with an online business, it’s an adventure into hell.
Choose a few places that grab your heart and stay awhile. Give yourself a chance to settle in and enjoy a little foreign living.
We tried to have a minimum 3 night stay in a location, and when on a road trip, you can be more mobile than you would be when renting apartments, and you can bring your stuff with you – so you can have the freedom to move more.
But if you don’t have a vehicle of your own, and are living out of a suitcase – embrace living in a destination for a minimum 6 months and you’ll be so glad you said yes to being a digital nomad.
Traveling too fast can kill the joy. It’s one reason we regret choosing to travel the US with an RV.
It was way too difficult to manage our business. In comparison to Australia, it was a much slower pace, as there is far less to see, and we weren’t racing around to navigate weather.
3. What is your style of travel?
We switched from hostels to apartments to camping in a camper trailer to RV travel. RV camping and camper trailer camping made a huge difference to our happiness levels.
Our girls needed a little more stability and security and they loved their home on wheels.
Think about your style of travel carefully and what would work for you. This could be location dependent. If you choose wrong it can be an exhausting experience that turns the fun arse end up.
What’s the point in choosing a nomadic lifestyle if it ends up being as challenging as the one you are trying to leave?
As our top family travel tips say, you must consider the ages of your kids and their personalities as well.
We considered backpacking Southeast Asia when our youngest was 17 months. We soon learned that her personality and age was not a good match for Southeast Asia.
It would have been a nightmare managing her on top of all the stress that running a business can bring when you travel full time WITH kids. We soon changed to the Australian road trip instead.
I think road trips are far more manageable, especially with younger kids and toddlers.
4. How will you earn an income?
Becoming location independent can mean a significant drop in your expenses, if you plan it well, but it can also add to your expenses too if you are not careful.
If you want to make this a permanent thing, you need an income, and you need to be work out what your monthly expenses are on average.
What’s your income plan? How many hours do you need to work in a day/week/month? Can you hire a VA, or outsource work? What are your priorities?
Do that social media cull – you only have time now for those activities that bring in the cash.
We found it incredibly difficult to manage the work load with the 1-3 hours of daily work time we get, especially since we were also homeschooling.
We’ve embraced outsourcing (a total game and life changer) and we have a very strict list of priorities, which means we say no a lot more than yes.
We’ve also created an income where we get paid around our lifestyle of travel – a total multi-tasking win. Step outside the box and see if there’s any way you can do the same?
5. Who will look after the kids while you work?
With parenthood, there is a responsibility to look after your kids. When you work from home, your kids will go to school, have their group of friends they always play with, maybe attend social groups etc.
When you’re on the road, you remove them from this, and so you will find that the soul responsibility of childcare for them 24/7 lies on you.
This can be complicated when you need to work, or when they need schooling.
You have to find a way for your kids to be educated, and to socialise with other kids, while traveling. It’s essential for their mental wellbeing.
Young children are pretty good at finding other kids to play with in a playground, or find friends to play with in kids clubs and kids museums.
Resorts are great for having kids clubs where they can make friends with other traveling families.
If you plan to live a nomadic lifestyle, consider staying in places longer so that you can connect with other digital nomad families and arrange play dates.
6. How can you get connected?
The first question I ask now upon deciding whether to stay in a new destination or not is, “Do you get internet service here?”
I hate that I’m a slave to the World Wide Web. But, it’s how I make an income and since my work time is short, I can’t stay at a place for 2-3 days and not be connected.
You’ve got to consider not only connection ability, but price. Our monthly data bills in Australia were ludicrous!
Australia is well-known for being an expensive place to get online. If our road trip wasn’t a core part of our business, we’d be donning the backpacks for Southeast Asia where we’d get unlimited data for $20 a month.
We were surprised at how often we did not have internet connection when traveling the USA.
As most of our travel was in the WEST through remote areas and lots of national parks, internet connection was hard to find, and it severely impacted our business.
You also have to factor in the cost. It can be expensive with all the data you may consume and finding free WIFI has its limitations with speed, strong connections and limits on data.
Will internet connection be important for your nomadic lifestyle?
7. How will you manage balance and flexibility?
Similar to what I said earlier, you got to find time to juggle school, work, play time etc. But you also need to manage time for yourselves too.
A nomadic lifestyle with kids is tough because you’re on for 24/7. There’s no child care or grandparents to give you a break.
You’re in control of managing every aspect of the day: healthy eating, exercise, play, education, income creation, parenting routines, and much needed time out for everyone.
How will you manage this without going insane? What’s your back up one for when it all goes pear-shaped? Odds are it will!
Have the flexibility to adapt as you grow and learn what works and what doesn’t.
We’ve changed our schedule and travel style multiple times to save everyone’s sanity. We ensure that we incorporate activities that cater to everyone’s desires, including scheduling down time for everyone.
Don’t forget arranging for meet ups with your family and friends. We’ve loved having Nan and Pop come to visit and getting a much needed Zen break!
You can also join Facebook groups or attend Meetup.com events when you travel to meet new people and connect with local families in the area, to give your kids a play date as well.
8. What will you do about healthcare?
Travel insurance is essential if you are planning for a digital nomad lifestyle. You need to have something in place in case you need medical care on the road.
You should also look into international health insurance, as some procedures are not covered on travel insurance.
If anything happened, like you need urgent surgery or you need to stay in hospital for a while, this will cover you.
If you know you have health issues, then you may want to consider your destination wisely.
Here are some travel insurane policies good for nomads.
- Safety Wing: is travel medical insurance for nomads. They cover people from all over the world, while outside their home country.
- Etka: Travel Insurance for worldwide travel. Easy to use with comparable rates and instant polices. Great for those longer term, nomadic, and work abroad travelers. We believe its an essential travel purchase.
- World Nomads travel insurance has been designed by travelers for travelers, with coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
9. Where will you travel to?
And on that note, where you travel to will also be super important. Places like Bali, Lisbon in Portugal, and Chiang Mai in Thailand have a huge digital nomad presence, especially with families, so you can easily connect with other families.
Africa – not so much.
Consider visiting countries where remote workers are going and then you know there is a community there to connect with.
You also need to make sure you have the right visa and right to work. You cannot work on a tourist visa, you need to have a business visa or a digital nomad visa.
Some countries have digital nomad visas in place, such as Portugal, Mexico, Spain, Greece, Germany, Dubai, but not everywhere has one – so you need to plan ahead that you have the right visa in place.
Read More: Where To Stay In Bali With Kids (And Where To Avoid)
10. What will you do with your belongings?
If this is a permanent move, then you might want to sell your belongings and hit the road, or you may want to get a storage unit.
I recommend the storage unit option, just in case it doesn’t work out for your family.
If you decide after a few months that this is the lifestyle for you, your kids are happy, and you’re all on board with this, then you can go back and sell up.
Best not to rush into it and throw it all out before you know what you’re getting yourself in for.
Final Thoughts
We can see why the digital nomad family trend is on the rise and more and more people are embracing this lifestyle. It’s wonderful to put yourselves out of your comfort zone, and to test your resilience as a family.
Our kids are now teens and they look back at their remote upbringing with fondness and have become responsible, independent, and global citizens.
They have a curiosity that you wouldn’t get in a traditional one-location upbringing, have a wide understanding of diversity, and can conquer any challenge they face.
That said, we are so thankful we are no longer full time traveling with our kids while running a business.
We’ve done our time, it was fantastic, but we love the more settled life now and so do our kids – after a while, it does get tiring, and we all like having a place to put our belongings.
But, that doesn’t mean that our years of experience has gone to waste, and we’re glad to be able to write a guide like this one to give you some food for thought before doing the same with your family.
We’ve had a lot of victories and made a lot of mistakes and know how to best prepare you, but if you still have questions, reach out to us in the comments.
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Need more inspiration about traveling as a family and working remotely? Check out these blog posts…
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Are you planning on going location independent with your kids? What else do you worry about? Let us know in the comments.
