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As the title says really, making a bit of a master plan to sell up or rent out the house for about a year, buy a camper van and travel Europe for maybe three months, Southern Africa (with family) for maybe four months, and then do a tour of the US for quite a bit longer. Two kids will be coming along (7 + 11), so will be schooling' them on the way. Anybody done this? Any pitfalls to avoid / things to think about that we maybe wouldn't have considered?
Cheers, all advice gratefully received...
2 experiences, not first hand (although I did spend 9mths travelling windsurfing around Spain, another story)
1) my sister sold up and traveled Spain towing a huge caravan around and stopping where they felt like stopping. No real plan, just hook up and head out. So she took the youngest (14yr old) and had a bit of a time getting used to it. but couldn’t stand being away from her other kids (20,22,23) so headed back after 18mths.. thing is during her travels she probably spent more time over here than there, leaving hubby with the caravan enjoying life. Bit of a mid life crisis thing, she'll admit to it too. She schooled the 14yr old because she’s a headmistress anywho and been a teacher for yonks. If you question her on it now she barely talks about it, probably didn’t really enjoy more the idea of enjoying it. Hubby loved it though. Now back home (have been for 3years) and well settled, back headmistressing again, he’s taken some IT job back in schools (he was a headmaster in another school in the county) and life is looking good for them all.
2) Mates rented thier house out, put two locums in thier dental practices and bought a yacht and sailed the world with two young kids, one aged 18mths the other 3. Yacht was a 70ft blue water cruiser and well capable of family living. They plotted a course, headed out and hit the spots calling in where they felt like it. Spent 5years doing it, came back and moved back in the house and took over the dental practices again and kids went to school as normal (again, self taught the eldest by correspondence course) If you chat to him about it now he says it was the best thing ever, he’s had his wanderlust years and settled back into normal life very easily.. lovely family.
S’pose you’re really asking about daily stuff and I can’t help with that, but nothing seems to pop to mind talking to them other than washing clothes and finding shops to get supplies..
I wish I had! Back in 2007/early 2008 as the world started to go down financially, I suggested to mrs_oab that we sell up and bail, with shrinking house prices and me running a property business...but we dismissed it as quickly as I suggested it.
We lost well over £100k of capital from properties in 2008.
That could have been a couple of comfortable years travelling with the 3 kids, and still money left over...