Jennie Germann Molz is a thought leader in the sociology of backpacking, travel, and digital nomadism. In her early twenties, she spent two years backpacking around the world. She credits this experience with sparking her academic interest in tourism culture. She went on to earn a Master’s in Popular Culture Studies, focusing on travel imagery, and a Ph.D in Sociology, focusing on tourism mobilities, from Lancaster University in England.

Today, Dr. Germann Molz is a professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her research interests include tourism and technology, traveling families, digital nomadism and mobile lifestyles. Dr. Germann Molz’s publications include: Travel Connections: Technology, Tourism and Togetherness in a Mobile World (Routledge) and Disruptive Tourism and its Untidy Guests: Alternative Ontologies for Future Hospitalities (Palgrave Macmillan), and most recently, The World is Our Classroom: Extreme Parenting and the Rise of Worldschooling (NYU Press).

We’re so lucky to have caught up with Jennie Germann Molz while she is on sabbatical this year, in her home town of Taos, New Mexico. Like any good journey, our conversation zigged and zagged in fascinating ways. We could have spoken with her for hours. We’re delighted to share with you a synopsis of our conversation as part of our Wonder Year Community Connector series.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what sparked your interest in travel and tourism.

I wish I could remember the exact moment. As a kid, I always wanted to travel the world. I had a very mobile childhood. We moved around a lot, all within the United States. I went to 11 different schools before I graduated from high school. I think that probably embedded some existential questions in me that I could explore through thinking about travel and tourism.

When I was in high school in Dallas, Texas, I became friends with all the study abroad kids who were coming to the US. I think I felt as out of place as they did and I bonded with them over that experience. Then I applied to their study abroad program, AFS (American Field Services), and spent the year after I graduated from high school in Italy.

I did my master’s degree research on travel imagery, and then for my PhD research, I studied the blogs that around-the-world backpackers were publishing while they were traveling. I looked at the narratives on global citizenship that were coming out in those blogs. This was 2000 and 2001, and these blogs were just like personal websites, not the kind of interactive social media landscape we have today. I wanted to understand how backpackers were beginning to use mobile technologies to plan their travels, stay in touch with people, and experience the world. This academic exploration informed my first publication, Travel Connections: Technology, Tourism and Togetherness in a Mobile World. One of the travel bloggers that I interviewed for that book was a dad who was traveling with his wife and his two kids. He was a writer, and his two kids were doing school on the road. That impressed me, and I thought, “Oh, that’s my next project.” That’s kind of the trajectory that got me here.

Your experience/interest in long-term family travel is not just academic. It’s personal. Can you tell us about your family’s epic adventure?

As a sociologist, I was interested in families that were on the move, doing worldschooling, but I did not quite know how to handle the research design. I had developed some online and in-person research methodologies for studying backpackers which I applied to the study of families, but I needed time to conduct the research.

I knew I had a sabbatical coming up in a couple of years, but in the meantime, I applied for and got a Fulbright Fellowship. I took my family to Finland for six months, and we lived in Rovaniemi, which is up on the Arctic Circle. My son, Elliot, was eight at the time, and we took him out of school for the semester and enrolled him in a Waldorf school in Rovaniemi. At the end of that semester, I asked him what he would think about maybe doing a longer-term trip that would be part of my fieldwork. I wasn’t sure what he would say since there had been some ups and downs as he had to make new friends and learn Finnish. He got down from the table and walked into the other room, and I thought maybe he’s not up for it. Then, he came back with a piece of paper and a pencil and was like, “OK, where are we going to go?” He wanted to start writing down all of the places for our trip itinerary.

My son was on board. My husband was on board. And I had this sabbatical coming up. We were able to start saving and planning. Elliot decided he wanted to go to all seven continents. This was not necessary for my fieldwork. I wanted to go to some of the hubs where I knew families were hanging out so I could meet with them and interview them. But you know family travel involves compromise!  So, we planned an itinerary to go to all seven continents. Along the way, I made sure to plug into places like Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I knew I would meet other families. I was able to meet and interview more than a dozen families while we were traveling.

Visiting an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai

Your most recent book, The World is Our Classroom is subtitled “Extreme Parenting and the Rise of Worldschooling.”  Can you explain what extreme parenting is all about?

Well, I will tell you, we can thank the publisher for the book’s subtitle! The subtitle that I wanted was much longer, The World is Our Classroom: Mobile Families, Global Kids, and the Search for the Good Life in Uncertain Times. The question I was asking is how does family life happen on the move? We always think about family life as something that happens at home, so what happens when you’re doing it on the move?

That was my first question. As I started to explore, what I realized was that worldschooling families were embracing uncertainty. Whereas a lot of people see uncertainty as a threat, these worldschooling families saw it as a value add; it was something that they could embrace in order to get their kids ready for what would inevitably be an uncertain future.

What I am thinking about with extreme parenting, and I capture it in one of the chapters titled Fear and Joy, is that modern parenting falls along this continuum with helicopter parents at one extreme and free-range parents at the other extreme. The helicopter parents are extremely involved in their kids’ lives and extremely invested in monitoring, securing, and making sure that their kids are safe. Free-range parents, and I think almost all of the worldschooling parents I interviewed and many that I know about, probably situate themselves closer to the free-range parenting philosophy, are at the other extreme. Their emphasis is on giving kids freedom and fostering in them a sense of independence. We can also think about the two extremes as safety versus freedom.  When I talk about extreme parenting, I’m thinking about the way parents calculate that tradeoff.

What I realized with these extremes is that they circle back to the same place. All of these parents want the same thing for their kids, right? They want their kids to have happy, successful lives in a world that is full of uncertainty and kind of falling apart. Depending on how you think about it, climate change, political polarization, the rise of extremist politicians, volatility in the global economy – that can be really scary. So these parents are looking at this future and thinking, “How do I get my kid ready for that? Do I keep them on the straight and narrow path and make sure that they go to college, get a degree, get a good job and stay in the middle class; or, do I equip them with a sense of self-reliance and resilience and fluency in three languages and the ability to communicate with people who are different from them and the capacity to cope with change?” None of these parents have bad intentions; they all want a good future for their kids. They are just coming at it from different perspectives.

In our book Wonder Year, the blog on our website, articles, etc., we three coauthors contemplate how family dynamics change when families are in motion. You have deep expertise in mobile living. Can you help us understand a little more about the science/sociology underlying that phenomenon?  In other words, what is it about travel and being in motion that makes being a family so different on the road than it is at home?

Curiosity is a mindset. It can happen right here at the kitchen table. Travel is not the only way to cultivate curiosity and by the same token, travel won’t necessarily spark it either. I engage with a model called “transformative learning.” This is a model proposed by Jack Mezirow. The idea is that you have a learning experience that shifts you from one world view into a different world view or that shifts you from one world view into understanding that there are many, many, many worldviews.

The idea of transformative learning is primarily applied to adult learning, but I think the transformative learning model can apply with kids as they are building their world view. The very first step is some kind of disorienting dilemma; something has to happen to challenge your worldview, like you may grab the sink faucet that you think is cold, and you turn it on, and the water comes out hot. “That is not what I thought was gonna happen! What’s going on here?” There’s some kind of disorienting dilemma, and from there, you have self-reflection about what didn’t meet your assumptions. Then you challenge your own assumptions. “Why did I assume that in the first place? How did I learn that that’s how the world works in the first place?” And then you begin to recognize that there are other worldviews or that there are many ways of living in and making sense of the world. There are other steps to transformative learning, but it all starts with one big disorienting dilemma, which then catalyzes those other steps toward transformative learning. So I wonder if that’s what’s going on with mobility. When we’re traveling, there are always disorienting dilemmas, and there’s constant problem-solving, so maybe that’s one way to think about it.

You interviewed a lot of past and current travelers about their choice to pack it up and hit the road. What were some surprising findings in your research?

I was expecting to write a book that was an account of how people did family life on the move. What I ended up writing was something a little bit different, which is about how these parents were grappling with uncertainty. They were going from a more practical set of questions (How do we handle the logistics of traveling with kids?) to a more existential set of questions (How do we prepare our children to thrive in an unpredictable world?). The other thing that really surprised me is how many of the families, and this happened with my family as well, shifted to unschooling once they were on the road. You plan, plan, plan for all the lessons and learning materials and academic outcomes, and then a few weeks in you realize your kid does not want to write an essay and there’s a plane or train or bus you’ve gotta catch and you’re like “Oh well, forget about that assignment and just learn whatever you’re learning. Just look around! How do we buy tickets? Can you calculate that exchange rate? How can you figure out what time our bus leaves?” It’s definitely a philosophical shift, but I think it’s also partly a logistical shift. Unschooling just dovetails with the realities of travel so much better than carrying a bunch of textbooks and standardized lesson plans around.

I also expected that the families I interviewed, most of whom were from the middle class and the global north, would have more progressive values. What I found was unexpected. A lot of these families were leaning more toward libertarian values. They justified their decision to worldschool in terms of “This is what’s best for my family,” or “This is what’s best for my kid,” and sometimes there was not a whole lot of thought about the communities that they’ve left behind, or about investing in public education in their home towns. It felt like a lot of these people were adopting worldschooling as a personal strategy to deal with what are actually collective problems. That kind of surprised me. But I also found that these families are so incredibly smart and skillful and resilient as families. I think they have the tools to make a big impact on some of these collective problems. Maybe I was hitting them at a point in their journey where it was just about their kids. I have not followed up with any of the families, so I am not sure about how they processed their experiences or if they were finding ways to use these tools to deal with collective problems more collaboratively. I am not sure.

Is it fair to say that you think the world is not only an excellent teacher, but that it’s the best classroom? What makes you come to that decisive conclusion?

I would not say that is my conclusion, but that is the belief that I found among the parents I interviewed. The belief that the world is the best classroom motivated them to make radical decisions about their lives, to quit a salaried job or sell their home, and to take their kids out of traditional schooling. I don’t disagree with them, but I am also hesitant to celebrate travel as the best or only way to learn.

Travel alone does not expand kids’ worldviews in a positive way. There’s nothing magic about it. You have to have parents who are open and who play an active role in opening up the learning opportunities presented through travel. You know, research has shown that travel can also reinforce stereotypes. It can reinforce a sense of entitlement and superiority that narrows a worldview. So, I think that it’s really important not to romanticize travel by itself but to keep it in conjunction with some of these other conditions and to recognize that parents play a big role in the broader outcomes.

It really depends, too, on what we mean by the world, and what you’re experiencing as the world when you say something like the world is your classroom. We need to remember that every place you go is somebody else’s local place. That’s somebody’s home. When we’re talking about the world, we’re really talking about all these places that are somebody’s home, which means that our home is also the world, right? That’s why I like saying, wherever you are is just as good a place to start worldschooling as any other place because we’re all in the world.

One of the most profound types of learning during long-term family travel is when kids acquire life skills. You coined a phrase “emotional curriculum.” I think we may be talking about the same thing. Can you talk more about “emotional curriculum?”

I had a whole curriculum for Elliot before we left on our travels. I had promised the superintendent of his school district that he would come back knowing this, this, and this. I had downloaded so many books on the Kindle! And then we got started, and it was hard to stay on track. For his social studies curriculum, he was studying the history of Mashpee Wampanoag Indigenous culture in Massachusetts. But he was working on that unit while we were in Australia. It didn’t make sense. I wondered why he was not reading about Australian Indigenous culture. Eventually, the curriculum we had crafted just disintegrated, and we moved into unschooling mode to take advantage of the cues and experiences around us. I realized that a lot of the parents I was interviewing and talking to were doing this as well.

They would tell me things like: “Ok, so my kid can’t name all of the US presidents in chronological order, but they can order seven different flavors of gelato in Italian.” Or “They’re struggling with long division, but they just played with a kid for two hours, and they don’t even speak the same language.” Or “My son isn’t that interested in chemistry, but he is learning how to cope with change.” It was like the fact that kids were learning all of these life lessons and emotional skills was a justification for what kids weren’t mastering in the standard academic curriculum.

What I also realized was that, in parents’ minds, some emotions count as life lessons and some don’t. There was a lot of emphasis on positive emotions: resilience, independence, empathy, compassion, gratitude, these kinds of things. But parents were not as forthcoming when talking about disgust, embarrassment, or when their kids get grossed out by things. They didn’t talk a whole lot about homesickness. I started to dig a little bit deeper into what was included in the emotional curriculum and what was being left off. What I theorized, in the end, is that these emotional skills really add up to an emotional curriculum of global citizenship. A lot of the parents explicitly say, “We’re going on this trip because I want my kids to become global citizens.” It is a noble goal, but what does that mean?  Citizenship is technically a codification of rights and responsibilities – voting, paying taxes, being part of the social contract – but that’s not how we think about global citizenship. With global citizenship, we mostly talk about it in terms of feelings, not in terms of paying taxes.

What I found was that these parents were really using the emotional curriculum to teach their kids how to feel global. And that’s why feelings like compassion, empathy, tolerance for difference, ability to cope with change, and resilience became far more important than maybe admitting that your child was disgusted or grossed out when they saw something upsetting, like someone living in abject poverty or when they were intolerant of something. That’s what I’m getting at with the emotional curriculum of life lessons and emotional skills and competencies that stand in for some of the academic outcomes. It’s a way of feeling global, and it’s also a way of equipping kids with the emotional skills they’re probably going to need in the future, like being able to work with people who are different from you. Or being able to use technology to stay in touch with friends could translate into using technology to collaborate on a group project or something. It was really about the here and now and also about the future.

Visiting a chinstrap penguin colony in Antarctica as part of our family’s seven-continent itinerary

Finally, do you have any thoughts to share with folks who might be on the fence or afraid of taking the leap? What do you tell people when they come up to you and ask Should I go? Should I do this? Is it good for my kids?

My worry is that people are motivated by FOMO (fear of missing out). Social media is full of these images of kids and parents frolicking on the beach or strolling through quaint villages, and the kids are learning how to count to ten in another language or how to make chocolate from cocoa pods. And when you see this, you might think to yourself, “Oh no, what if my kid isn’t learning how to do that?” I think the social media landscape has ratcheted up the expectations for parenting, and I think that it’s very easy to get caught up in it.

So maybe this will be an unpopular opinion, but I would tell them, “If you want to do it, do it, and if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.” There are a lot of reasons not to do it. There are a lot of reasons to do it. Many worldschooling parents talk about cultivating roots and wings, and they’re both incredibly valuable. I’m not urging anybody to go, and I’m not judging anyone for doing it or for not doing it. If you have the resources to worldschool your kid, if you can do it, and if your kid wants to do it, that’s fantastic. If not, don’t feel bad about it. Invest the resources that you do have into making your child’s community and home and their school a nurturing, wonderful place to be. Where I am right now in my life, my philosophy is the grass is greener where you water it.

Jennie’s book, The World Is Our Classroom, is available anywhere books are sold. We highly recommend it!

The post Community Connectors: Jennie Germann Molz  appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

What is Digital Nomadism?

A sign of the times perhaps, Merriam-Webster added the word “digital nomad” to the dictionary in 2023. Digital nomad is defined as “someone who performs their occupation entirely over the internet while traveling.” Typically, digital nomads use wireless networking to work without a fixed address. Some people choose to work this way indefinitely, setting up shop in one place until another calls to them. Others head out for a few months or a year in a Starlink-enabled RV (or van, boat, bike, bus, or buggy), fueled by entrepreneurship, opportunity, or wanderlust. There are many ways to do it, and working while traveling is tugging at the heartstrings of more and more individuals and families!

The digital nomad lifestyle is growing in popularity, big time. Today there are roughly 35 million digital nomads, 17 million of whom are US citizens. There are nomads of all ages, all backgrounds, all professions. They are gay, straight, married, single, with and without kids. Some live in communities or hubs, others roam independently or as a family. This recent Forbes article describes several popular paths to becoming a digital nomad: negotiating with a current or new employer to be full-time remote, turning a lifestyle of travel into a business, using one’s skills to support or collaborate with other digital nomads, and turning what you love into an income-generating job. Industry analysts predict that the epic growth will continue and by 2030 there will be over one billion digital nomads worldwide.

Many factors explain the rise in digital nomadism. For one, moving through COVID equipped many more people with skills and tools for virtual school and remote work. And many liked it! Some families liked it so much they are choosing to not go back to school and instead learn in a manner where the world is their classroom, an educational approach called worldschooling. Some companies liked it so much they adopted flexible “work anywhere” policies for their employees, further contributing to the growth in digital nomadism.

Secondly, working while traveling is exciting and attractive. There are opportunities to meet interesting people, stay in beautiful and different places, lower one’s cost of living, cut commuting time, cultivate curiosity, and grow in new ways.

Third, according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, there’s a culture shift taking place marked by generational disillusionment. The so-called “good life” that older generations experienced feels unattainable or undesirable for many people today. With super competitive workplaces, rising housing costs, political and environmental volatility, and the empty feeling of accumulating stuff, many folks today are driven to look at alternative lifestyles like digital nomadism.

There’s one more factor that can help explain the “work anywhere” trend, and that’s digital nomad visas – a shiny new ticket to location-independent work. Digital nomad visas help overcome two limitations of tourist visas: 1) the limited time allowed in a country; and 2) not being allowed to work legally.

Visaguide.world is a helpful site for travelers.

What is a Digital Nomad Visa?

A digital nomad visa is a specialized visa that authorizes foreign individuals (and sometimes a spouse, partner, and dependents) to live and work within the issuing country’s borders. It’s like having temporary residency. The visas may be renewable and typically require the individual applying to show proof of income, health insurance, university degree, or a certain number of years of professional experience, vaccination record, clean criminal record, etc. Many countries seek to attract digital nomads and create relatively favorable terms to do that. They see the long-term presence of foreigners with a steady paycheck as a way to drive economic activity and generate a sustainable flow of income as opposed to tourism dollars, which only flow seasonally. At the same time, the digital nomad is often able to stretch their income by enjoying a relatively lower cost of living. So there is a sort of symbiosis in the arrangement. That’s not to say that digital nomadism is universally appreciated. There’s great concern that the presence of foreigners with money is causing gentrification and that locals are getting priced out of their own towns. This recent article from the Georgetown Public Policy Review takes a close look at the effect of digital nomadism in Latin America.

A day in the life of a digital nomad.

How Do I Get a Digital Nomad Visa?

In order to start the process of obtaining a digital nomad visa, you have to know where you want to reside and work, then you can look at the visa requirements for that country. Whenever possible, go to the consulate website or an official source to get the most up-to-date information. The space is very dynamic so double-check that what you are reading is current.

If you are unsure of the exact country you want to travel to and just know you want to be somewhere good for digital nomads, you can check sites like Nomad List or Digital Nomad Visa Index, both of which provide useful data to help narrow your selection. They publish information like internet speeds, income requirements, safety, and cost of living, and they provide descriptions and rankings of best places for digital nomads. Lonely Planet also has a Digital Nomad Handbook which provides a good general overview as well as specific information on several hot digital nomad locations. You might also check with one of many digital nomad Facebook groups to get the skinny on different places. Two popular communities are Digital Nomads (167K+ members) and Digital Nomads Hub (60K+ members).

Once you have narrowed down the countries, then dial in your research, gather the required documents, submit your paperwork, brush up on a new language, wait, and cross your fingers. If rejected, there is typically an appeals process.

Here’s some basic information to help you learn more about digital nomad visas:

How Much Does a Digital Nomad Visa Cost?

Application fees run the gamut from $10 to $3000, but typically they are in the $100 to $200 range. And, you may have to pay the same application fee for each family member and when/if you renew the visa.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes if I am a Digital Nomad?

Many countries offer an initial tax-free period that comes with the digital nomad visa. Others make it tax-free the entire period of the visa. Some, however, require digital nomads to pay taxes the whole time you reside in the country. For some people, paying taxes feels like an unfair burden, but it’s important to keep in mind that digital nomads use physical and social infrastructure – like roads, schools, emergency response. In this regard, paying taxes in host countries helps keep them liveable, walkable, and safe.

As for paying taxes back home, even when working abroad, you still have to file federal and state taxes because US tax law is based on citizenship, not residence. Here’s a helpful article on other tax matters and digital nomadism.

Where would you go?

How Long Can I Stay in a Country on a Digital Nomad Visa?

It depends. Every country is different. In Iceland, it’s 180 days. In Portugal, it’s one year with an optional renewal every year up to the maximum of 5 years. In the UAE it’s up to one year. In Dominica it’s 1.5 years, and in Thailand a digital nomad can be authorized to stay for up to 10 years, though this Long Term Resident Visa is rather restrictive.  So the answer is it depends.

What’s It Like To Be a Digital Nomad?

It’s amazing to be a digital nomad! It’s hard to be a digital nomad! It’s a dream come true! It’s not what I thought! To be sure, digital nomadism is a mixed bag and it’s not for everyone. What is true across the board is this – Successful digital nomads are self-starters, have good time management and budgeting skills, are motivated and self-driven, exercise patience, thrive in the unknown and have a gallon litre  liter of good luck. Digital nomads build supportive communities and tend to find each other. Here’s a quick look at the digital nomad lifestyle in three different locations to provide a little taste of what it’s like:

• A day in the life of a German software engineer, a digital nomad living in New Zealand. Thomas works part-time. His days are full of healthy meals, quiet walks, reading, and relaxing. His work day starts at 7:00 pm New Zealand time when it is 7:00 am in Germany. He typically works until 11:00 pm.

• A day in the life of a digital nomad content creator in Bangkok. This video is an example of the work of a digital nomad, Sergio, an architect gone webdesigner, now a full-time YouTuber.

• A day in the life of a business coach in Croatia. Amanda talks about her time in Split, Croatia. She is a full-time traveler and loves to share her experience and helpful information with others.

Do People Need a Digital Nomad Visa to Come to the United States?

Currently, there is no Digital Nomad Visa for the US. But even without that visa, vibrant digital nomad communities are growing across the country in places such as Portland, OR, Kansas City, MO, and Denver, CO. Keep in mind that the digital nomad lifestyle does not require overseas travel. More and more people are moving about within their own country too in pursuit of time freedom and location independence.

Ah, old school telephonic communications.

What are the Downsides of Being a Digital Nomad?

Digital Nomadism may sound incredibly glamorous, but it may not be good for everyone and it may not be good for every place. Here’s a dose of reality to help keep you grounded and realistic about living that dream.

• Uncertainty – If you set off to work remotely in a traditional job (i.e., you have an employer), your employer could call you back at any time. That uncertainty may be unsettling. (Pro tip: One way to manage feelings of uncertainty is to have an off ramp or a contingency plan. It might look like a pot of savings, a prearranged place to stay if you return home unexpectedly, or a quarterly check-in with your supervisor to keep the lines of communication open.)

• Language barrier – Living in a new country presents a wonderful opportunity to learn a new language, but making yourself understood and taking care of important business like finalizing paperwork such as leases and utility agreements while you are still learning the language can be incredibly frustrating.

• Culture shock and loneliness – It can be exhausting and discomfiting to be the new person on the block over and over again, even where there’s a seemingly welcoming digital nomad community.

• Not having a professional, cultural or social network – While some digital nomads stay digitally connected to their workgroups and teams back home, the lack of an in-person professional network can add to a feeling of loneliness. The time zone difference can also make it difficult to connect virtually with your professional peers back home. That said, there are digital nomads of every age and ethnicity, and you might find your peeps in forums like Digital Nomads Over 50, Black Digital Nomads, Female Digital Nomads, or by simply doing the things you love to do and saying “ciao” to the person next to you.

• Time zone management and digital stress – It is common knowledge that travelers need to be prepared to deal with the unexpected. The demands of work double the need to adapt and be flexible. Digital nomads have to be ready to problem-solve and pivot. While some digital nomads plan strategically to be in the same time zone as clients, the onus is typically on them to accommodate employers, colleagues, customers, schedules, holidays, and technology glitches. If traveling with kids and they are doing online school work, bandwidth may be another limiting factor. The privilege of working remotely, and I mean really remotely, comes with some tradeoffs.

• Homesickness and second-guessing yourself can make problems seem bigger than they would at home. Your usual coping mechanisms may feel remote, too, and finding a new mindset may take awhile.

Fulfilling your dream to become a digital nomad may be the greatest turn in your life and there are many, hundreds, thousands, millions of people out there ready to welcome and support you. With your digital nomad visa, proper planning and preparation, a willingness to deal with trade-offs, and a reasonable contingency plan, you’ve got this, friend, now let’s go!

The post Digital Nomad Visas: Location-Independent Living appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

I met Sabrina Chapman at TravelCon 2024, a conference for digital travel creators. She was in Portland, Oregon for the conference with her son Brighton, who travels with her for both business and leisure. We connected over our shared love of family travel and education, and I knew our Fernweh Families audience would appreciate Sabrina’s perspectives as much as I did. She shares more of her family’s store here.

Please tell us about your family and journey.

My son Brighton (5) and I love traveling for fun, of course, but as the owner of a boutique influencer marketing agency specializing in travel and hospitality, my travels also frequently involve attending events, influencer programs, conferences, and trade shows. I also contribute reviews of hotels to a media company.

I’ve always had wanderlust and would travel through Europe with a Lonely Planet guide and a backpack for months at a time in the early 2000s. They didn’t have digital nomads then, but if they had, I certainly would have been one.

Decades later, as a single mom, I bring my son along on every trip I take. His first flight was to NYC when he was 6 months old. I was throwing a launch party for a tech startup. Together we create educational travel itineraries that blend enjoyable activities with learning experiences, all while maintaining balance so I can run a business.

First time on a plane, headed to New York City

What was one of the most important ingredients in getting your family on the road–what did you do that worked out well?

As a working mother traveling with my 5-year-old, my first priority is always childcare planning. Whether it’s arranging for a babysitter service, finding a drop-in childcare center, or booking a camp, I ensure this is taken care of well in advance before planning anything else for the trip.

For instance, when I attended TravelCon in Portland this spring, my first step was securing a fantastic care center that provided frequent photo and activity updates. Once that was in place, I organized our hotel accommodation to be conveniently located near both the care center and the conference venue. This approach allowed flexibility for our meal plans and other activities.

During each work trip, I aim to include at least one educational experience, though I keep this flexible depending on the weather and our energy levels. After the conference in Portland, for example, we visited the Oregon Zoo where my son got to see bald eagles for the first time. It was a great opportunity to discuss their significance in American history.

Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia

What’s outside your window right now? What fascinates you about where you are?

Right now, I’m writing from Rosemary Beach, a stunning coastal town along Florida’s Emerald Coast. I booked an Airbnb for the week where I work remotely during the day while my son attends Camp SkyWay at Camp Helen State Park. Choosing this specific camp was strategic. Since he doesn’t have siblings or cousins, the memories he’s creating with friends at camp capture the quintessential essence of a childhood summer. While we were eating sushi last night he recounted that they had a talent show that day. He sang a song from the movie Madagascar while a few other kids danced. Oh, my heart!

In the evenings, we have been finding joy in exploring the beaches and trying out local restaurants. What captivates me most is the crisp sea air, listening to my son share stories about the new friends he’s made at camp, and creating summer memories.

Trail Ride in the Catalina Foothills

Can you describe a time when learning for your child or family happened organically and profoundly…when you learned outside any “plan” you started with?

During our recent trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, I initially didn’t expect Brighton to take away much beyond having fun, getting Mickey ears, and enjoying the rides.

However, something unexpected happened. He was deeply moved by “Living with the Land,” a serene boat cruise showcasing multimedia agricultural displays and four operational greenhouses at The Land Pavilion in Epcot. Following that experience, we had lunch at Garden Grill Restaurant, where he met Farmer Mickey and ate fresh produce grown on-site at Epcot.

This visit sparked a profound curiosity in Brighton. For about a month afterward, he would regularly ask questions like what food was like in the 1940s or even earlier, such as the 1800s. I did my best to answer his questions, and together we delved deeper into these topics through research and exploration. This experience turned out to be much more than just a fun trip—it ignited a lasting interest in history and agriculture for Brighton.

What are some of the unique aspects of long-term travel and/or worldschooling as a single parent?

Traveling as a single parent is both emotionally and physically demanding. It involves balancing the responsibilities of parenting with the desire to explore new places and meeting my clients’ needs. To manage it all effectively, I prioritize my own health by dedicating at least 30 to 60 minutes to it each day. Whether it’s attending a yoga class, visiting a fresh juice bar for wellness shots, or simply taking a power nap, these moments of self-care are crucial to prevent burnout while on the road. Taking precautions like this helps me maintain a healthy balance during our travels.

What do you wish you knew before you started, or what would you like to share with other families before they launch?

Begin with a small step: if you haven’t traveled with your children yet, choose a nearby destination for a one or two-night stay. Use this experience as a learning opportunity and gradually expand your travels from there. Consider it a practice run to build up for more distant destinations and longer trips.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Do you attend any organized travel programs or tours? If so, how do they fit in with overall journey and worldschooling plan/approach?

During summer, fall, and spring breaks, I actively seek out camps in different cities that offer robust hands-on learning programs aligned with our travel destinations. For instance, last summer, we enrolled in a sea life camp in Newport Beach. This summer, Brighton participated in SkyCamp at Camp Helen, where he is enthusiastically engaging with the topics and showing natural curiosity. He is interested in trees and arbor because we are physically in nature.

Metaphorically speaking, what is something you’ve lost and something you’ve found during your journey?

I’ve let go of the notion that everything must be perfect when traveling. That the bags have to be labeled, packed in cubes and every t-shirt rolled in a certain way. Planning certainly helps, but navigating the inevitable obstacles and challenges of travel is part of the adventure. Traveling with children is not all joy and aspirational Instagram-worthy pics, although the nuggets of inspiration are what fuel the journey. But there is fatigue, anxiety, and even sadness. It’s in overcoming these hurdles, embracing the unknown, and discovering new places as a family that the true beauty of traveling with children unfolds.

I’ve found boundless passion to continue this journey of work-learning-travel-life with my son. There are moments when memes about needing vodka, a week of sleep, and a million dollars seem spot-on. I’m jet lagged, juggling suitcases and a car seat, with my child asking to be carried, my phone buzzing with emails, and feeling like I might just lose my mind, but I find another wind to carry on. Why? The connection I find with my son while exploring new places — whether it’s kayaking on a lake in the ponderosa pine-filled forests of Northern Arizona, talking about dinosaurs at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, or looking at sea turtle nests on the beaches of Florida — is inspiring and makes every challenging moment worth it.

What’s your favorite story to share about this experience?

I’m always trying to save money when flying. Recently, I had a client pitch in Miami. We flew in and out Miami International, or so I thought. I had typed and printed our daily itinerary with flights, hotels, babysitting, etc., so felt that I was SO organized for this trip. I even booked Lyft early so we would be at the airport with plenty of time.

When we got to the Miami International Airport and tried to check-in, the ticket counter said that we were at the wrong airport. I remembered that at the last minute I found a better price on flights if we flew into Miami and out of Fort Lauderdale but hadn’t updated our itinerary. There wasn’t enough time to get to Fort Lauderdale in rush hour. And it was the last flight for the airline of the day. I had an oh, (expletive) internal moment. Brighton started crying big crocodile tears. I knelt down and said don’t worry, we are going to figure this out. It’s okay and mama bear hugged him. Within the next hour, I had a hotel booked and a Lyft on the way. I used this as a learning lesson for Brighton as a valuable reminder that life doesn’t always go as planned, and mistakes happen. What’s important is how we respond and problem-solve in those moments of adversity. This experience taught us a priceless lesson in flexibility and staying calm under pressure.

What are you excited about seeing/doing/learning next?

I have several promising global business opportunities on the horizon, and this year will mark the first time I’ll be traveling abroad with my son. I’m incredibly excited to introduce him to diverse cultures, lifestyles, cuisines, and traditions. At just 5 years old, he’s already captivated by learning about how food grows, exploring different culinary delights (he loves nigiri!), and embracing enriching experiences. It’s a global journey I can’t wait to share with him.

Thank you so much to Sabrina and Brighton for sharing their story with us. To follow along with their journeys, you can find them at:

Instagram: @sabrinachapman

TikTok: bespoke8marketing

LinkedIn: Sabrina Chapman

You can also check out other Fernweh Families on this blog to get inspiration for your own adventures.

Palm Springs

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If you’re currently dreaming of doing a Wonder Year, still immersed in the planning stages, then you may not even have reentry on your

Strangely, the British Museum was a great place to wrap up our trip while waiting for our final flight home. The missing pieces from our favorite places were all right here. Lots of fodder for critical thinking skills.

radar. It might seem so far off that there’s little use in wondering how you’ll wrap it up. We’re here to tell you that many travelers find it helpful to start thinking about their return several months before they actually leave home.

Perhaps, you may plan to travel indefinitely. You plan to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle and there is no plan to reenter. Consider that circumstances may cause you to come home earlier than planned and it may be smart to have a contingency plan in place.

And if you’re currently on your Wonder Year, you may be starting to think about coming home. People end their family travel season for numerous reasons. Here are some that we’ve heard over the years while researching for our book, Wonder Year. 

• A specific date was always on the calendar
• Someone in the family is ready
• Money
• Health needs that could be better handled at home
• Needs are waiting back home: grandparents, pets, business
• A sabbatical is ending
• Time for braces (Yes, that’s more common than you think.)

Coming home is a complex event. You may have created an identity, found your groove, or decided to make some consequential changes to the way you lived before you left. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I attended an entire three-day conference about coming home and discussed the emotions, financial repercussions, the “what next?” mental hurdles, and even the physical shifts in diet, exercise, and pace of life.

You might be debating if you can do another year, another semester, or another summer. There is so much to this decision, which is why we devoted an entire chapter of our book to it. We titled it Reentry. If you are ready to “re-enter,” then here’s a primer for you. If you want more detail, consider buying the book.

Before You Land

“Make your reentry gradual. Try not to go from treehouse living in Laos to suburban sprawl in forty-eight hours, or from RV living in Utah

A tired suitcase, held together with duct tape and love by the end or our year.

to an apartment living in Manhattan with sand still in your shoes. Instead of a direct flight home, consider driving or taking a train from the coast to a major city to help your kids visualize their unique place on this planet. You are still worldschooling, always seeing a teachable moment.” Wonder Year, page 238.

As early as possible, begin thinking through the framework to create the next chapter. This includes your career, where home will be; and schooling options for your kids. Once you know where you want to land, consider making those needed appointments with people like dentists, doctors, math tutors, movers, or accountants.

You’ll need to return to your house, buy a house, or find a rental. If you’re returning home you might arrange for a deep clean, or interior paint before you arrive so you can start with a clean slate.

Landing

Relish the fun stuff! Reuniting with pets, visiting friends and family, library, sports teams, and stocking your fridge with exactly what you want. I enjoyed many things, but high on the list was putting things in drawers and soaking in my bathtub.

“Be gentle with yourself while reconnecting with social circles. In the early days of reentry, you’re processing differently, and you’re not in sync yet. You have changed, and your friendships may rejigger themselves–some relationships may strengthen and others might wane. If you’re moving to a new place and folks know your story, you might have the awkward celebrity introduction of a Wonder Year.” Wonder Year, page 288.

Be ready for complex emotions for everyone. Some families find that their kids want to still be in close proximity for sleeping. Our tweens chose to sleep in sleeping bags in our bedroom for the first month or so. For us, it loosened up quickly, and too soon we were back to a more standard distance. 

The Months that Follow

Hold close the positives of your life on the road. It’s easy to slip back to exactly who you were without incorporating some of the new, cool stuff. For example, on the road, we watched the sun set and knew which phase of the moon we were currently in. We have tried to hold on to

Another thing we missed: homemade birthday cakes and candles.

that. We try to mark each full moon with a hike and attempt to walk dogs at sunset.

“For those kids reentering a traditional school, help them transition in the weeks before. If you feel like there were some holes in their learning, take time to evaluate that now and/or consider hiring a tutor. Reach out to old friends or, if your kids are entering a new school, ask if there’s any new student-buddy program. Having a connection can alleviate a lot of stress.” Wonder Year, page 291

Start looking at photos and printing some for the walls. Maybe make books for each family member as a gift. T-shirts from your travels can become a quilt. Think of ways to have a visible reminder of your time.

How to Keep a Worldschooling Mindset for the Long Haul

When we return to a stationary life, our mindset can still be nomadic. We can keep growing and learning, opening and adventuring, even if our pillow stays in one place. In our book, we share ideas, honed from experience. Here are a few to get you started.

• Begin to look at home as if you were seeing it for the first time. Look at the complexities, the way an outsider might view possibilities. Learn from that new lens.
• Seek out the new kids at school, the new families in town, and return the hospitality that the world showed to you. Our family learned so much about how to host and show kindness from our time on the road.
• Host an exchange student, watch foreign films, and learn a new language. In this way, you can invite the wider world into your home.
• Read our blog, “Spring Break with Returned Worldschoolers” to get some inspiration for worldschooling in shorter periods of time. The shape may change, but the open-hearted curiosity does not need to.

We hope that this post helps you feel prepared for the next step in your journey. Although you can’t plan for every contingency, you can reduce the number of surprises. Let us know how it goes for you. And for a closing thought, we hope this helps keep an eye toward the future. From Wonder Year, page 297:

“As time rolls on, you might find that your kids, now young adults, continue to identify as world citizens and carry with them a love for adventure and curiosity. Living on the road shows them that it’s okay to want a life of togetherness, simplicity, freedom, and perspectives.” 

Family Snuggle: The best part of coming home!

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Our fourth worldschooling family are The Salty Vagabonds: mom Amanda (36), a retired Air Force Veteran, dad Alex (36), and their children Addison (15), and Audrey (8).

Please tell us a bit about your journey.

Helping with the Todo Santos turtle release

If I’m being completely honest, our journey has been somewhat of a roller coaster. We originally went into this lifestyle on a one-year plan that started in 2018…not knowing we would move onto our boat and have our lives flipped upside down (literally) within three months. Our journey started in Panama City, Florida, and took us across the country to Olympia, Washington, after Hurricane Michael changed the entire trajectory of the life we thought we had planned. We spent a year and a half finishing a new boat for our family to live in, moved onto it during COVID in 2020, and sailed it down the entire U.S. west coast in 2021 and into La Paz, Baja California early 2022. This last year we went to Europe and spent a few months there, a few months road-tripping the United States, and just recently got back from spending a couple of months in French Polynesia. We travel full time and home base from our sailboat seasonally, with plans this summer to head to Asia for a few months. We’ve found that our family does best with slow travel, which fits well with our “boat life” lifestyle. 

What’s outside your window right now? What fascinates you about where you are?  

Currently we’re back in Baja California, living in a marina with the most beautiful sunsets. We leave this week to travel up the Sea of Cortez to explore the coast. We’re most excited to see new species of sea animals that we’ve never seen in real life and to continue learning Spanish as a second language for all of us. The Gulf of California is said to be the aquarium of the ocean, and we’re so excited to get to experience it hands-on. 

Listening to the audio tour at the Tahiti Musuem

Can you describe a time when learning for your kids or family happened organically and profoundly…when you learned outside the “plan” you started with?

We recently got back from a trip where we spent some time in French Polynesia. This trip was different because I usually have the girls do their planned school work while we actively travel, but this time I decided we would completely leave it behind and just fully be present in whatever we did for the day. One afternoon, we decided to check out a museum specific to learning about the Tahitians. We were offered an add-on option to get the audio tour, where you plugged in the number for each exhibit and then listened. I normally skip these things, but this time we decided to get it. Literally the best decision ever! I was so surprised how both girls went off independently and experienced the museum in their own way. Audrey would come back to me excited and want to tell me an interesting fact she just learned. Addison enjoyed taking a deeper dive into the topics that interested her more, too. At the end of the audio tour, we all got together and then discussed things that we found surprising throughout the rest of our trip. It also helped us better understand the culture and relationships between things we found scattered throughout the islands we visited on this trip. 

Audrey and Addison in front of Big Ben

Is there another traveling family you are particularly inspired by? Why are they inspiring?

Worldschooling looks different for many families, and there are so many families that inspire us to travel to new places. I particularly enjoy watching the adventures of the family With the Blinks: Find the Magic in the Everyday. Diana is always sharing some pretty awesome packing tips, as well as interesting travel she takes her kids on. Another family I enjoy is @topflightfamily. While sometimes unrelatable to us because of their family’s luxury travel, I enjoy Carmen’s travel tips that she shares weekly on her Instagram stories. They’re also a POC family, and it’s inspiring to see other families like us out there following their travel dreams, too. 

What do you wish a fellow worldschooling family had told you before you left home?

That you’re leaving this lifestyle behind for a reason–be mindful about not getting stuck in the same routines that will essentially limit you and box you right back in. 

What I mean by this is that there will be so many people who will not understand why you’re choosing this lifestyle for your kids. There are going to be questions second-guessing your parenting, as well as questions regarding your choices on how you will educate your kids. The implied judgements may make you feel like you need to stick with the traditional structure of schooling. However, in my opinion, sticking to a completely strict schedule that mimics the traditional school system to quiet the questions is not realistic. It’s somewhat unattainable when traveling full-time and will make you miserable trying to keep up to this standard. Enjoy the time it takes to adjust and be gentle with yourself during the transition to find what works best for you and your family. Worldschooling looks different for many families, and that’s okay. 

Metaphorically speaking, what is something you’ve lost and something you’ve found during your journey?

The more we worldschool, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I realize there’s so much I still don’t know. Our whole family is learning together. I think my kids being able to see that Alex and I still learn right along with them shows them that their parents are just as human as they are. The dynamic in being seen as only a parent by your kids is bridged, and the joy in learning as a family has just been really cool to experience. 

Trading language lessons

What’s your favorite story to share about this experience? 

This one’s such a hard one to pick from because I can literally give you a huge list of instances, but there’s an experience from last year that will always hold a special place in my heart. It was definitely a life-changing moment for us where we knew we made the right choice in choosing this lifestyle.

We were taking our boat down the coast. About five months into this journey, we stopped at this tiny island off the Pacific Coast of the Baja California peninsula. Cedros Island is known to be a small Mexican fisherman town with dirt roads, rundown buildings, and really nothing to do. One day we were walking into town with the goal of finding Wi-Fi. A small restaurant had it, but they weren’t open yet. Randomly this person calls out to Alex in English from his car, asking if we needed anything for us or our boat. Alex hesitantly told him we were good and I was just looking for Wi-Fi. I was immediately nervous at the realization that we completely stuck out as foreigners there, but the conversation continued, and the man then insisted that we come to his house to use his Wi-Fi. 

He told our whole family to get in his vehicle and that he would take us to his house right around the corner. I wasn’t comfortable at all with that, quickly trying to dismiss the whole idea and insisting that we really were okay. The conversation ended with him telling us where his house was, and that if we felt more comfortable later that the offer stood to come by whenever. After he drove off, Alex said he felt like he seemed really nice and genuine. The girls said they wanted to go to his house, and after talking it out for a few minutes, we decided to cautiously go and give it a chance.

Tostadas prepared by our host, Mai

As we got to his house, he was outside working on a boat, where we learned that Luis makes a living by taking customers out sports fishing. He quickly introduced us to his wife (Mai) and son. They did not know any English, so there was a huge language barrier as we knew very little Spanish… but even with that barrier Audrey got along great with their son. Over the next four days, they kept inviting us back, and his wife made many dishes specific to their island to try: abalone salad, mako shark ceviche, seafood tostadas, fish tacos, posole… the list goes on. I was so nervous the girls would instantly say no to trying these new foods and potentially offend our hosts, but I was pleasantly surprised watching the girls enjoy everything because they intrinsically knew how special this was.

Luis translated for his wife and son when our Google translate app wouldn’t relay the correct context for what we were trying to say, and after a conversation, we found out that they had never tried food from the United States. So we insisted that we wanted to cook for them the next night. After much debate, we decided to make a Thanksgiving-type dinner. We cooked fried chicken, stuffing, green bean casserole, cornbread casserole, and even brought over a bottle of Chick-Fil-A sauce for them to try. 

Another day Mai invited Addison to have her hair braided. It’s something the girls do where she’s from, and in exchange, Addison gave her a henna tattoo–that was a first for Mai, too. Luis learned that we were struggling to catch fish, so he explained what we needed to do in this region and gave us the appropriate lures to use for future success. Luis’s son ran around their house asking how you say certain household items in English, and then he would tell the girls the Spanish name for them. Addison also hand-translated a few recipes Mai wanted; she really loved the cornbread casserole. 

Reflecting on the amount of learning and life lessons our family gained from having one week with this kind family gets me somewhat emotional. It was random, and had we not said yes we would have never had these experiences. Their family will always be a part of our journey in making this worldschooling life so rewarding and special. 

What are you excited about seeing/doing/learning next?

We’re currently working on our summer plans, and as of now we’ll be leaving the boat behind to head to Asia. That will be a completely different cultural experience for us, and we’re excited to experience it. We’ll be taking military Space-A hops, so we’re not exactly sure where we’ll end up, but we’re looking forward to the mystery of what this adventure will bring. 

Amanda was also kind enough to contribute to our upcoming book, and we’ve loved learning about her worldschooling family’s journey over the past couple of years. If you’d like to follow along with them, too, you can find their adventure-filled stories and gorgeous photography here:

Website: https://saltyvagabonds.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltyvagabonds

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@saltyvagabonds

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_30o2ZvRAMatf0IdSRTXkg

Boatlife at its best.

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