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[...] Regarding education, the Millers say: Is there any better education than travel? Having been thrown into the back of a van and schlepped all over North America myself as a child, I can answer heartily: “No!” There will be no shortage of learning taking place on this trip. History, Geography, Art, Literature, Music, and Languages will be no brainers. The only place that could be construed as falling short would be math and formal science – in which all of our children are currently at least two years ahead of grade level – so we have purchased ourselves some free time to travel in that department too. [...]
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[...] “Why would someone do that? Especially with kids?!” [...]
Hey guys it’s T2. Just skimmed through the site and I have to say, “WOW!” What a fabulous concept and superb presentation. Will delve in more deeply as time and mood permits. I must say though that I’m looking forward to sharing your adventure to Costa Rica in the coming months! Live well and carpe diem!
Hi Miller Family,
It was so nice meeting you all today. I think it was a divine connection. The kids were so sweet and polite and I loved hearing all their questions and I enjoyed giving them hot choc. and dessert. I hope your trip to Cd. Valles went well and I love your website and will continue to read about your trip. Be Blessed, The Lord is watching over you. Love, Lynn
Hello – I just found your site through your comment on the Art of Non-conformity and I was intrigued. I’m currently in China teaching for the year and hopefully will continue traveling after my year is up. Although I’m doing this solo, I have a few family related travel sites on my blog and will add you to it. I love what you’re doing and showing how life can be something other than the status quo. Good Luck!
Your family couldn’t be any cooler! It’s a great inspiration to read about your family and adventures!! thank you for building this website. I will continue to follow you guys on your Edventurous travels!
Kudos to you. I just found you via your comment at Art of Non-Conformity, and will have to take much more time to work thru your blog. Great to find a family who is doing much of what we dream of.
We unschool 7 of our 9 dc (2 were hs but are adults now) and started traveling NA 3 years ago. We weren’t so well planned, have some things yet to work out but envision touring slowly thru Central and South America in the years to come, plus other adventures. I love how you call it Ed-ventures. Can I adopt that word??
Karen… nice to meet you too! It sounds like we’re sojourners on the same path! I’d love to know more about your family, your schooling, and your travels! You absolutely can use the word “edventure”… just send as many folks our way as you can!
Hi,
I’m homeschooling my 3 kids (9, 8 and 5). On You Tube, you mentioned many books that could be used for geography. Could you suggest one particular book to buy if we can afford only 1 or 2 of them? Which one do you prefer? Trail Guide../Ultimate Geography and Timeline/Uncle Josh maps?
Presently, we are using the Story of the World. Even if my kids are mostly francophones, they enjoy it.
In fact, I wanted additional maps and things related to geography.
You guys form a wonderful family!
Hope to read from you soon,
Merlyn
Hi Merlyn,
Thanks for contacting me! I would heartily recommend the Trail Guide to World Geography as a start… that will take you a good year to get through. Uncle Josh’s Outline Maps on CD are a must have to accompany any history program… but the Trail Guide comes with all the maps you need for that one. The Ultimate Geography and Timeline is also very good if you want to put the work in up front to design your own geography lessons and I’ve used it as a resource for years. As you can afford to, add to your library. Start with the Trail Guides, you won’t be sorry. If you can afford to, get the CDROM that has the Student workbooks to print out. They are EXCELLENT and can be used over a range of age levels!
If you access the Geography Matters website through our sponsor page, Josh Wiggers donates a portion of the proceeds from your purchase to support the Edventure Project!
Please feel free to contact us any time… I’m happy to help.
j
So wonderful to “meet” you and to read some real-life tales of a family that is on the road and homeschooling their children while they’re at it! I found you through a tweet by ManVs.Debt and am very intrigued by your lifestyle and excited to read more…
After reading the questions, just one more comes to mind: how do you handle healthcare? Do you have a family travel plan, and if so, how much does that cost and what does it cover? Do you all get recommended vaccinations for the places you visit?
When traveling with children, their getting really sick or really hurt is naturally what would scare me the most. (But that’s true anywhere, isn’t it?) Thanks in advance, and hats off to you for grabbing the opportunities and living with no regrets.
Hi Jolyn!
We just met Baker and fam last week! They are great people!
Healthcare… good question. When we are in the USA we don’t have healthcare at the moment, as we’re self employed and the cost is prohibitive. Which scares the salsa out of us, frankly. When we are out of country, we use World Nomads Traveler’s Health Insurance, which covers emergency stuff, but not pre-existing things, long term care, or things like pregnancy. They also cover our gear and provide basic travel insurance. They’re the best deal for nomads that we know of. It’s cheap. About $100 per month for all six of us!
We do get ALL recommended vaccinations for the destinations we visit. Ezra thought Typhoid and Yellow Fever were part of the standard childhood round-up!
We do NOT, however, get all recommended vaccines for the standard childhood vaccination schedule. Basically, we vaccinate for the big things, that could kill them (my Dad had polio and I’ve watched him live with the after effects for my whole life.) We don’t vaccinate for stuff like chicken pox, the flu or HPV.
Injury and sickness ARE the scary wild card in travel. We prepare the best we can, carry one hell of a medical kit with us, have a pretty well defined vitamin regimen and pray hard!
We’ve used the med kit, made one third world hospital run, and in general, we’re VERY healthy folks and count ourselves lucky. Our kids had FAR more injuries, illnesses, when we were living a “real life” in NH with a house, insurance and two cars like everyone else.
Our encouragement: Dream big, prepare thoroughly and then refuse to be ruled by fear. Get out there and live life, human beings get sick and hurt regardless, so you may as well live large and do the things that inspire you.
Nice to meet you too… do keep in touch!
Thank you SO MUCH for your thorough response! I am learning so much from you, and others like you, and am cataloging everything accordingly. Some day the road may call us… For now, my husband’s career has us moving soon — again — and I am going to start homeschooling our three children for the first time… Slowly we are becoming more flexible and open to possibilities once my husband “retires” from the military, which he will (may?) do while we’re still relatively young. It’s never too soon to start dreaming ahead! I’m not sure yet what the future holds, but I certainly see the possibilities.
And I do look forward to following your journey and keeping in touch!
You’re most welcome! We are happy to help you out in any way we can. Ask all of the questions you like! I’ve spent over a decade doing educational consulting and curriculum design for home schooling families, so if you need help on that front, please let me know!
Hi! I am only 14 years old, but I think that your lifestyle
is amazing! I live a fairly “normal” life and the highlights of
every year for me are vacations. Visiting other countries is so
much fun, especially when the people there speak another language!
Last summer, I was able to go to Costa Rica. I was only there for a
week, but I learned so much and was able to have many
once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I really enjoyed reading about your
life – it sounds amazing! It was very inspiring! Do you or your
family ever wonder what your life would have been like if you had
stayed in NH? Do you think you will continue moving around for a
few more years, or are you planning to stop and stay in one place?
Thanks!
Is this possible for a young family starting out?? How do
you get medical care if needed, glasses and or contact etc… Have
you ever been to VillaCorzo Chiapas, My husband and children are
there and I must say the roads are scary to me, how do you find
your way around? He is a native and we still get lost,lol! Thanks
it was wonderful to learn that people can live a diffrent life and
break free from the rat race we all seem to be in. I always
imagined this but didnt know it was possible unless you were rich
or hit the lottery.
Hey guys, I love to hear about families wanting to do
things as one, Great job. I’ve been traveling and living in my RV
for years, my kids grow up in them. I’ve found life to be more
interesting when not planned out but just lived. ITS ALL ABOUT THE
MEMORIES that money can’t buy. Have a GREAT time and keep living
Life.
Hi Mike!
Thank you so much for the encouragement. It is so great to hear from folks who’ve “been there, done that” and their kids are grown! We couldn’t agree more… it IS all about the memories!!
Hi Kissyfur,
Yes, yes it is. Very possible. We know many families, big and small, old and young, with kids and empty nesters who are living their dreams.
Medical care: we carry medical insurance privately, with special traveler’s insurance when we’re out of the country. We’ve had dental, medical and emergency care provided all over the place as we’ve traveled without major difficulty (and cheaper than at home!)
We have been to Chiapas, but not to that specific town. We get lost a lot and sometimes it’s scary… but that’s equally true in NYC and Chicago as it is in the highlands of Mexico. Often getting lost turns out to be the best serendipity of the week or month!
We are certainly NOT rich… but we work hard and we plan carefully and we wouldn’t trade our lifestyle for anything!
Hi Regan!
We LOVE getting comments from young people! Our daughter Hannah is going to reply to you tomorrow, she loves meeting new people and you girls are the same age!
“Normal” life is not a bad thing! My husband’s life was very normal and it was great! Enjoy every second of your life and don’t wish a moment of it away!
We don’t spend a lot of time wondering what life would have been like if…. we simply live each day, keep focused on our dreams and work hard together as a family.
We hope to get the kids’ feet on each continent before they grow up, so yes, we do plan to keep moving around for a while. When we get tired of traveling we have our new home spot all picked out. We’ll build a house and enjoy living in one place for a while.
Look for Hannah’s note tomorrow!
Hi Millers!
What an inspirational story you weave on this blog. I’ve been following SoulTravelers3.com for some time, but since we have 5 kiddos, it’s hard to imagine doing what they do with our crew…until now. (I do hope our little 2yo guy is potty trained before embarking.)
One of my biggest questions is regarding laundry! Seems like we can’t even go on a 5 day trip without too many bags. How many changes of clothing do you have? Do you buy much higher quality items so they last longer?
My hat comes off to you for camping. I know it would be the most economical way for us to sleep, but something MAJOR would have to change in my mindset to make it work.
Can you share, if you feel comfortable doing so, what your monthly budget is for food/travel related expenses (like museum tickets, etc)? I understand if you don’t…just trying to wrap my brain around how best to prepare. Our oldest is already 12, so I’m hoping we can go on our edventure before she leaves our nest!
Keep sharing and I’ll keep reading!
Hi mrshomeschool,
The whole purpose of this site, and our new one – Uncommon Childhood – is to let others know they can do it too! There’s nothing special about us, to be sure.
Laundry is indeed a big issue. We have, essentially, 3 sets of clothes each. On the bike trip we had one extra set of warmer clothes and rain gear as well, so we could layer up if necessary. Of course, we pack according to the climate we’ll be in. Furthermore, everywhere you go, people need clothes, so it’s possible to pick stuff up if needed. We do try to buy higher quality items so they hold up better and we don’t have to search for replacements on the road. It’s very true that you tend to get what you pay for, assuming you’re not just paying for a brand name! We bought a lot from REI before we left. They have a nice return policy, sell quality products, and have a cash-back bonus at the end of the year for members, too.
Doing laundry ranges from finding laundromats, which can get expensive but is sometimes worth it for a full set of dry clothes in an hour, to hand washing and hanging out to dry. It’s important to buy clothes that are made for travel because they tend to be fast-drying and light. No jeans!!! Bar laundry soap is not so common in the US, but is found most other places without problem (Zote in Mexico is amazing stuff). The biggest “secret trick” is to bring a rubber bouncy ball… it makes a perfect drain plug for just about every size drain in the world.
Camping was definitely good. Pretty cheap and safe most everywhere. Setting up and tearing down every day gets routine. For us, it was the kids’ job while we worked on the other things, like laundry and food preparation. Again, quality is absolutely necessary! Camping is a major drag when the weather’s bad and your tent leaks, but if you’re dry and warm other discomforts are minor. We bought Hilleberg tents, and will forever on… in fact we replaced our tents with the exact same ones this past year. So, now we have the “old” tents which still work well and new ones of the same model (now no longer available) for future adventure travel. When I bought the tents, it cost more than a month’s mortgage payment, but they’ve been well worth it. You can read more about our tents and camping experiences on the site, so I won’t continue other than to say that after living in them as long as we did, we still sleep better in the tents on Thermarest mattresses than we do on most beds!
One of the things that we learned during our travels, though, is that you can often find rental houses that are fully furnished for not much money. This allows you to go to a place and use it as a base to make day trips out. Sometimes the cost difference between the house and camping is negligible, so that’s worth considering. It also reduces the amount of “gearing up” that you do for camping. But, the “gearing up” is a fun part for gadget junkies like me!
As far as the budget goes, it can be extremely variable. We opted to have a medium sized budget in order to afford some “luxuries” because of the kids. If it were just the two of us, the budget could be less, of course. During the Europe trip, the budget was $100US/day. Often, we spent less than that, sometimes far less, and saved that up for the treats, museums, overage days, etc. About 1/3 of the daily budget went to camping expenses, about 1/3 toward food (we bought at grocery stores and cooked for ourselves most of the time), and the other 1/3 went toward incidentals. We also had set aside money for the things we knew we were going to do and could budget for, like certain sights in London, Berlin, Paris, etc. All tallied, we came in under that budget and splurged with a big Eurorail trip at the end of our trip to travel back through Germany and the Czech Republic to see our new friends one last time before returning home. Amazingly enough, traveling Europe, which was quite a bit more expensive for essentials than home, cost roughly half of what it cost to stay home. And, traveling places like Central America cost far less than that. So, it’s probably safe to say that living a nomadic lifestyle abroad costs less than the typical at-home lifestyle.
Please keep in touch! We’d love to hear more from you about your planning and life!
Spending way too much time on your website tonight! I love the way you put this website together with an emphasis on education through adventuring. In just the short time we’ve been traipsing across the country, I can easily see how much our kids absorb being in the world (instead of learning about it from a classroom).
I especially like your views on danger being relative. I might have to quote you the next time a relative expresses their concern for our nomadic way of life (and especially our plans to drive through Central America).
Melanie… glad you like it. Please feel free to quote us if you’d like. You’ll have an AMAZING drive through Central America… we did it last year, fell in love with Lago de Atitlan and are now spending 6 mos. here. We’d be happy to help you any way we can!
I wanted to email you guys since our next staycation is planned in Guatemala. We just returned in March from 6 months in Bamako, Mali when our children were 1 and 3. They are now one year older. When little guy is 4 we are planning on a stay in central america. I have some questions for you and was wondering if you had time to answer. I hope to teach english on the side to pay for our food and maybe our apartment rent. While in Africa it was easy to find good paying TEFL work but I’m not sure about central america because of the proximity to north america. Anyway if you get a chance I would love to link up with you guys since you are pioneering what we have already started doing.
Absolutely!! Send us your questions through our contact form, or… in case you don’t get this… I’ll send you a personal message… you’re gonna LOVE Guatemala!
Hi friends! Have just loved reading through your site tonight. We are in year one of our open-ended adventure. We’re currently in Panama, planning on moving South to Colombia come this Sunday. Would love to talk to you guys, and interview you for our site. Needless to say, I love what you are doing. We’re doing something similar with our three. Hope we get to meet up at some point. That would be awesome.
GAbi
Hi Gabi! So glad you’re enjoying our site! We would love to talk more with you, interview, or whatever! The best part of this life is the interesting folks we meet. Sounds like you guys are our kind of people!! Thanks for reading along!