A mom, a dad, and their six children becoming a full-time traveling family sounds pretty crazy, am I right? Bryan and I have had this conversation many times over the past couple of years, but this year (2023), we decided to make it a reality.
Our Journey to Becoming a Full-Time Traveling Family
The desire to see more…
Although we were both born and raised in Western Kentucky, Bryan and I have had the opportunity to travel and experience different places throughout our childhood. I think this set me up for the desire I now have as an adult. By my 21st birthday, I had been to 13 states and lived in a different country (South Korea). While KY is a beautiful state, we want to see and experience more!
No strings attached…
Another perk we have is we’ve always rented our homes. We didn’t have a home we needed to “put on the market” and sell, no car payment, and no other debt (besides dreaded student loans). Not having “big bills” or lease contracts gives us more liberty to do what we do.
We also don’t have stationed 9-5 jobs. Instead, we have 2 businesses that allow us to work from anywhere. In addition to being a ghostwriter, we are consumer direct marketers for an amazing online wellness store. We also have a few other streams of income from my published books and curriculum resources.
A series of unfortunate events…
The first duplex we rented and lived in for 7 years was by far our best living experiences. We had the best landlord who took care of his properties with utmost integrity. Sadly, after we had to move, we sought to rent places that were up to par but found ourselves in “white washed” properties.
The next two homes we’d rent would really grow us in areas of patience and contentment. We had so many opportunities to not only trust the Father but also test our belief in what was in store for us next.
Taking the Leap
Instead of continuing to live below our desired standards (I know that sounds selfish, but hopefully you understand my heart here), we decided to make moves. This involved putting in our notice to move out of our rental home, securing a storage unit for the things we wanted to keep, selling what could be sold, donating stuff, and trashing everything else.
And of course, we needed a place to go. I’d like to say that this part was easy, but it wasn’t. I didn’t want to move around a lot in the beginning so I went searching for Airbnbs with extended stay options. Our first stop would take us 3 hours east to Somerset, KY. From there, our plans are to go wherever! Sounds crazy, right?
The Prep
At this point, you’re probably wondering about the actual preparation for an adventure like this. Besides ending our rental contract, getting utilities shut off, and getting most of our life put into storage – this biggest thing was learning how to downsize to the point of all we needed was our own vehicle (a Honda Odyssey Touring Edition).
We started our travels with our mother-in-love in tow because we needed both vehicles to transport all of our things. At the time of writing this post, we’re headed to our 3rd location but stopping by our storage to downsize even more. After this storage trip, we’ll comfortably only need our 1 vehicle. Yay!
In addition to that, finding the next place has been an adventure as well. Our goal is to stay within the budget of what we were renting for (plus utility bills) before starting this journey.
Future Plans
We’re only a solid 5ish weeks into this (at the time of writing this) journey of being a full-time traveling family and we’ve already learned so much. From learning about things we truly need versus what we can live without to understanding how to make the most of each trip, it’s been a real eye-opener.
As for our future plans, we’re still figuring out the length of stays we prefer (for example, staying in a place for a week or two versus an entire month). We are also considering purchasing a small enclosed trailer (that I would love to convert into a tiny living quarter) for carrying extra things.
And, we are always on the lookout for our forever home. We still have the desire to own land, have a small homestead, and become self-sufficient. At the very base of our desires is the ability to have our own, grow our own, and share with those around us!
Follow our journey here on our blog, YouTube, and Instagram.
