To consider selling our house and travelling the world with two toddlers?

Really look into what the hospitals and your access to medical care will be like wherever you go. My toddler needed a life saving operation, done by the NHS - how does that work for you as a tourist in Australia or Dubai?

Oh dear. There are 2 types of people, the ones who take a chance on life and the ones who don’t want to go out of their comfort zone. As a PP said, both are acceptable.

It would be good if we could understand other people’s point of view rather than pushing our own views and values on others.

We are actually planning on doing just this but with a 4yo and 6mo. DH has travelled extensively and it's been his dream to do this. Luckily he can keep his job and work remotely. I have traveled but not as far flung so have some apprehensions about how we will cope. We've agreed to do a test run for a month or so. Then decide upon returning after this month out if we want to prepare the house to rent out etc but we would only rent out the house, not sell. But we are happy with where we live and the house is a long term one for us. Also if anything went wrong, the stability of having something to come back to is a must for me! Would a shorter trip to test how you'll go be an option?

All other things aside (and I’m not saying that they are unimportant in any way) this sounds like it is being driven by your Dh’s need to leave work and reduce responsibility due to stress etc. I’m not sure that this could be seen as stress free and if he can’t cope it would leave you managing a lot of stuff on your own in a strange place

Ok, Aus but similar property market style. My DB took a year out & went travelling with his DW & DC. They looked at selling but even an agent said to rent it out.
They had a fabulous time but did suffer financially. Having their house to return to was what kept them on stable ground to rebuild their savings. Which they have. Their kids were older though.

If you're coming to Australia for a few months I recommend leasing a car or buying an old one to resell at the end. You really do need a car to get around & road tripping between destinations is where the best places are. You can also stay at much cheaper accommodation that's less central to tourist areas.

NO to travelling like this with children as young as yours. You should have done it before having children - like in a gap year.

Sounds amazing. I’d keep the house though if possible and sell it when you return, do you have any friends or family who might be looking to rent somewhere?

Absolutely go! Once your children are older and settled in schools, it's so much harder to go. Fabulous time spent together. It will be a great experience.

In SE Asia, we visited a few great islands off the East Coast of Malaysia that are great fun and easy to get to from Singapore (though Kuala Lumpur would be a much cheaper base). Google Sea Gypsy and Rawa Island.

Go, have fun. I'll bet you won't return to the UK!

The travelling would be fun and a good adventure. I would be struggling the whole time with the anticipation of needing a home and jobs (have it got them already?) to return to. Would you have savings to rent on return or stay with family's

I would still rent your house out for 12 months , as you can then sell just before you come back, then you will still have the money ready to buy but would have gained rent and paying more off the mortgage and any value increase. Tenants leave, arrange cleaner and painter if necessary from abroad, then get agent to sell it. You could even get the agent to take the photos whilst it has your stuff in now ;some people aren't good at visualising when it's empty)

with that age of children I would possibly do less places too or do an extended holiday now (6 weeks maybe) and longer when they are older and can carry their own bags

We sold our house and moved to SE Asia. We absolutely did not want to be landlords - too expensive. A house is only bricks and mortar.

We've been here for 9 months. We both have jobs in the same school that our children attend. If you go, have you thought about the possibility that you might not want to return to the U.K.? Could you go travelling for a couple of months and have your husband look for work in a place you’ve enjoyed spending time in? Treat your travelling like a recce? Sell your house when you are sure - I felt our house was such a ball and chain. I was done with the U.K. housing market.

Go for it! My parents moved countries a lot when I was growing up and it was an amazing experience for me and shaped me in many ways (plus I'm completely tri-lingual).

I am a landlord, who lived abroad for several years whilst owning property. Dh and I then came back to the uk and bought a house from abroad. We had to establish a uk address with certain bills before we could buy and things were nowhere near as stringent as they are now. We did this by using my family’s address. But I don’t think you could do that now as you need to show outgoings, expenses etc. You would have to come back and rent for a while before buying. Realistically that could mean maybe 3/4 years of no paying off that 25 year mortgage, which is quite a chunk. I’d think carefully before selling. Renting is also a risk as the tenant may refuse to move out or not pay so you’d need a financial buffer, a good agent and landlord insurance. But renting your property out would be my preference.

I don't follow how you'll be in a decent position to buy a property when you return home, with neither of you then having jobs to service the mortgage you want?

And surely if your DH is struggling with work, having a year out is going to make it harder to find decent suitable work he won't struggle with when you return.

Or do you intend to work all the way through this trip, which then means its a bit limited really...

If you can afford it and still support yourself back in the real world once you're done then yeah... its either do it now or wait until the kids can be left home alone for long periods so realistically, waiting another 16+ years from now.

I don't think I'd sell the house though, find a good, really good letting agency that also sells properties, so they can manage both things. It is then in their interests to ensure the property will easily sell on your return/when you give them the go-ahead to do so. That need not be when you return, you might tell them to start the process a few months before you come back, but it does at least mean you still have some sort of fall back if early on you decide the travelling isn't for you.

My friend just did this with her 10 yo DD and husband.
They rented out their house.

They had an amazing trip!!! Life changing for all of them.

Thier daughter grew so much during the trip. Exposure to different cultures is an incredible experience.

definitely do it!!

There are no rules to this. However, regarding renting, I would be apprehensive about being a landlord for a property in a different country. It seems like it's more effort than it's worth.

Go and travel, I'm sure it'll be a very enriching experience, but don't sell your house. It's not worth the trouble for 12-18 months. Some people take longer than that to reach the point of exchange!

There's lots of balanced advice on this thread.

Some are cutout for, and not freaked out by risk/change/uncertainty. They don't think too far ahead and can err on the side of cavalier.

Others are focussed on security, stability and being financially responsible and can't imagine being cavalier.

Neither is right or wrong - it's very important before you commit to being really honest with yourself in terms of what makes you tick. Don't make a decision to do this based on your desire to get away from a bad situation (e.g job) if you know that you will be equally miserable replacing the job with a situation that is at odds and with who you fundamentally are (uncertainty of flogging everything and having no fixed address).

I am nearly 50 and have only ever had 3 years of permanent employment in my whole life. I hate being tied down and decided very early that self employment was better for me. Despite the uncertainty and hardship of being self employed - I know I would be much more miserable locked into a permanent job, even if it meant I would have stable income.

You won't be able to buy quickly because you aren't cash buyers and won't have any proof of earnings for a mortgage, unless I'm misunderstanding something?

I'd still rent. Honestly, should your plans change, or - for whatever reason - you can't buy what you want, you'll be incredibly glad of a house SOMEWHERE in the uk.

Have the best time!!

Also your DH will just have run away from his work problems, they need sorting at some point.
Why not take a long holiday and then come back and sort them while you still have some savings

We have moved out of the UK and back again and it costs a fortune, even when work is covering a lot of the costs.

Buying and selling house is expensive, how would you get a new mortgage?
Do you have family to stay with while you find a rental or buy a house?
You would either need to store a house full of possessions, very expensive.
Or get rid of and rebuy, also expensive.
The cars would need stored and rebought, expensive.

If you do this make sure you have enough money saved for re-entry.

If your oldest is 3.5 now & you’ll be returning in 12-18 months, what are you going to do about primary school? You won’t have a fixed address in order to apply by the deadline right? Do you know which area you want to live in when you get back? Have you looked into schools etc?

If your children already enjoy traveling, it could work. My DD is a born traveler, she enjoyed traveling as a toddler; DS….not so much! He was a real misery, refused to eat properly for days at a time, cried a lot, and generally didn’t like being in new places. He suddenly changed at five and has been fine ever since.

The financial aspect is tricky. Personally, I’d want to have a home to return to in case you need to cut your trip short for any reason-illness, a global pandemic, etc. Do you have family who could house you in this event, or when you first return from your travels? It’ll take time to get reestablished.

We travelled for just over 2 months with 1 child last year and it pretty much broke us. By the end of it we could t wait to get home (and we love to travel/ have travelled extensively). I wouldn’t do it without having a plan for occasional help etc.