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

[travellingwithtoddlers]

DH have been discussing the possibility of doing this for a while. DH is incredibly unhappy with his job at the moment and is considering quitting and having a break to de-stress. I am a SAHM and we have two toddlers aged 1 and 3.5.

We don’t need to sell our house to use the money to travel (we have savings we could use). We are considering selling our house, lots of our possessions and our cars in order to reduce our responsibilities here at home and putting things that we want to keep into storage.

Ideally we would spend some time in SE Asia, Australia, the Middle East and perhaps return home after 12-18 months. We would then look to buy a house again upon our return.

Is this idea great or am I just swept up with the excitement of planning the trip? We can afford to support ourselves for the trip, but it would use all of our savings. We would be returning purely to a deposit for a house (from the sale of our current house) which would be approx 40% of the value of the sort of house we would like to buy (if this makes any difference!).

Also - does anyone have any tips on places to visit?!

We are just back from a 3 month backpacking trip with our now 9 month old, so not quite the same situation as you at all.
Obviously he won't remember a bit of it but we will and our photos are fabulous.
I didn't get the 'parenting just in a different location' feeling that some have mentioned at all, perhaps because my partner was with us 24/7 and at home he works. And mainly because every day there was something different to do so we were never stuck in a boring rut.

You can send them to day care places and meet up with 'world schooling' parents etc whilst you're away (we didn't do any of this, he's too small and we weren't gone for long enough but thought it was worth a mention). There's loads of people doing stuff like this on Instagram that you can take inspiration from.

He got plenty of interaction with other adults, people would whisk him away so that we could eat dinner and I'd find him giggling away with the chef 10 mins later.

We went to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
The only downsides we found were some places were far too hot (think leaving the accommodation at 6 and being back by 11 for sightseeing, then spending the afternoon around the pool to cool down), and I was paranoid about insect bites but he didn't get a single one.

My tips would be; pack, and then remove half of your stuff and re-pack, it's a bugger to carry around, you'll only want to wear your lightest, comfiest clothes / shoes, there are cheap laundry places everywhere (except Sri Lanka, it was more expensive there). Look very carefully at your travel insurance, we had to buy another when we read through our original one and it just wouldn't cover what we needed (I think there's one called 'Nomad' that will insure you for long trips). And think about how you will transport your babies, prams are useless due to bumpy pavements / no pavements, so good carriers are essential. We found that nappies, baby food etc we're available everywhere, which surprised us.

Have a brilliant time, we're looking at doing it again for a longer period and taking him out of primary for a year, once we've saved up.

100% go for it and have that adventure! I'm happy for you!

Do think long and hard about costs of doing this.

Incidental costs of setting up temporary homes in Airbnbs will be high. Much higher than on a normal SC holiday because you won't be bringing anything from home.

Over time your travel costs will likely increase significantly. You will start having to pay flight costs for your youngest. You will inevitably acquire more luggage.

I'm an experienced traveller both for work and pleasure. Incidental costs are always higher than you expect. Things get lost/damaged during travel and end up having to be replaced at great expense because you aren't able to shop around.

Go for it and enjoy.

I think in your shoes I would formulate a slightly modified plan

6 months away to give your oldest time to readjust before school - miss out UK winter basically.

Say 2 months Australia, 2 months in Thailand, 2 months in another location - I’d pick Asia not the Gulf. Have a “home base” in each place (a short term rental or long stay air bnb) and do side trips from there, rather than trying to move around a lot and taking everything with you the whole time.

Don’t sell your UK home, rent it out.

This begins to sound more sensible.

I only said YABU, because of selling the house. I know you said you'd move when you return but I think I'd keep onto that base 'just in case' what if ye hate it, what if (god forbid) one of ye gets sick and needs to return. I wouldn't like not to have a base. I travelled for 3 years in my early 20s and always had my parents house as a safe back up.

Other than that if I could afford to I would love to, it sounds amazing.

Do it OP

kids deserve to see the world aswell as adults. Even if they don’t remember it, it will leave a print.

think of the memories you’ll have together. Yes there will be tough days but there’ll also be tough days if you stay at home

@EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness makes good points

I think it would be madness to spend all your savings on a trip

And, when you return home and DH has no job, how would you get a mortgage to buy a new house?

Perhaps DH could negotiate a few months unpaid leave and you could do a home exchange overseas eg via this company https://homelink.org/en/ This would be a less risky way to have some time abroad

Go for it !! Kids are easy adaptable at these ages !!!
And u may not get another chance to do it when they start school !!!
I think it’s a wonderful idea 💡
sell up and relocate when u come home !
if u have financial means why not !
I think people worry to much and it puts them off having adventures life is for living x

It sounds great if you can afford it. At this age your children won’t remember any of it and you will be restricted in some area. Even if you’re not worried about routines for the children you might find settling them with constant time zones and climates difficult. If you’re open to that then do it, why not, you can always restart. DH and I moved across the world with a 1 & 3 yo with nothing, no jobs, very little money but we managed to build a decent life after we did.

I found my 2 easy to travel with at the time, but I’m not sure how being constantly on the move would have been.

We’ve talked about doing some big trips, but are now tied up with schools, we’ve already moved countries technically 3 times if you include moving back to the uk twice with our DCs during their early and primary years. So we’d make sure any plans we make now don’t impact high school going forward.

As for ideas, how about camper vans around NZ & Australia. It would be less disruptive than packing up and moving constantly. You could change plans when ever you want, stop and feed the DCs anytime, and have everything to hand. I’ve travelled around NZ in a camper it’s fantastic. I’ve also heard travelling across Australia by train is good. I don’t know any specific details though.

Based on your update, you are planning a very extended version of a hotel and air bnb holiday, to Western standards, in standard tourist areas. Which is probably more enjoyable and doable given the age of your kids, but much, much more expensive than the comparisons you probably have in mind.

You’ll be charged the ‘luxury’ rate for everything in Asia, bringing it much closer to a European price. There’s a big difference between hopping on a local, creaky, stinky, crazily driven but really cheap long distance bus and getting dropped at a temple at dawn (I happily did this daily in my 20s but would not in any world do this with my kids until teens), compared to getting an air-conditioned, seat-belted, comfortable, tour guided, hotel organised trip to do the same thing (which is the version you are suggesting). Probably ten fold in cost. Multiply that over a year. I reckon with your itinerary you could drop £100k in a year if you want to do activities and visit the key sites everywhere, as well as choosing more expensive accommodation. Flights are so much more expensive than they were even four years ago.

The cost of living in Australia is higher than the UK - cost out everything, including food shops and eating out. Dubai is too hot to leave the hotel much of the year, and boring as hell unless you go and do stuff that’s unsuitable for small kids (due to heat and logistics).

If you are going down this route, why not Europe? So much culture all very close together, much closer to the UK in health and road standards in much of the continent. You could take your car or buy a camper and sell it when you get home.

But still don’t sell your house! Security is more important than you are realising- you may want to come back early for a whole host of reasons.

You can only stay in Thailand for max 30 days
But you can go out to Vietnam
, Cambodia or any other country then go back again to Thailand

Check the visa restrictions

When I went backpacking we met a German couple in Fiji with a baby who was about 8 months old.
They said the government were paying parents something like 12 months full pay to increase the birth rate. So they both could be off and travel. They were having a great time! No idea how they seemed to have bags smaller than us though 🤣 they must have been very efficient!

Another option perhaps

Your husband saves up & goes off on his own trip, you stay & look after children
Then you do the same?

It would be much easier to have done the travelling pre children or when you don't have to support them financially

not forming close relationships with other adults (wtaf?!)

That was me, and I'll bat your "wtaf" right back. I didn't say "close" so don't make out it was creepy.

At age 3/4, did your children really not have any relationships with grandparents, aunts? Their friends' parents, neighbours, to greet and speak to, supervised by you? Preschool teachers that they look forward to seeing?

If you travel around for over a year, then to the 3/4yo every adult they meet is a fleeting encounter with a stranger. Just a conveyor belt of strangers, no familiarity. It gets to the point where it's not worth learning anyone's name if you're not going to meet them again.

It's the literal opposite of the fabled "village" mumsnet goes on about helping raise your kids.

Is this idea great or am I just swept up with the excitement of planning the trip? We can afford to support ourselves for the trip, but it would use all of our savings.

You might want to look at the cost of living crisis in Australia, the current housing crisis, and the nationwide rental crisis. You will be paying immense amounts of money for your "month here and there" in an Air b'n'b, before you buy groceries.

I think it is a silly idea. Your toddlers are hardly going to appreciate any of it, and would probably be happier with an icecream and a day at a beach in the UK.

If you did it in a few years, the kids could get a lot out of it. Personally I wouldn't.

I'd look to change my life instead. Not sure how life will be better if he has to return to the miserable job.

It sounds a brilliant year but is it worth it for another 30 harder ones?

Sit down and think about what you want in the long term. Change of area? Change of job? Work less hours.

Perhaps have a couple of big holidays.

I know that now I wake up looking at the sea everyday the desire to run away has diminished. To visit interesting places or see new things, yes. But not the fantasy running away from everything.

If you come back to no savings and house prices have risen and you can no longer afford a family home, life will be ultimately more stressful not less.

I saw someone on Instagram recently who had done just this, wish I could remember the name of the page!
They had a toddler and a young school age child, maybe in reception, they deregistered the school kid and off they went. I think they’re maybe 6 weeks or so into their journey and I had a scroll back, she was sharing the ups and downs of it all but overall they were having an incredible experience.

I wouldn’t do it myself but I’m in awe of those who have the drive and the vision to do it!
I think you should go, no they might not ever remember it but that doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time. They won’t remember these years of being at nursery or in reception either!! Also, you will remember it and that’s important too.

If you have the money to do it, do it.

travel with young kids is hard when you have a schedule and a time limit. When you don’t, it’s bliss.

show them the world, cement your relationship and create everlasting memories.

’cementing’ foundations is for people who have no money or are too scared of the future.

faith and funds will get you everywhere.

live.

I can't believe the negativity. What a fantastic opportunity. GO FOR IT. It's absolutely the best time when the children are so young. You'd never do it when they are in secondary school and missing the start of primary totally isn't the end of the world. They'll learn so much on their travels. Wish I'd done it.

I would absolutely do this! Being unhappy and stressed at work is horrible and travelling and new adventures is incredibly renergising (I met my husband travelling after quitting a job when I was unhappy!). If well planned, you'll never regret it as the opportunity (financially, professionally and with the kids education) may never arise again.

With two very young children, I might be tempted to pick 12 places to stay for a month or similar rather than backpacking with more frequent travel. You could still leave some flexibility in the trip incase you liked a particular place and wanted to stay longer.

How much travel experience do you have?

I also think you have to be honest with yourself about the types of people you are.

I know people who have done similar but they are very much wing it kind of people through life.

Much as I might like to be like that, I'm not. I'm an over thinker. I am good at camping, don't mind lack of luxury, quite practical so I'd be okay with that side. But even saying 'hire a campervan ', I love them but too big and it is hard to take them the places you want to go and even then you are constantly moving things around. With a toddler in a hot climate, I think it could get wearing quite quickly.

Go for it - but don't get off the property ladder, that is very risky! Just rent your house out, travel and sort the housing situation when you get back.