Epic Education Radio: Family Travel Podcast

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Want to know how to do a home exchange with kids? If you're looking to do a home swap to travel more, then you can certainly learn something from Daniel Prince.

Dan and his family of six have been traveling the world for years using home swaps to save thousands upon thousands of dollars. They've been all over the world, staying in private homes while letting other families stay in theirs. The Prince family homeschooled their four kids in the past, but now during their present home exchange in southern France, they've put their kids into local schools. The kids are loving it — making friends while becoming bilingual. I can relate to this, so we discuss this in the interview, as well.

Dan is a huge advocate of the sharing economy, and you'll find even more related tips in this interview, for both homes and for cars! Listen in if you're interested in getting free stuff, being invited into airplane cockpits, and learning how to arrange a home exchange with kids.

• 04:48 Intro
• 05:41 Putting kids in local schools in France
• 08:47 Arranging a home exchange with kids—Home swapping explained
• 13:52 Love Home Swap's points and credit system
• 26:54 How to stop buying so many water bottles
• 29:13 Using Twitter to meet people & get stuff
• 33:22 How to get your kids into the cockpit of the plane
• 37:05 Tips for driving & car rentals in Australia & New Zealand

• Names: Daniel Prince, his wife, Clair and their children Kaitlyn, Sophia, Lauren & Samuel
• Hold passports from: The UK
• Type of travel: Long-term travel, slow travel, & home exchange with kids
• A few places they've been: Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Dubai, and all over Europe

• Love Home Swap
• Weebly
• The 4-Hour Workweek
• Autoslash
• TradeMe (New Zealand)
• Car Next Door (In Australia)

Princes off the Grid | Facebook | Twitter 

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Living on a sailboat with kids: what image does this conjure up for you? Caviar and crystal? Not so for most cruisers. Cruisers are not hobbyists. They have made a decision to make the boat their home.

Jamie and Behan Gifford have been doing just that: living on a sailboat with kids. Three kids, in fact. When many people hear about someone "living on a sailboat" or "living on a yacht," images of champagne and butlers some to mind. The reality is something else entirely, they explain.

Living on a sailboat with kids has become the Gifford's life. Eight years in, they've crossed both the Pacific, the Indian and the Atlantic oceans, visiting dozens of countries along the way. We first met the Giffords in Malaysia in 2013. Three years since then, they've sailed to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, then onto Africa and back to the United States — their first time back in their home country in years.

Behan and I have talked before about having kids who grow up outside of the country of their passports, and we return to that a little in this chat. Listen in as we talk about living under the poverty line (and living well), banking and money management, their favorite brands of sunscreen (they go through a gallon a year!), and other aspects of living on a sailboat with kids, including what it's like living away from supermarkets and the internet.

• 04:00 Intro & the difference between sailing & cruising
• 07:01 The word "yacht" at home and abroad
• 11:34 How they afford their lifestyle (and when the money ran out)
• 17:30 Life on the boat
• 22:30 Banks, mail & money management
• 26:38 Kids and their life & education on the boat
• 34:19 Niall's WWII warship discovery off the coast of Thailand
• 37:05 A cruising family's social life
• 43:10 Resources & how a net-savvy family lives in an internet-poor environment
• 54:40 Some of their favorite (recent) destinations

• Names: Jamie & Behan Gifford and their kids Niall (17), Mairen (14), and Siobhan (12)
• Hold passports from: USA
• Type of travel: Cruising — living on a boat and sailing the world
• A few places they've been: Mexico, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia (for 2 years), Sri Lanka, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia, and many more.

• Sunscreens: Blue Lizard [Sensitive Skin Formula] & Alba Botanica Mineral
• Iridium Go

• The Giffords profiled in Quartz magazine
• Khan Academy
• Crash Course

Sailing Totem | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest |Instagram

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Thinking of starting family travel early? I certainly hope that this podcast gives you plenty of advice and encouragement, including today's interview.

If you're considering starting family travel early, listen to Kylie Gibbon and her family. This family of four from Aukland, New Zealand have been on many adventures, including an eight-month trip through Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Here Kylie talks about how they planned and budgeted their trip. She also articulates the benefits they've seen from starting family travel early.

Listen in for tips on travel routines, beating the Southeast Asian heat, travel gear and apps, and one mom's perspective on starting family travel early.

• 02:30 Intro
• 06:40 Habits, routines, & dealing with Southeast Asian heat
• 16:29 Saving & budgeting tips
• 26:19 Travel gear
• 35:32 Education, resources & starting family travel early
• 44:25 Recommended destinations

• Names: Kylie & Mike Gibbon and their daughter Sophie (6) and Jack (4)
• Hold passports from: New Zealand
• Type of travel: Short-term & long-term (8 months on the road)
• A few places they've been: all over Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, including 3 months in a small French village.

• Packing Cubes (They use the Kathmandu brand in New Zealand)
• Trunki Boostapack
• Sea Band: pressure bands for carsickness 
• Gingins (ginger candy for car sickness)
• Kathmandu 60L backpack
• MacBook Air
• 2 Kindle Fire Tablets
• Canon EOS
• iPhone 6s
• Tula Baby Carrier

• Peugeot Euro lease
• The Tripit App
• Kidpix

Our Overseas Adventures | Facebook | Instagram 

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Have a family travel story or question to share? Then contact us! 

Nervous about international travel with a baby? Don't be. In today's podcast, veteran family travel blogger Sharon Gourlay is here to tell you that it's possible. In addition, she says that international travel with a baby not as hard as you think, and it's totally worth the effort.

This is not Sharon's first experience with international travel with a baby. However, it is her first try at international travel with a baby this young (four months). In her second appearance on Epic Education Radio, Sharon talks about new family travel experiences. For example, she talks about new places they've visited, and how her daughter and son have developed as traveling children as they've grown older.

In addition to discussing international travel with a baby, Sharon talks about the travel baby gear they carry and the travel resources she uses. Listen in if you want to hear more about her travel habits and routines, about starting an online business while living abroad, and about international travel with a baby.

• 03:00 Introductions
• 05:27 International travel with a baby & family travel at different ages
• 12:00 Benefits of traveling
• 14:20 Habits and routines when traveling
• 17:54 Working online and time management while building an online business
• 24:39 Travel gear
• 30:15 Education and the transition back home to Australia
• 33:36 Resources
• 41:55 Destinations

• Names: Sharon Gourlay, her husband and three kids (6, 4.5 and 4 months)
• Hold passports from: Australia
• Type of travel: Long-term travel, short-term travel, and living abroad. International travel with a baby.
• A few places they've been: All over Europe, Southeast Asia. Recently Oman and Abu Dhabi.

• Kelty Redwing 40L
• Ergo adapt carrier
• Mountain buggy nano
• Trunki
• Boostapack
• Kidco Peapod

• Tripcase
• AirBnB (discount link)
• Agoda
• Booking.com
• Hotels Combined
• Families Who Love Travel Facebook Group

Where's Sharon | Digital Nomad Wannabe | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

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WORKING IN VANUATU WITH KIDS

Few people have visited Vanuatu with kids. Fewer still perhaps have experienced working in Vanuatu with kids. Today's guest, Anne-Cerise Luzy, has now spent over a year living on the South Pacific island nation, writing and homeschooling her three children while her husband works at a local French school.

Listen in as Anne-Cerise talks about how her husband got a job teaching at a local school, and what expat life is like on this fascinating and relatively new country (Vanuatu became independent from France in 1980). She also talks about unschooling in Vanuatu and about some of the habits and resources that she and her kids use for education and more.

FAMILY TRAVEL WITH ALLERGIES

Anne-Cerise's family have several significant food allergy issues: soy, dairy, and gluten. Hear how she deals with family travel with allergies and what they do to make sure they have what they need to eat.

IN THIS EPISODE

03:23 Intro 04:30 How they became a traveling family 08:27 Why Vanuatu? 09:40 Unschooling in France 12:57 Life and unschooling in Vanuatu 17:34 Social life on Vanuatu with kids 24:12 Habits and Routines 26:09 Travel Gear & Traveling with allergies 39:20 Online Resources 52:46 Recommendations for visiting Vanuatu with kids

ABOUT

Names: Anne-Cerise Luzy, her husband, and three kids Hold passports from: France Type of travel: Living abroad in Vanuatu A few places they've been: Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and Australia

• iPads
• Nintendo DS
• Kindle
• Canon DSLR cameras
• GoPro
• Gluten, dairy & soy-free food
• Travel Plug adapter

• Irasshai (Japanese Lessons on TV)
• AirBnB (Get a discount through this link!)
• Gluten-free World
• Gluten-free Japan
• Gluten-free Roads
• Minecraft
• Animal Jam
• Worldschooling Facebook Group
• Prodigy Math
• Dragonbox for Math
• Elements for Geometry
• Slice Fractions
• Lingupinguin
• Pilipop for English
• Scratch for coding
• Tiny Bop apps for science
• Coursera
• Memrise app for Japanese
• Trip Rider
• Tripit

Remote work with kids isn't always the easiest way to fund family travel, but for many families, it's the best (if not only) solution.

We've used remote work part of our travel lifestyle strategy ever since we left our desks jobs in 2013, and today's guest has used remote work to fund his travels, as well. Richard Gaushell and his wife, Jennifer, left California in 2013, and he has been working remotely in one form or fashion ever since. Listen in as we talk about education, worldschooling, traveling in Latin America and Europe, finding remote work jobs and other aspects of working remotely with kids.

• 03:31 Intro & Origins
• 07:03 The transition to remote work with kids
• 09:38 Renting their house out
• 14:52 Traveling in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
• 18:17 Their approach to education
• 21:24 Social life and working remotely with kids
• 26:38 Dealing with the disapproval of family and friends
• 29:06 Finding freelance remote work
• 32:02 Time management and remote work with kids
• 34:33 Managing money overseas
• 40:52 Crisis to opportunity renting a car in Costa Rica
• 43:12 Travel gear travel clothing
• 47:25 The SIM card saga in Europe
• 52:38 Educational philosophy and resources
• 58:19 Using a VPN for movies, banking, etc.
• 1:01:33 Recommended destinations

• Names: Richard Gaushell, Jennifer St. Louis and their 3 boys (14 y/o and 10y/o twins)
• Hold passports from: USA (California)
• Type of travel: Long-term location independence / remote work
• A few places they've been: Europe, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and the USA

• Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Noise canceling headphones
• BearExtender Wifi Extender
• Paypal Mastercard
• eBags Packing Cubes
• iPads iPhones
• MacBook Pro
• Pacsafe Travelsafe GII Portable Safe
• Multiple SIM cards (when in Europe)
• SCOTTeVEST Travel vest
• Keen Newport H2 Sandals

• Time4Learning
• DuoLingo
• Fluencia
• Brave Writer
• Rescue Time
• Upwork
• T-Mobile overseas cell service
• Amazon Instant Video
• I mentioned Open Culture as a place for free digital education/entertainment
• VPN: IPVanish or Hide.me

Our Family Travel Adventures | Facebook |Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

Would you consider living in a trailer with kids? Jason Calhoun and his wife Danielle asked themselves this question. The answer changed their lives forever.

No the Calhoun family isn't living in a trailer with kids on the edge of town now. They didn't move into a trailer park. Instead, they're living in a travel trailer, and doing that travel trailers do best: travel. They've crossed from America's west coast to east twice so far and are really learning the joys and challenges of living in a trailer with kids.

Living in a travel trailer is not all freedom and high-fives, however. They've had some challenges, and Jason discusses a few of them here. Listen in to hear more about how they handle education, remote working, social life, and everything they've learned from living in a travel trailer with kids.

Listen in! And please share!

• 02:45 Introductions
• 05:08 The Calhoun's Travel Family Origin story
• 07:57 Funding travel; the impact of the 4-Hour Workweek
• 11:24 Working routines
• 19:24 Selling the kids on the idea of RV travel
• 23:34 Their approach to education
• 27:50 Social life when you're moving around
• 32:31 Resources
• 39:52 Gear and becoming "accidental minimalists"
• 42:24 Recommended destinations

• Names: Jason Calhoun, his wife, and their 3 kids (8, 10 & 12)
• Hold passports from: USA
• Type of travel: RV travel in America for a year and counting

• iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s+
• Camera: Canon 5D Mk II
• Microphones: Zoom and Sennheiser Lavs
• 3 iPad Minis, 1 iPad Air
• MacBook Pro Retina

• The 4-Hour Work Week
• Videopixie
• Kickstarter
• The Johnson Space Center in Houston
• T-Mobile for unlimited data internet
• Lowell Observatory in Arizona
• Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC

Suburban Pilgrims | Facebook | Instagram | Their Kickstarter Project 

Worldschooling is getting a lot of attention today, and well it should. On today's episode, I talk with Jen Silver about how her family discovered worldschooling after the real estate crash and a number of other personal tragedies made them reassess their family's life and education.

What is worldschooling? Well, it's defined differently for different people, but in general, worldschooling is using the "world as your classroom." Jen Silver is now an administrator of the largest Worldschooling group on Facebook. Today she talks about how worldschooling and family travel have guided her and her children into a more meaningful, "Silver-lining" life.

Jen's approach to worldschooling does not come at the cost of their children's education. Both she and her husband had very successful academic and business careers (Jen: MENSA member, colleges at 15, attended Cornell & Wharton School of Business, Dan: graduated with a 4.0 summa cum laude Masters from Berkeley). However, they realized that the conventional process of schools, university and career was not the only way to achieve a successful life.

Instead, Jen says that "We want to teach our kids about investing, business ownership (we have started a company with them), residual income, creative pursuits, volunteerism, and multiculturalism. We prioritize giving them the skills that we feel will give them the best chance at financial freedom and personal health and happiness, hopefully with a concern for the world and those who share it."

Listen in as she explains their long journey, and their present approach to worldschooling and life, including a HUGE list of resources.

• 04:16 Intro & Origins
• 15:02 Starting RV
• 17:30 Kids' perspective
• 22:39 An intro to homeschooling in North Carolina
• 24:55 Creating community
• 31:18 Work and funding travel
• 40:32 Managing money and living frugally
• 55:54 More on education and worldschooling
• 1:07:33 Online resources
• 1:15:48 Recommended destinations

• Names: Jen Silver, her husband Dan, and three kids: 14, 12 & 5 and a half. Oldest son (Alex, 29) lives on his own in Montreal.
• Hold passports from: USA
• Type of travel: RV travel, backpacking, worldschooling
• A few places they've been: Italy, Greece, Turkey, and other places in the EU / all of the USA in the RV. Alex has also traveled in Europe, Japan and Costa Rica.

• Peet's ground coffee
• 2 Lenovo laptops bought on a Greek Island
• Dell Inspirion 15
• Samsung 3 ("We were lucky enough to get in on Verizon's unlimited data plan on the last day it was available in 2014.")
• Android Tablet
• Makala Ukulele and an autotuner
• plug-in space heater ("So we don't use propane when electricity is free.")

• Worldschoolers Facebook Group (search "Thursday Learn-day" for resources each week)
• Full-Time Families
• Thousand Trails
• Time4Learning
• Prodigy Math
• MIT's Radix
• Khan Academy
• Crash Course
• TED Talks
• IXL Online Learning
• Study Ladder
• ABC Mouse
• Reading Eggs
• Math Seeds
• Jumpstart & Mathblasters
• Dragon Box
• Udemy 
• Coursera
• Wharton Online Learning
• Youtube Education

Silver Lining Life | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

If you're Vegan, travel with kids might be considered challenging in some parts of the world. But for Matt Urbanski, it's not an issue at all. He and his wife Julie have been exploring the globe, following marathons and other races to run. And they're brought their 8-month-old son along for the trip.

VEGAN TRAVEL WITH KIDS

Chatting from the Chamonix Valley in France, Matt describes how they started their travels and how the new habits they've formed after their son, Paavo joined them 8 months earlier. For example, if you and your spouse are long-distance runners and you don't have a jogging stroller, how do you both run every day? Matt also has great advice regarding personal finance, and talks frankly about vegan travel with kids and running a business on the road. Listen in! And please share!

IN THIS EPISODE

• 03:22 Origins
• 05:30 Traveling with a baby
• 10:30 Habits & Routines (baby, eating, running)
• 17:50 AirBnB Kitchens
• 21:03 Money & personal finance
• 31:49 Gear
• 42:39 Recommended destinations

Do you want to know how to work and travel the world with kids? I know I do — I'm (still) working on it. Sabina King and her husband Keith have figured out a way that works for them.

In this Epic Education Radio interview, I talk with Sabina about their life as digital nomad family long before the term "digital nomad" was even coined. You see, Sabina and Keith have been working and traveling the world with kids since 2010. Listen in as we hear about her online businesses, her travel essentials, her views on education and finding domestic help when living in Bali. She also talks about how they work and travel the world with kids and details their new attempt to "stay still" for a year.

• 02:20 Intro
• 04:07 Having a baby in Costa Rica (Citizenship)
• 05:38 Living & finding domestic help in Ubud
• 09:15 A year in Canada (after 6 years abroad)
• 10:40 Roots in Poland/USA
• 12:24 Working & running a business during family travel
• 14:39 Routines
• 25:24 Views on education
• 29:35 Resources
• 35:18 Travel essentials
• 40:46 Recommended Destinations