Growing up a traveller?

[trevc]

Hi All
I’m interested in hearing from anyone that grew-up travelling with their family full-time, whether by car or by boat, overseas or in Australia.

We spent a year away in 2014, and are tempted by the siren call of spending life on the road full-time. Notwithstanding logistics, finances, etc, I’m specifically interested in what the pros and cons were for you?

Did you spend your teenage years a vagabond, and at what age did you either jettison the journey or your family settled somewhere?
Do you feel advantaged/disadvantaged having been bought up travelling? Any specifics?
Was education informal or formal, etc?
The kids were 9 and 11 last time around and currently are 11 and 13. If you're currently travelling with teenagers I'd also love to hear from you as well.

Cheers
Trev

[listo]

This'll be a pretty interesting thread if anyone else has done this Trev, I'd like to hear stories from others or even your own if you decide to do it.
We looked into it a few years ago when Ergon were offering redundancies. I had a live line job lined up in Western Australia with a roster of 11/3, all living away from home. The idea was to buy a caravan with the payout & Jahna & the kids would travel with me & see the west, everything was lined up but I wasn't given my redundancy.
If homeschooling isn't going to hinder your kids at that age (I don't know rules or difficulty of this), I say go for it & live your dreams, there's plenty out there that would be envious
Cheers
Listo

[edz]

G,Day Trev .. Dad and the old lady went seperate ways just before  I was 3, I have very fond memories of starting travelling in an old roughly  12' silver painted bondwood caravan and a pale blue Ford Zephyr 4 .. This was home to dad and us four kids that went traveling with him ,Me being the youngest by 8 years to my closest brother .. We travelled till just before I hit Highschool.
As you can guess space was very  limited..
As a little kid it was always an adventure with new places to explore things to see =    A life long passion of travelling / camping .
Not having much in the way of toys / books and things as a kid   =     Made me realy appreciate and look after what I did have later in life and that I dont need a lot to be happy, just the basics ...
Money was always tight but we didnt ever go hungry  =   Lesson drummed into us kids was so long as you had a roof over your heads and had a feed youre doing ok and you didnt need a lot of money or things to be happy .. FAMILY was key . [ Still Q this one though  ].
Schooling wise, I was home schooled on the road, maths was adding number plate numbers up and the milage markers -+ divided etc , Reading was books, numberplates  and road signs, making up stories and sentences etc and writing .
When I was put into a school, I would be a grade ahead, travelling  boosted me in my early grades by having life skills and experiences, though by year 3 high school  I failed in the system as it was so boring and mostly pointless garbage about things I would never need or use, though excelled in all the practical type classes ..
Social wise I was always able to make freinds easily and treated everyone with respect / manners = minus  side was, it hurt like no tomorrow to leave them [ read gutted in some cases ]. along the way there are a lot that have stayed etched into my memory and not been forgotten, but never seen again either . I probably put more value into keeping  freindships I make than most because of this..
I thanked my dad in later years for taking us on that journey of life for almost 10 years, as it shaped me and gave me a good grounding in life  to grow up from .  Its held me in good stead for most of my adult life with friends and employers [ some are just to big a ***wits to put up with ] so you ditch them .
The biggest thing is it made us kids independant and very practical people that can work well with others and turn a hand to most anything .. An All rounder types if you will . Interestingly our older brother who didnt travel with us is more an accademic less hands on type of person .
And definately not  "  SHEEPLE "  that blindly follow others ...  Hence my sig line   "  Improvise Adapt and Overcome  "  ..
 Something I desperately want to do for my youngest girl, the itchy feet are getting unbearable and health issue frustrations are almost  intollerable, but the moment we get a clear opportunity we will be off .
These guys we know have done it and I have envied them ever since .
 https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/27358883/could-you-trade-your-house-for-a-bus/

[glenm64]

Geez Edz you had a blessed childhood mate.
I think you hit the nail on the head about being independant and practicle, able to think for yourself and kniwing what is really important.
?.


Cheers Glen

[edz]

Thanks Glen,  yep we moved around a bit and it was good times mixed in with lots of miles of brown and blue  heat hazed horizons and stinking hot sleepy days in the back of a car with ala natural aircon .    .
But missed soo soo many places that we would like to see now . My daughter has a saying she says after I tell her a bed time story of my travels as a kid .. " Will you take me  there one day Daddy " . Never fails to put a lump in my throat .

Trev we have a few friends that are doing it, a mates brother is traveling full time with his 3  boys under 10, Off on their way around Aus again, came home from W.A. to have their  third child, sell the house and upgrade to a bit bigger van and 4wd with some of the bit left out of paying the bank off . ....   He and his wife pick up work no troubles and are willing to have a go at most anything .   

[trevc]

Thanks for taking the time Edz, I agree it sounds like a great way to be raised.

Trev

[edz]

The older kids basicaly did home schooling for a little while, and helped with my early schooling in between schools . They started working at an early age and put their wages into a kitty with what dad earned to keep us traveling .
I remember a bit of conflict with the older kids with dad, being teenagers  it was mostly over boyfriends and girlfriends [ but that would be normal in any case ], By the time the oldest brother and my sister  hit  19 / 20  they stopped traveling with us and went off on their own directions with work, but still traveled.
.

[trevc]

Without getting too personal, how have the older ones turned out. Do you think they benefitted from the experience?
We are a family of four, mum and dad and 2 teens.
Pretty close family and made even more so from our year on the road.

Trev

[edz]

Everyones experiences shape them differently I guess, in our time back then we didnt have the distractions of technical gear and it was a way more practical hands on and family orientated simpler time,And you either made do with what you could afford, built it yourself or went without . we realy looked out for each other  as thats realy all we had to rely on ..
As to how the older ones shaped up, wether in part it was upbringing prior to traveling plus our traveling unsure , but All were independant, had strong practical work ethics, tolerant and very even tempered [ to a point ] and handled problems with calm thought out responces .. this made them long lasting sort after employees in their chosen fields. So I'd say it was  a benefeit ..
Wealth  wise  they did alright but not flush with heaps, seems our  old growing up drummed in addage "  of you dont need a lot to be happy  " ,  shone through ..
Its a bit hard to put in words as its life experience of us in a different time and someone else maybe a total different experience and make up and not cope , Its realy one of those things you have to suck it and see, I guess.
If it worked for 12 months last time it should for as long as you want it too again ..  I hope you can gleem something out of this  .

[trevc]

Cheers mate.