Throwing in the towel bugger it I'm off…

[Gravity]

Just wondering if any of you feel the same way , I'm sick of work so my beautiful wife said bugger it lets sell up and go 

Lets travel around Australia for a year or so before the kids go to high school , now my wife's a teacher so home schooling isn't that bad in fact the kids get a hole lot more life experience so lets do it !
Now I'm the careful type that likes everything in it's place , my house , fish tank and two classic cars would need to go to be able to afford such an adventure but hey we only live once right as I already said I'm over work and almost ready to do it…Just wondering if anyone else has taken the leap of faith and followed there gut, did you regret it or was it the best thing you ever did ?

Cheers 

 

[axle]

I think we have all thought of it. I'm hanging out for long service leave at the moment.

at http://www.travellingaustraliawithkids.com/ there are plenty of people doing just what you are looking at. Also look for the TAWK group on facebook. Plenty of stories and motivation. I must be following 5-6 couples all travelling around Aust and most sold up house and everything to do it.

My favourite saying is "While on their deathbed no one has ever wished they spent more time at work".

If it feels right do it.

[4wd26]

wish my teacher wife thought the same way

we missed out on the "before high school" opportunity and have now sold the camper/ caravan so as a family the whole thing is off the table.

I have long service, but hanging out on boys trips as kids sport during the school term don't leave many weekends spare.

do it if everyone is keen- recommend the earlier the better.

now hanging out for the kids to leave home (10 years) so the window is short IMHO to enjoy as a family

mind you the family didn't want for holidays/ adventures while young (40,000kms with the camper, just no big "time" stints away)

[glenm64]

now hanging out for the kids to leave home

Hahahaha
Good luck with that one!
The up side is they can look after the house/dog/garden while your away.

[Bird]

Nope ... nobody has ever thought of it.

[firefox]

Just done 3 years. As others will say..
JUST DO IT... You won't regret it.
Our 2 kids aged 11 and 13 now both just gone back to school and school has been stunned at how well educated and life experience the kids have.

We're now planing on 6 months off and 6 months on travelling still.

[Gravity]

Just done 3 years. As others will say..
JUST DO IT... You won't regret it.
Our 2 kids aged 11 and 13 now both just gone back to school and school has been stunned at how well educated and life experience the kids have.

We're now planing on 6 months off and 6 months on travelling still.

Thanks Firefox , this is exactly what I need to read…I think that our biggest concerns and objections always revolve around the kids thinking about there futures and forgetting all about us and why we started out together in the first place.

[trevc]

We did a year with  2 kids, best thing we ever did.
Sure its a huge financial commitment but you're a long time dead and you can't buy that time with your wife and kids again.

Trev

[trevc]

Thanks Firefox , this is exactly what I need to read…I think that our biggest concerns and objections always revolve around the kids thinking about there futures and forgetting all about us and why we started out together in the first place.

Ours both came back to NAPLAN years and were well above the curve. We homeschooled and only did maths and english, both finished their respective years curriculum by August ( starting in Feb)

[de7158]

We, that is wife and I and three kids aged 15,13 and 11 took 12 months off and bought and travelled in a 37ft motor home in the USA. We were 38 years old at the time and we educated our kids through Brisbane School of Distance Education. Luckily before the internet........i say that because we had a lot more freedom with their school contact regarding homework. Now there is more accountability as there is no excuse with the internet and email.

Had a profound positive impact on the kids, and their advancement showed when they recommenced school. In saying that they still missed their peers, and were happy once back at school.

All of their marks improved during the year.........pretty hard to hide in a class of three! Wife and I also had a profound experience.......neither of use will ever want to be teachers.
You have a keeper in your wife, as not as many females are the instigators in a trip like this.

I never really settled down after that year, but am lucky that we are now again travelling. Just about to start a 4 month trip from east aus across the Simpson Desert and through the Kimberley.

Never did tally up what that year cost us financially, but we sure banked a lot of memorious.

So my advice is the same as Nike.
Peter

[axle]

I have read homeschooling is far more flexible than distance education and State requirements are a little different.


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[trevc]

I have read homeschooling is far more flexible than distance education and State requirements are a little different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We just went outside the system, advised the kids schools and re enrolled them upon return.
Didn't register with anyone, didn't answer to anyone.
From our observations distant ed parents seemed a lot more stressed than homeschoolers, but I'm biased.

[UIZ733]

We have never regretted virtually anything we have done, however have some regrets over things not done. We have taken some serious gambles by the way.
If the planets align, and all participants are happy, go for it. Not much point looking back and thinking "was that it"?

[firefox]

You would be surprised how many families go off the radar with it.
There are many ways to deal with the education, we met some many ex teachers or semi retired teachers on the road that all said fantastic thing to do.

The reason only for our slow down was my daughter getting into her teens wants some stable friends.

Funny thing is we sent them to their first school a month ago they lasted three weeks. School came back to us and clearly stated, our children are bored in school were a little concerned. That was a public school. After some stuffing around we meet with a good Christian private school that they have started with, and that school has raved about the attitude, experience and just general type of kids they are. Headmaster is loving them there, plus they can share their experiences with others. The benefit of the new school is the extra attention as they are well ahead of their normal age group. Even my son, which is funny because when we pulled him out 3 years ago he was struggling.

My personal health is better, we are happy and love our new project for this year which is to owner build our own house from scratch...

Honestly the best peice of advice, yes finances can be tricky but there is so much work available on the road if you need to do it. But you need to take the leap, once you've done it you won't look back, and the biggest challenge for us is semi settling down now.. Arrghhh 13 year old's can be a pain...

[SteveandViv]

Just wondering if any of you feel the same way , I'm sick of work so my beautiful wife said bugger it lets sell up and go 

Lets travel around Australia for a year or so before the kids go to high school , now my wife's a teacher so home schooling isn't that bad in fact the kids get a hole lot more life experience so lets do it !
Now I'm the careful type that likes everything in it's place , my house , fish tank and two classic cars would need to go to be able to afford such an adventure but hey we only live once right as I already said I'm over work and almost ready to do it…Just wondering if anyone else has taken the leap of faith and followed there gut, did you regret it or was it the best thing you ever did ?

Cheers 

When we did the same it was going to be the first time I would be without a job - so many firsts and I was scared but we did it and after a few weeks we realised what we had done was the right thing. As you said you do onlly live once and we meet and made great friends and went to amazing locations. just make sure you stop and smell the roses

[Pete_R]

Just done 3 years. As others will say..
JUST DO IT... You won't regret it.
Our 2 kids aged 11 and 13 now both just gone back to school and school has been stunned at how well educated and life experience the kids have.

We're now planing on 6 months off and 6 months on travelling still.

Would love to do what you have done Justin. Now have to wait a bit longer now that one of mine has gone to high school

[Gravity]

A very big thank you to all that have responded so far, I never thought to receive so many reactions in such a short time…the fact that most of you have such positive outlooks on life and home schooling and how it has made your children grow with life experience is bigger than I imagined , I'm really starting to believe this is the right thing to do and follow your dreams…As said before my wife is a teacher who has no problem with home schooling , we often ask our 10 year old at the dinner table what did you learn today ? his response Nothing…he is bored at school because his math & english are above standard so the teachers hold him back so the rest of the class can catch up, he often sits alone colouring in out of boredom yet the school won't set any challenges for him, I don't want to get into a rant about education but we feel home schooling could be a better option or solution as we simply can't afford private schooling for our two boys and the big getaway might just be at the right time.

[edz]

A list of places to stay, that maybe of help on your life Journey .http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=50444. A few I know are using this list and reckon its been quite good .
Also a bit of reading for you...    http://www.1yearoff.com.au/where-we-have-been/
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=614.0
and these  https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/27358883/could-you-trade-your-house-for-a-bus/
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=47550.0

[nab]

I have never heard from anyone that has regretted their decision.
Does anyone ever regret it?
If not why aren't we all doing it?

[glenm64]

I have never heard from anyone that has regretted their decision.
Does anyone ever regret it?
If not why aren't we all doing it?

If we are honest with ourselves we are probably too scared to do it.

[jd]

Just do it, you will not regret it! Best experience ever for the whole family.

We are doing it now. Sold our house and packed up the van with 3 month old and 2 year old. Been on road for 14 months and it's the best experience.

[gutters]

Its great to hear so many positive comments, I have 3 more days of work and then we are off on our 6 month adventure. Reality has set in and we are experiencing a mixture of excitement and nervousness....

I'm taking long service leave so not throwing in the towel yet, but we have packed all of our stuff into storage and have tenants in our place so if the right opportunities were to come up we may not return back to our normal lives.

[chester ver2.0]

Life is about the acquisition of experience not wealth or posesions

[Nifty1]

I'll just add a little perspective from the other end. Been retired ten years and always thought it would be a life of freedom, go anywhere at any time. In fact you tend to get distracted by illness in your parents, your own advancing years, many events involving family and particularly grandkids - we have trouble getting more than a few weeks clear at a time. Grab whatever opportunities you can as young as you can. We have no regrets as we did a lot of sailing but wish we had discovered camper trailers earlier.

[scblack]

Gravity, I don't think I could do what you are contemplating, but then I am a conservative accountant.

From a financial perspective, selling the home would mean selling your biggest asset, which has taken many years to accumulate. Is there some way you could manage the trip/time without having to sell the home? Then you return after a year with a large asset to continue your journey toward retirement.

I know many here are saying, do it you won't regret it and I do not disagree with that. But try to plan a way without selling everything. Maybe rent out the home and use the rental income to support your travels - that depends on your mortgage situation I guess.

Your home is a very valuable appreciating asset - to sell that has to be a massive commitment, and potentially cost you in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over the period of a year or so, from selling costs, stamp duties and lost capital appreciation. In the time you are taking off it will add value so maybe the lost income for a year will be somewhat offset by the added home value.

Just a thought.