The idea that travel offers valuable, formative experiences is widely accepted. Until recently, though, long road or overseas trips were generally seen as for younger adults before they ‘settled down’, or older adults who had raised their families. The digital nomad experience particularly came with a stereotype: 20-something backpackers, plugged into their laptops at beach bars. But now things are changing, as more families take to the road.
For Joel Young, 38, it’s the idea of gifting his children with heightened cultural awareness along with a different kind of learning experience that informs his lifestyle. Young, a voice actor who runs his own production company remotely, and his wife Jenna, 39, spend up to six months of the year travelling around the US in a motorhome with their three home-schooled sons, aged between eight and 14.
“Jenna and I both grew up in rural Ohio, in farming communities. I didn’t go on an airplane until I was 17. We wish we had seen and experienced more before making critical life choices,” Young says. “We want our kids to have the benefit of seeing it all … It just leads to a better level of decision making.”
The Youngs are part of a growing demographic of parents who chose to travel for long periods with their children. A recent study by Lonely Planet and freelance platform Fiverr points to the emergence of the “anywhere worker”, a new breed of digital nomad who, rather than being a freelancer, tends to have a stable knowledge-work job that allows them to base themselves wherever they want. Of the 1,400 people from 67 nationalities surveyed, 54% identified as anywhere workers – and 70% of those were parents who took their children with them on their travels.
“The families I know who could function nomadically were fewer pre-pandemic,” says Lonely Planet destinations editor Sarah Stocking. But two key changes have moved the needle: many more people can work flexibly now, plus parents have greater experience of non-traditional learning. “The pandemic showed a lot of parents what remote learning could look like, both good and bad, and how homeschooling could function,” says Stocking. “[It] also showed people how they could use tools differently to support their families.”
Parents who embrace a travel-filled lifestyle believe their children have much to gain – whether that’s exposure to new languages and cultures, important skills like resilience and adaptability, or simply an appetite for adventure. Yet experts warn children might also stand to lose out in terms of the community and continuity that come with growing up in one place. As remote work frees up more families to explore new options, understanding the potential pitfalls of a travelling lifestyle can be key to harnessing its benefits.
The Youngs have just returned from a 1,500-mile (2,424-km) road trip from their home in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Yellowstone National Park in Montana, taking in the Rocky Mountains and national parks in Utah. Jenna plans itineraries that integrate learning opportunities for the boys.
They believe their children are learning more on the road than they would in a classroom. “It’s easier to make learning a natural part of life when you’re seeing new things, versus seeing the same thing every day,” says Joel. “We’re trying to equip them to see opportunities and skills within themselves and say, ‘Someone will pay me to do this, because I’m good at it. Let me build a business around it’.”
Travelling teacher Lucy Alexandra Spencer, also a UK-based director at tutoring firm Education Boutique, has accompanied families on lengthy trips. She agrees that real-life learning comes with benefits. “One of the reasons you’re doing this is to give children freedom of thinking,” she says. “It’s about helping children to realise how open the world is and how many different opportunities are out there. It also makes you realise learning never stops.”
Some nomadic families also believe that it is never too early for travel-based learning to start. Sarah Hawley and her husband Joe were dedicated travellers before their son Luka, now 14 months, arrived, and they’ve been keen to bring their love of travel into their family dynamic.
Hawley, a 41-year-old Australian who co-founded remote-jobs platform Growmotely in 2020, and Joe, 34, a former NFL player who now runs his own personal growth consultancy, split their time between homes in Austin and Colorado. They spend up to two months at a time touring the US in their camper; they plan to hit the road again for a month in July, before spending August in Australia and Bali.
Time on the road, they hope, will help to instil a sense of curiosity as well as emotional adaptability in their young son. They would like to help him develop cross-cultural understanding through learning that “there are so many different ways of being and doing things”.
20-somethings - ludzie w wieku 20+
taking the plunge - podejmują śmiałą decyzję
formative experiences - kształcące doświadczenia
settle down - osiąść na stałe
take to the road - wyruszać w podróż
heightened cultural awareness - większa świadomość kulturowa
informs his lifestyle - ma wpływ na jego styl życia
voice actor - aktor podkładający głos (np. do postaci rysunkowych)
home-schooled - odbywający naukę szkolną w domu
farming communities - rolnicze rejony
growing demographic of parents - rosnąca liczba rodziców
stable knowledge-work job - stabilne profesjonalne zajęcie
have moved the needle - odwróciły trend
remote learning - zdalna nauka
parents who embrace a travel-filled lifestyle - rodzice prowadzący życie w podróży
exposure to new languages and cultures - kontakt z nowymi językami i kulturami
resilience and adaptability - odporność na trudy życia oraz zdolności adaptacyjne
children might also stand to lose out - dzieci mogą także tracić
potential pitfalls - potencjalne pułapki
learning more on the road - uczą się więcej podróżując
they’ve been keen to - zależało im na
co-found - założyć na spółkę z kimś
hit the road - wyruszyć w podróż
instil a sense of curiosity - wzbudzić ciekawość