Traveling the world as one happy family is an experience that’s hard to beat. You can explore the world, show your kids new and fascinating cultures, meet people you otherwise wouldn’t, and savor that sweet taste of boundless freedom. But what can you do to make this a reality? Here are some tips.
Difference between digital nomads and worldschoolers
At first glance, these two approaches to traveling the world as location-independent workers are pretty similar. Both utilize the internet to do their work, both have their close family with them, and both of them can move either month to month or year to year, depending on their preferences.
But there is a crucial difference in motivation between these two approaches. Digital nomad families tend to use well-established educational institutions for their kids like online schools and tutors. Their focus is on travel and freedom, networking, and new experiences.
Worldschoolers, however, see the experience of location independent work as first and foremost an opportunity for their kids to learn and grow. They don’t see moving from country to country as an obstacle to their kids’ education but as a key asset. They employ a number of techniques, tutors, online platforms, and international worldschooling projects to provide their kids with a unique educational experience that aims to broaden their horizons.
How to be a digital nomad family
There are tons of different things to consider before you set out on your digital nomad journey alone, but there are even more things to consider when you travel as a family. You want to make sure everyone is on board (including your kids). You must see if your budget can actually support your travel plans which will include not just train or plane tickets but also international healthcare, travel insurance, paying for storage of valuables you can’t take with you, and paying for the visa process in your destination.
But probably the most important thing you need to do is to provide your child with good education even as you travel the world. There are tons of accredited online institutions around the world which accept location-independent students and which mimic the traditional school environment. You can also choose to find individual tutors for your child. Just be aware that your child might need to take a test that proves their education level once they need to attend university or even some high schools.
How to be a worldschooler
If digital nomad families are all about providing a familiar environment for children that travel the world, worldschoolers are anything but. You still need to do all the practical steps as a nomad family would, but the education of your child will be very different.
Firstly, the process of experiencing the world and its many different offerings can be a lot. This is why many worldschoolers wait for a few years before setting out on their journey to make sure their child is curious enough to appreciate the experience.
Secondly, you will need to be much more involved in your child’s education than you normally would be and this needs time and know-how. There are worldschooling tutors who can help you with parts of this process, but you will still be expected to be more hands-on and caring for all the aspects of your child’s education. It’s a bit like homeschooling, but instead of learning from books, you all learn from the world and from one another.
Lastly, this will also impact the locations that you will visit. Your child will be a much larger part of your decision-making and will have needs of their own. You might find that certain countries and cultures fascinate them more than others and so your travel plans might need to be curbed on the fly. Be prepared to be much more flexible than you would be as a digital nomad parent.
