Nomading families: innovative ways to travel and explore
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 28th Apr 2022.
NEWSFLASH: you don’t have to wait until your kids go off to university before you can travel the world! Take it from someone who has started nomading with her family in 2015.
That was when me and my family were living in Dublin and my daughter developed chronic childhood asthma. Luckily, as I returned to work after maternity leave both my employers at the time allowed me to work flexibly and remotely. That was when my partner and I had the epiphany: if we could work remotely in Ireland, why not somewhere with a better climate to support our daughters' health? We took the decision to move to Zaragoza in Spain and keep our lifestyle as mobile and flexible as possible. We are now a location-independent family, with a base in Zaragoza, but nomading for short periods in other locations, such as France, Italy, Vietnam, Indonesia, parts of Spain, Gran Canaria and Portugal. We combine travel with work and we are mainly “slowmads”, meaning we work and travel at a slow pace in a certain region.
For us, nomading is not just an experiment, it is our lifestyle and part of our core values as a family. Experience has taught us that working while traveling is nothing like a corporate temporary relocation where typically things like housing, moving costs, and transportation are taken care of for you. Neither is it similar to a sabbatical from work where your ‘regular’ life is on hold for a while during your long-term vacation.
These differences may seem obvious, but when you make the nomad choice, it is important you understand that practicalities are yours and your responsibility only. Furthermore, when you travel with children, you’re now needing to take more things into consideration to ensure that your kids will have schooling, socialization, sports and other activities that ensure their happiness as they would in any other location.
This being said, nomading or slowmading with my family has been a wonderful experience and I don’t see it coming to an end soon. Here is some practical advice for you to start planning your nomadic family lifestyle.
Planning a location-independent lifestyle with your family
First of all, you may wonder why you should work and travel with your family? Well, because you can! Once upon a time, the image of a Digital Nomad was often a cliched snapshot of someone on a laptop, sitting on a beach and sipping a cocktail, but so much has changed in recent years due to the pandemic. Now, with Remote Work being prevalent and accessible to all, many new types of working travellers and nomads have emerged, meaning the exact demographic is hard to pin down and define fully. One thing is for sure, it is no longer just about individuals: families with both parents or caregivers who are able to work flexibly can also enjoy this option.
As more people can choose and use Remote Work, the options on HOW they use the ability to work without boundaries and combine work and travel have extended. This means parents have more choice and can consider a working come travel trip, taking their children with them. From planning a long weekend trip locally, where you work one or two days whilst away, to more extensive travel plans, the options are endless and you need to be open-minded about locations to start to plan.
Nomads can be found exploring in pairs, groups and as families. My family is part of that community (for approx 3 months a year) and we have many wonderful memories from those travels.
Here are the main reasons for considering a remote work trip with your family:
Your children can start exploring the world from an early age. This means getting comfortable with different cultures and people: travel can open their horizons to new languages, foods, landscapes and knowledge that they won’t find in school books.
In today’s materialistic world, traveling teaches children the importance of making memories and enjoying experiences, rather than wanting possessions. Family adventures promote independence, self-confidence and interpersonal skills.
Create stronger bonds with your family: when in another setting, even the simplest experience, such as an exotic meal, can become a cherished moment.
When carefully planned, a work-travel period allows you to keep a healthy routine while getting a refreshing change of scenario.
In terms of practical requirements, in addition to thinking about your children, you also need to consider a few things that will allow you to work while away. For longer stays, a nomad family has the same working prerequisites as a regular nomad:
1/ A good, reliable wifi connection - organise a speed test if you are any doubt or ensure a backup location exists nearby
2/ A decent workspace: either a dedicated space or a desk to have meetings and do presentations
3/ The opportunity to connect with other nomads / families: Some of the most well-established locations in Europe - Madeira, Gran Canaria and Croatia - have community pages and groups which have active family members so you can connect before you travel and start to form a network of support.
4/ Check location suitability (longer stays): can you travel to that location and stay for your desired time?
5/ Maximise your family leave: One or both parents or caregivers will often have limited paid time off (PTO) or holiday leave, building in the ability to bookend that time with working days that can extend the days you can travel and open up travel choices and variety. The same can be said for making the most of school holidays, which in most cases are limited.
5/ Get a reliable insurance: travel and health insurance for nomads exist, check out Safety Wing
Conclusion
The pandemic definitely resulted in a shift to one type of remote work; home working, but it can be so much more than that! If you can work remotely, you can often choose the location! Hence, the term #workfromanywhere is more common as employers open their minds and policies, to fully support more than one location for remote work. However, some people think remote work equals home working only. Slowly as we emerge from being isolated, we can choose how and where we work and that can have a massive positive impact on how we travel.
If you fall into this category, you and your family should consider a remote work trip, because you can! Your experience as a nomad does not have to be permanent or follow a specific blueprint. Finding your own way of nomading is paramount to ensure you get your deserved escape switch. The wonderful thing about nomading, by yourself but especially with your family, is that you can do it at your own pace, respecting your and your family’s needs.
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 28th Apr 2022.