RE: Travel Blogger's Odyssey from Asia to Europe
Yes I do. I'm married, with two sons that are also married, one with a child. The son with wife and child are currently living with us.
I've read of a family with at least five children who have been traveling around the world on their boat. They've been doing it for several years. It's given them all the chance to go to places they would probably never go otherwise, and they believe that the education their children are getting is better than what they would get going to a public school.
Can't remember if this is still ongoing or if the kids are all grown—I probably read about them a year ago, so I'm fuzzy on the timeframes.
My wife wouldn't be so keen on biking around and living out of a tent at her age. Right now, it's about putting away enough for retirement so we can do things like visit grandkids or go to Europe or some other place she wants to go.
In South East Asia the rent is so cheap that we actually sent back our camping gear. I am glad to hear that you have a thriving family.
Yes, I somewhat agree that you can get a decent education when you travel instead of going to primary school. I would still let my children take the state examinations and enter university though. But if the parents speak multiple languages and teach each day a few things from textbooks, the progression of education can be very fast because the kids don't need to learn abridged versions but the original ones first hand. At least their geography skills will be top so will their history knowledge.
Yeah, the geography knowledge for the areas they would travel in you would think would be off the charts, and since American students at least don't do very well even with the states, that would be a major step up.
I guess it would depend on what you consider education. And I'm not sure but I think they would need to work sometimes in order to replenish supplies and build cash reserves, so there's also the practical real world experience of working hard to support yourself.
I don't know. I don't think it's for everyone, especially seven people being cooped up on a boat for extended periods of time, but I could see where it would be very fun and educational at least for a while. It would be hard to have ongoing experiences that would duplicate it, that's for sure.
Soon I have to bend my knees to reality too and start earning money. I just have no idea what I should do as I sort of cut my career. Perhaps travel agency work may suit me.
It certainly could, particularly for all the places you've visited firsthand. And it would be a way to keep in touch with travel regularly, too, which means you could still actually go do it. A tour guide of some kind would be another. You could be a part of a travel agency that actually creates tours and then you could go on the tour and act as guide. :)
One of the things I would like to do—not sure if it's going to happen now—is have a bed and breakfast or smaller hotel down in the Quintana Roo/Yucatan area of Mexico and then take people on tours of the Mayan ruins out that way. My wife has never been keen on the idea, though, so I've never attempted it, but it's still something that sits at the back of mind as something I'd love to do if I ever got the chance. :)