Featured Family
Featured Family
The Britton Family
The Britton Family
The Britton Family
Worldschooling takes a unique form for every family. This week, we’re featuring the Britton Family from Bristol, UK, who spent nine months travelling the world last year with their two boys. They packed in lots of big adventures while also juggling the reality of balancing travel with schoolwork on the move. Here, they share what worked for them, what they found hardest, and why they’re already dreaming about doing it all again.
Worldschooling takes a unique form for every family. This week, we’re featuring the Britton Family from Bristol, UK, who spent nine months travelling the world last year with their two boys. They packed in lots of big adventures while also juggling the reality of balancing travel with schoolwork on the move. Here, they share what worked for them, what they found hardest, and why they’re already dreaming about doing it all again.
What motivated you to choose this life?
We’d always wanted to travel, but we started out sensibly and followed a very traditional route: buying a home, getting married and having kids, and enjoying travel through holidays. We still had a dream of someday doing a bit of a gap year, and having the kids made that even more exciting because we’d be able to share the experience together.
We decided, as the boys were approaching 6 and 8, that the timing was right to set off travelling. For us, it was only ever a temporary thing, not a full-time, sell-everything-and-go family. We were open-minded and wanted to see what opportunities might be out there for us as an alternative to the UK, as despite having a good work-life balance in the UK we do worry the lifestyle and opportunities for our kids here are limited.
Do you have a dream hub you’d love to attend one day?
We didn’t attend any official hubs whilst we travelled, as we were what’s considered ‘fast travellers’. Because we were travelling for a limited time, we wanted to see as much as possible, so we did move around a fair bit! We found social media a great way to connect with other travel families, and we did meet up with other travel families where there were established communities, like in Hoi An (Vietnam) and Penang (Malaysia).
How do you earn a living on the road?
We used savings to fund our travels and took a career break from our UK jobs. We also rented out our home, which covered all of our costs at home.
What motivated you to choose this life?
We’d always wanted to travel, but we started out sensibly and followed a very traditional route: buying a home, getting married and having kids, and enjoying travel through holidays. We still had a dream of someday doing a bit of a gap year, and having the kids made that even more exciting because we’d be able to share the experience together.
We decided, as the boys were approaching 6 and 8, that the timing was right to set off travelling. For us, it was only ever a temporary thing, not a full-time, sell-everything-and-go family. We were open-minded and wanted to see what opportunities might be out there for us as an alternative to the UK, as despite having a good work-life balance in the UK we do worry the lifestyle and opportunities for our kids here are limited.
Do you have a dream hub you’d love to attend one day?
We didn’t attend any official hubs whilst we travelled, as we were what’s considered ‘fast travellers’. Because we were travelling for a limited time, we wanted to see as much as possible, so we did move around a fair bit! We found social media a great way to connect with other travel families, and we did meet up with other travel families where there were established communities, like in Hoi An (Vietnam) and Penang (Malaysia).
How do you earn a living on the road?
We used savings to fund our travels and took a career break from our UK jobs. We also rented out our home, which covered all of our costs at home.
Where are you headed next?
We’re back in the UK now. We travelled for nearly nine months and visited Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Bali, Lombok, Australia again, Qatar and Spain.
We had an incredible time; it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, and we’d love to go again. For now, we’re getting our heads down and saving up in the hope we can plan another family gap year. We’d love to do a road trip in New Zealand, explore more of Indonesia, and we’re also wondering about South America. This year, we’ll be holidaying a little closer to home, with a three-week European road trip planned.
Where are you headed next?
We’re back in the UK now. We travelled for nearly nine months and visited Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Bali, Lombok, Australia again, Qatar and Spain.
We had an incredible time; it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, and we’d love to go again. For now, we’re getting our heads down and saving up in the hope we can plan another family gap year. We’d love to do a road trip in New Zealand, explore more of Indonesia, and we’re also wondering about South America. This year, we’ll be holidaying a little closer to home, with a three-week European road trip planned.
Top things you're likely to splurge on?
We’re generally mid-range travellers. We don’t completely rough it. The times we’ve gone super budget haven’t been worth it for our wellbeing, and every now and then we might splurge on a fancier stay. We’re not foodies or drinkers, so our money mostly goes towards experiences. Jack is a scuba diver, which can be an expensive hobby when we’re travelling, as the diving around Thailand, Indonesia and Australia was incredible!
How quickly do you travel as a family?
In nine months, the longest we stayed in any one place was 10 days. The norm for us was moving on every few nights, then stopping for a week somewhere as a rest stop. There were times when we felt we could happily stay put somewhere for a lot longer, but we had a lot of destinations on our list whilst we were out in that part of the world.
We’re quite flexible and don’t mind fast travelling. That said, if we were to go away long-term again we would slow it down, more so for the kids, as slower travel allows more routine which we found they needed. Our first family gap year allowed us to see the sights and get a feel for many different places. If we went again, we’d know where we’d be happiest to spend more time, and we wouldn’t feel the need to tick off so many destinations.
Top things you're likely to splurge on?
We’re generally mid-range travellers. We don’t completely rough it. The times we’ve gone super budget haven’t been worth it for our wellbeing, and every now and then we might splurge on a fancier stay. We’re not foodies or drinkers, so our money mostly goes towards experiences. Jack is a scuba diver, which can be an expensive hobby when we’re travelling, as the diving around Thailand, Indonesia and Australia was incredible!
How quickly do you travel as a family?
In nine months, the longest we stayed in any one place was 10 days. The norm for us was moving on every few nights, then stopping for a week somewhere as a rest stop. There were times when we felt we could happily stay put somewhere for a lot longer, but we had a lot of destinations on our list whilst we were out in that part of the world.
We’re quite flexible and don’t mind fast travelling. That said, if we were to go away long-term again we would slow it down, more so for the kids, as slower travel allows more routine which we found they needed. Our first family gap year allowed us to see the sights and get a feel for many different places. If we went again, we’d know where we’d be happiest to spend more time, and we wouldn’t feel the need to tick off so many destinations.
Do you have any tips for travelling with kids?
We treat travel days as anything goes, so we have no limits on screen time and food is whatever is easiest.
We often plan out the day as a family so everyone gets a say in how it looks, and we all know what’s coming, which also helps the kids. Fast travelling is unpredictable and can make kids feel stressed and out of control, constantly adjusting to new places, so having time to talk it through really helps.
Do you have any tips for travelling with kids?
We treat travel days as anything goes, so we have no limits on screen time and food is whatever is easiest.
We often plan out the day as a family so everyone gets a say in how it looks, and we all know what’s coming, which also helps the kids. Fast travelling is unpredictable and can make kids feel stressed and out of control, constantly adjusting to new places, so having time to talk it through really helps.
Do you keep any weekly, monthly, or annual traditions no matter where you are?
We still celebrate the usual occasions. For us, that once meant an Easter egg hunt in a campervan in Australia.
What’s the hardest thing you find about travelling or educating around the world?
The hardest thing for us with fast travelling was the pressure we put on ourselves when it came to the boys’ education. They found it hard to sit down and do any type of schoolwork with us. We struggled with a feeling of guilt that we might have been setting them back, but on the flip side we wanted to make the most of the opportunity and didn’t want to ruin it by getting stressed over schoolwork.
A lot of travel families had younger children who weren’t at school age, or they were staying in one place long enough to attend a worldschooling hub, so we felt a little alone in our struggle with this. We also underestimated how challenging it would be to be every role for our kids, from parent to friend to teacher. It was pressure we put on ourselves, because since the boys returned to school they’ve thrived with no obvious knowledge gaps!
How do you see the worldschooling community expanding and growing in the coming years?
We think the popularity is growing so quickly. Education is so accessible online and there are so many great resources, it can only get better.
Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add, or tell our readers about?
Go for it! Time goes so quickly, and now we’ve returned to normal life you realise that nothing at home changes whilst you’re away having the most incredible lifestyle and experiences. There’s nothing to lose. Yes, it costs money. Yes, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it all.
Do you keep any weekly, monthly, or annual traditions no matter where you are?
We still celebrate the usual occasions. For us, that once meant an Easter egg hunt in a campervan in Australia.
What’s the hardest thing you find about travelling or educating around the world?
The hardest thing for us with fast travelling was the pressure we put on ourselves when it came to the boys’ education. They found it hard to sit down and do any type of schoolwork with us. We struggled with a feeling of guilt that we might have been setting them back, but on the flip side we wanted to make the most of the opportunity and didn’t want to ruin it by getting stressed over schoolwork.
A lot of travel families had younger children who weren’t at school age, or they were staying in one place long enough to attend a worldschooling hub, so we felt a little alone in our struggle with this. We also underestimated how challenging it would be to be every role for our kids, from parent to friend to teacher. It was pressure we put on ourselves, because since the boys returned to school they’ve thrived with no obvious knowledge gaps!
How do you see the worldschooling community expanding and growing in the coming years?
We think the popularity is growing so quickly. Education is so accessible online and there are so many great resources, it can only get better.
Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add, or tell our readers about?
Go for it! Time goes so quickly, and now we’ve returned to normal life you realise that nothing at home changes whilst you’re away having the most incredible lifestyle and experiences. There’s nothing to lose. Yes, it costs money. Yes, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it all.
From everyday moments to big adventures, you can follow The Britton Family as they share life on the road as @brittonadventure over on Instagram and TikTok.
From everyday moments to big adventures, you can follow The Britton Family as they share life on the road as @brittonadventure over on Instagram and TikTok.
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