Featured Family
Featured Family
Emily & Phil
Emily & Phil
Emily & Phil
Worldschooling takes a unique form for every family. In this Featured Family spotlight, Emily and Phil of the GotBusyLiving Family from North Wales, UK shares a glimpse into their daily life on the road, the routines that shape their children’s learning, and their hopes for a worldschooling community that continues to connect, support, and inspire families everywhere.
Worldschooling takes a unique form for every family. In this Featured Family spotlight, Emily and Phil of the GotBusyLiving Family from North Wales, UK shares a glimpse into their daily life on the road, the routines that shape their children’s learning, and their hopes for a worldschooling community that continues to connect, support, and inspire families everywhere.
What motivated you to choose this life?
I think after our first date in 2015, we knew we’d live our lives a little differently. We exchanged our adventurous stories, discussed our shared dream of motorbiking around the world, and how we wished to build our house out of shipping containers. So when the time came to raise a family, we knew that their upbringing and education would also be just as adventurous.
We spent every annual leave travelling and adventuring over the next seven years. But we craved a more immersive travel experience, so when Phil became exhausted in his office job, working six long days a week, we knew the time was right to quit our jobs and travel, slower and more meaningfully. We travelled until our savings ran out, and it was during that time that we realised we wanted to prioritise adventurous travel/worldschooling with our children.
We had twin boys in 2022 and have been travelling full-time since January 2024. This time, it’s not about the destinations or the crazy adventures, but the precious slow moments spent watching them grow/develop and enjoying our parenthood.
Do you have a dream hub you’d love to attend one day?
We love Asia! We feel just as at home here as in the UK. Thailand draws us back time and time again. We love how children are made to feel so welcome here. Another country we’d love to worldschool our children in is Japan. We did a big road trip in a camper around Japan and loved the mix of nature, beaches, healthy lifestyle, changing seasons, and good education.
What motivated you to choose this life?
I think after our first date in 2015, we knew we’d live our lives a little differently. We exchanged our adventurous stories, discussed our shared dream of motorbiking around the world, and how we wished to build our house out of shipping containers. So when the time came to raise a family, we knew that their upbringing and education would also be just as adventurous.
We spent every annual leave travelling and adventuring over the next seven years. But we craved a more immersive travel experience, so when Phil became exhausted in his office job, working six long days a week, we knew the time was right to quit our jobs and travel, slower and more meaningfully. We travelled until our savings ran out, and it was during that time that we realised we wanted to prioritise adventurous travel/worldschooling with our children.
We had twin boys in 2022 and have been travelling full-time since January 2024. This time, it’s not about the destinations or the crazy adventures, but the precious slow moments spent watching them grow/develop and enjoying our parenthood.
Do you have a dream hub you’d love to attend one day?
We love Asia! We feel just as at home here as in the UK. Thailand draws us back time and time again. We love how children are made to feel so welcome here. Another country we’d love to worldschool our children in is Japan. We did a big road trip in a camper around Japan and loved the mix of nature, beaches, healthy lifestyle, changing seasons, and good education.
How do you earn a living on the road?
There are many unique ways to earn whilst travelling full time; however, we prefer to work whilst at home in the UK and save enough for a planned trip. We both work in healthcare; therefore, our jobs can’t be done digitally. But if we feel we need to top up our savings whilst on the road, then teaching English through an app would work best for our skill sets.
We also rent out our house if we are away for longer than six months. This takes off the pressure of paying for the mortgage and gives us peace of mind that the house is being looked after (we’re picky with choosing our tenants!).
How do you earn a living on the road?
There are many unique ways to earn whilst travelling full time; however, we prefer to work whilst at home in the UK and save enough for a planned trip. We both work in healthcare; therefore, our jobs can’t be done digitally. But if we feel we need to top up our savings whilst on the road, then teaching English through an app would work best for our skill sets.
We also rent out our house if we are away for longer than six months. This takes off the pressure of paying for the mortgage and gives us peace of mind that the house is being looked after (we’re picky with choosing our tenants!).
Where are you headed next?
After 12 months travelling, our savings have dwindled down, so we’ll be returning to the UK for Christmas. We have some jobs we’ve not finished at home, like our house renovations and finishing our VW camper conversion ready to sell. We’ll be doing those whilst also returning to our jobs to recoup our savings. Our next adventure is another trip to Europe in our new-to-us motorhome. Portugal is high on our list, as it’s a country unexplored to us all!
Top things you’re likely to splurge on?
I don’t think we splurge massively on anything really when we travel! We do appreciate a good coffee every morning, and actually I think that’s where we end up over budget! Now we’re travelling with our children, we put a lot of thought into our accommodation, so we spend a little more on that too! Two double beds, a small kitchen, lounge area (preferably with TV), and a washing machine are key things we look for.
At home, we limit overconsumption and consistently strive to keep our outgoings low. This means that we can put aside savings for our travels, and we aren’t reluctant to splurge (responsibly) on holidays like African safaris, or spotting orangutans in Borneo, or trekking in the Nepali mountains.
How quickly do you travel as a family?
Always as slow as we can! Spending time in a single country works so much better for our young family. They thrive from a familiar place, familiar babyccino spots, familiar locals, familiar foods. We enjoy simply “living” in a country we visit, doing all the things we’d do at home, i.e., swimming lessons, forest schools, even days just chilling in our accommodation. This way, we get a much better feel for the country and feel more immersed in the culture.
We used to move around every few days pre-kids, and honestly, now I couldn’t think of anything worse! Depending on the size of the country/things to see, we have always found that anywhere between one to three months per country is how long we typically spend, but three months is a really nice amount of time to explore!
Where are you headed next?
After 12 months travelling, our savings have dwindled down, so we’ll be returning to the UK for Christmas. We have some jobs we’ve not finished at home, like our house renovations and finishing our VW camper conversion ready to sell. We’ll be doing those whilst also returning to our jobs to recoup our savings. Our next adventure is another trip to Europe in our new-to-us motorhome. Portugal is high on our list, as it’s a country unexplored to us all!
Top things you’re likely to splurge on?
I don’t think we splurge massively on anything really when we travel! We do appreciate a good coffee every morning, and actually I think that’s where we end up over budget! Now we’re travelling with our children, we put a lot of thought into our accommodation, so we spend a little more on that too! Two double beds, a small kitchen, lounge area (preferably with TV), and a washing machine are key things we look for.
At home, we limit overconsumption and consistently strive to keep our outgoings low. This means that we can put aside savings for our travels, and we aren’t reluctant to splurge (responsibly) on holidays like African safaris, or spotting orangutans in Borneo, or trekking in the Nepali mountains.
How quickly do you travel as a family?
Always as slow as we can! Spending time in a single country works so much better for our young family. They thrive from a familiar place, familiar babyccino spots, familiar locals, familiar foods. We enjoy simply “living” in a country we visit, doing all the things we’d do at home, i.e., swimming lessons, forest schools, even days just chilling in our accommodation. This way, we get a much better feel for the country and feel more immersed in the culture.
We used to move around every few days pre-kids, and honestly, now I couldn’t think of anything worse! Depending on the size of the country/things to see, we have always found that anywhere between one to three months per country is how long we typically spend, but three months is a really nice amount of time to explore!
Do you have any tips for travelling with kids?
We have realised that being parents doesn’t stop you from travelling, but having children inevitably changes how you travel and how your days pan out.
Don’t plan a thousand activities in one day. Set achievable expectations. Chilled days are ok too and actually are very much needed for the whole family. We have found that splitting a day into two parts (one half sightseeing, one half dedicated to play) works really, really well.
Do you have any tips for travelling with kids?
We have realised that being parents doesn’t stop you from travelling, but having children inevitably changes how you travel and how your days pan out.
Don’t plan a thousand activities in one day. Set achievable expectations. Chilled days are ok too and actually are very much needed for the whole family. We have found that splitting a day into two parts (one half sightseeing, one half dedicated to play) works really, really well.
Do you keep any weekly, monthly, or annual traditions no matter where you are?
At home, we have a large picture frame in our living room which is filled with watercolour postcards from all the destinations we have visited as a family. After each trip, we all look forward to adding those postcards to our collection. We also have a movie night once a week, which we all love. Phil and I still haven’t planned any once-weekly date nights, but that’s something we feel is important as parents, so it’s something we will try to work out!
What do you love most about the worldschooling community?
That our children get to experience the cultures, languages, history, and environments rather than just reading about them in a classroom. They’re part of it. We love how they are learning real-world skills and following their genuine interests whilst being able to adapt their learning styles as they need. The community feels really welcoming and positive; it’s been great to see so many families learning together in a fun and memorable way.
What's the hardest thing you find about travelling or educating around the world?
Despite all the amazing things we love about travelling/worldschooling, it does come with its difficulties. One thing we have found more difficult recently is the friendships the boys make along the way. Although we travel slowly, other families have different timeframes. Therefore, it’s difficult to see our children grow and build great friendships with other children, only to leave, leaving our children feeling sad. So, definitely for me, it’s not having consistent, familiar friends.
Is there anything else you’d like to add: best experiences, useful resources, advice for people wanting to make a similar leap into this world, or just an inspiring chat about education on the road?
For first-time worldschoolers like us, with younger children, the accessibility and use of a worldschooling app like Travily helps massively to gather information in one place, including many aspects we never even knew we needed to know!
Do you keep any weekly, monthly, or annual traditions no matter where you are?
At home, we have a large picture frame in our living room which is filled with watercolour postcards from all the destinations we have visited as a family. After each trip, we all look forward to adding those postcards to our collection. We also have a movie night once a week, which we all love. Phil and I still haven’t planned any once-weekly date nights, but that’s something we feel is important as parents, so it’s something we will try to work out!
What do you love most about the worldschooling community?
That our children get to experience the cultures, languages, history, and environments rather than just reading about them in a classroom. They’re part of it. We love how they are learning real-world skills and following their genuine interests whilst being able to adapt their learning styles as they need. The community feels really welcoming and positive; it’s been great to see so many families learning together in a fun and memorable way.
What's the hardest thing you find about travelling or educating around the world?
Despite all the amazing things we love about travelling/worldschooling, it does come with its difficulties. One thing we have found more difficult recently is the friendships the boys make along the way. Although we travel slowly, other families have different timeframes. Therefore, it’s difficult to see our children grow and build great friendships with other children, only to leave, leaving our children feeling sad. So, definitely for me, it’s not having consistent, familiar friends.
Is there anything else you’d like to add: best experiences, useful resources, advice for people wanting to make a similar leap into this world, or just an inspiring chat about education on the road?
For first-time worldschoolers like us, with younger children, the accessibility and use of a worldschooling app like Travily helps massively to gather information in one place, including many aspects we never even knew we needed to know!
From everyday moments to big adventures, follow Emily and Phil as they share life on the road with the GotBusyLiving Family on Instagram at @gotbusyliving.
From everyday moments to big adventures, follow Emily and Phil as they share life on the road with the GotBusyLiving Family on Instagram at @gotbusyliving.
