Why We Chose Part-Time Family Nomadism
We wanted something different for our kids. The system here at home felt too narrow: classrooms designed around test scores, schedules that prioritized efficiency over exploration, and a culture where phones often replaced face-to-face connection. We saw a childhood unfolding that was happy, but limited — predictable, structured, and missing the spark of discovery we knew was possible.
So we stepped out. We chose part-time family nomadism — a life that allowed us to educate on our own terms, to put community at the center, and to show our children a world that is far more varied and interconnected than any single town or school could offer.
Education Beyond Walls
One of the first cracks in the mold came with education. We weren’t satisfied with a system that treated curiosity like a box to be checked. Our kids could memorize facts, but we wanted them to understand context. So instead of learning about the Greeks from a worksheet, we walked the marble streets in Greece and visited ruins where history echoed in stone. Instead of reading about ecosystems, we snorkeled in the Sea of Cortez and saw the diversity of marine life firsthand.
This wasn’t a rejection of education — it was a broader definition of it. Lessons became less about what could be measured on a test and more about what could be remembered for a lifetime.
Reclaiming Connection
We also felt the weight of phone culture creeping into every corner of daily life. Scrolling at the dinner table, notifications buzzing in classrooms — even for kids, the pull of the screen was strong. We wanted to give our children a different model of connection, one grounded in shared experiences rather than endless feeds.
Living nomadically made that possible. When afternoons are spent kayaking in Hawaii or biking through the streets of Kyoto, the phone isn’t the center of attention. The moment is. Our kids talk to vendors at open-air markets, play soccer in plazas with children who speak other languages, and discover that connection is richer when it happens face to face.
Building True Community
Community was another piece missing at home. Too often, neighborhoods felt like places where people closed their doors, rushed through routines, and rarely gathered. We longed for a culture where people came outside, shared food, danced in plazas, and raised children together.
In small beach towns and vibrant cities abroad, we found it. Expats and locals alike welcomed us into rhythms of life where connection wasn’t scheduled — it was simply lived. Dinners with friends, carnivals that stretched late into the night, casual conversations at cafés that turned into friendships. Our kids learned from entire communities willing to open their doors.
Expanding Their World
Perhaps the most powerful reason we chose this path was diversity. Staying in one place meant our kids would see life through a single lens. By moving, they saw how differently families live, how many ways there are to measure success, and how culture shapes daily rhythms. They experienced privilege and poverty, safety and struggle, beauty and complexity — all of it shaping them into more empathetic, adaptable people.
We wanted them to understand that the world is not one story. It’s millions. And every time we relocate, they add another layer to their understanding of what it means to belong, to contribute, and to respect differences.
Choosing to Opt In
Breaking out of the mold wasn’t about rejecting everything we left behind. It was about creating something new — a way of living and learning that aligned with our values. We wanted more curiosity, more presence, more connection, and more diversity in our children’s lives. Family nomadism gave us that.
For us, this lifestyle isn’t a phase or an experiment. It’s a commitment to raising kids who see the world as theirs to explore, protect, and understand. It’s about building an education and a community that couldn’t be found in one place, but could be discovered everywhere.
