Since announcing our family gap year publically, we have gotten bunches of questions. Although we don’t have all the answers, we do have some. Here are the most frequently asked questions.

Q. Where are you going?

A: The kids’ short answer is, “Around the World,” and that is partially true. We would like to travel to many places, but also want to stay long enough to get past just the initial role as “tourist” and really learn about the culture and how people live in different parts of the world. So we are thinking in 3-5 month blocks for different continents/zones and breaking those into countries that we want to try out. Before we start our trip we promised our children that we would visit New York City for their birthday presents and making a quick trip/layover in Mexico City. Then, we are headed to South America. In South America, we will spend time in Peru, Chile, and Argentina. After that, we are hoping to travel to Europe, but we are not certain about the countries yet.  We would also like to visit Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and Africa. Realistically we know that not all of those places will be possible, but we will probably pick just one or two of those areas.

Q. Are your kids going to go to school?

A. Yes and No. During our gap year, we are going to focus on a different approach to schooling. We are going to a combination of traditional homeschooling (especially focusing on reading, writing, and math) and worldschooling. Worldschooling, in short, is learning from the world, learning from adventures and experiences. It encourages families to be curious and explore in less restrictive ways than “traditional schooling.” When we return we will reevaluate how best to reintegrate the boys and that may mean delaying M’s entrance to kindergarten (which is more and more popular for boys with summer birthdays) and having C return to start 3rd grade where he would have been starting this September.

Q: What are you most scared of?

A: Uncertainty. We are uncertain of what this next year will bring, uncertain of what we will be doing day-to-day, uncertain about what we might miss while we are gone, uncertainty as to how our health will hold up and uncertain about exactly what we will do when we get back.

Q. How can you afford all this travel?

A. We have been working on saving for about 6 years. First, we have followed the rule to “pay yourself first.” We have made sacrifices including driving older cars that were paid off, selling our house and personal possessions, living in a basement (thanks mom and dad) and picking up extra part-time jobs. We set up a separate savings account for our “travel money.” We invested in credit cards that reward our spending with travel points, miles, or free hotel room stays. We also have joined every free rewards club. We are also going to live on a budget and balance thrifty living with valuable experiences. There are some things that we are willing to pay more for like making sure we have a seat assignment next to our kids (as they each need to be seated by an adult with knowledge of their special needs) or staying in safe accommodations, but we will not be flying first class or eating out every night.