Thinking of selling our house and traveling Europe and Asia for a year

[Chaofahn]

That's awesome! What other countries in Asia would you recommend?

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As far as foreigner-friendly countries go, Taiwan and Singapore are great choices for you and your family to experience.

I never lived in Singapore long-term so I can't say much about it, but Taiwan (moreso, Taipei) is great for westerners wanting to get that Asian experience, but not stray too far from a "westernised" urban environment.

In terms of language, you can also get around Taiwan with just English as many Gen X/Millenials can speak it. Signs are mostly in Mandarin, but you'll frequently find them in dual languages.

The further south you go, the more "traditional" Taiwan becomes. Less English (and Mandarin!) speakers, more Taiwanese dialect speakers. That said, the scenery also gets progressively beautiful the closer you get to the centre, and the eastern side of the island is breathtaking.

Actually now that I think about it, one of the many people I met in Taiwan was home-schooled as well - their father was American while their mother was Taiwanese.

EDIT: Also, if you want affordable healthcare, then oh-ho-ho... Taiwan is a utopia for that. Even moreso than my home country.

EDIT 2: Living costs in Taiwan are also a third of what you'd probably be paying in the US. You can get a decent meal for about $4-5, and of generous portion too.

 

[platocplx]

If you're a web developer and can work remotely why not just get a decently high paying job now, sublet your house, travel for however long you want with your family and work while traveling?

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This might be a better option. And backup plan.

 

[ArrogantBastard]

I really wanted this thread to focus more on the trip and not what happens after, lol.

I understand the visa process and will not literally just stay somewhere as illegal immigrants. We would be going through the proper channels and finding a permanent job in that country, if that is where we decide to live.

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I get it man, but it is highly irresponsible to not worry about what happens after; you do have a family...

You are going to drop all of your assets and travel the world and then "hope" you can get permanent residency in another country? As I said, my wife and I have looked into this and stop cold each time we look at the requirements. Shit isn't easy at all. Unless you have an employer, university, and/or getting married to a local it is exceptionally difficult. This is going to be compounded for you because you are talking about a family of four and the country is going to expect you to have a career and salary that will take care of them.

 

[Brickhunt]

Travelling is good and sound really awesome. But I can't really recommend selling your house to fund a trip, at all.

I am temporary living in the U.S and rented my house in Brazil. It's not much money, but it already pays my rent here. Renting your house and receiving and receiving U.S dollars should already help a lot in countries in which the currency exchange favor USD. Combined with a remote job, you should be fine. No need to sell your house.

 

[Vormund]

Do you have to sell your house? Can you just rent it out in the meantime?

This whole thing reminds me of the guy that wanted to leave his family and go sailing around the world.

 

[Sectorseven]

Have you looked into maybe saving up some more money, not selling your house and renting it out for the year?

 

[xxracerxx]

How old are your kids?

 

[Deleted member 41178]

Do you have to sell your house? Can you just rent it out in the meantime?

This whole thing reminds me of the guy that wanted to leave his family and go sailing around the world.

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Oh god I forgot about that. What happened to him?

 

[gutshot]

If you're a web developer and can work remotely why not just get a decently high paying job now, sublet your house, travel for however long you want with your family and work while traveling?

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Yeah, we thought about renting, but that would give us a much smaller savings safety net. And if anything major went wrong with the house, that savings could be gone. I'd have a lot more peace of mind with six-figures in the bank to fall back on, if we need it.

But maybe having somewhere to land at the end of it all trumps having the bigger safety net. I'm not sure. We are meeting with a realtor tomorrow so we should be able to get an idea of the amount we could get for a sale versus renting.

 

[signal]

Yeah, we thought about renting, but that would give us a much smaller savings safety net. And if anything major went wrong with the house, that savings could be gone. I'd have a lot more peace of mind with six-figures in the bank to fall back on, if we need it.

But maybe having somewhere to land at the end of it all trumps having the bigger safety net. I'm not sure. We are meeting with a realtor tomorrow so we should be able to get an idea of the amount we could get for a sale versus renting.

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Alternatively, maintaining ownership of your house is the better safety net.

 

[gutshot]

How old are your kids?

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They will be 13, 11 and 6 during the majority of the travel time.

 

[Deleted member 431]

You are better off taking a month off every year or so and going to a different country to visit. Selling your house and doing all that sounds way too difficult and risky with three kids.

 

[BringBackSonics]

A more reasonable option that is actually something folks do, go cruising around the world for a year. Cruises are affordable and you are provided with room service, included food, etc. Lot of people go on extended cruises for periods of 6+ months and just jump cruise ship to cruise ship if needed.

It's actually cheaper than renting in many places to just stay on a cruise ship cause you don't have any bills to worry about

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You can't really immerse yourself in the culture, the people, food etc. on a cruise

 

[gutshot]

I get it man, but it is highly irresponsible to not worry about what happens after; you do have a family...

You are going to drop all of your assets and travel the world and then "hope" you can get permanent residency in another country? As I said, my wife and I have looked into this and stop cold each time we look at the requirements. Shit isn't easy at all. Unless you have an employer, university, and/or getting married to a local it is exceptionally difficult. This is going to be compounded for you because you are talking about a family of four and the country is going to expect you to have a career and salary that will take care of them.

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I mean, we would still have our assets. They would just be appreciating in a savings account instead of real estate. And then we would utilize them at the end for whatever our new living situation would be.

 

[ty_hot]

You should probably buy a car in Europe and use it while you are here. "Living" far from big cities seems like a great way of getting bored and disappointed. No Eastern Europe? You want to travle to experience different things but only want to go to rich countries?

Edit. You guys are in 5 so its definitely better to travel by car to save money. It can be a great experience but you need to have some form of routine and plan...

Id suggest having 2 or 3 cities where you can book a month long Airbnb and from there you can travel on weekends somewhere nearby. Stay in cheap cities that hav good airports or that have plenty of things accessible by car (you dont want to travel 5+ hours all the time). Budapest is super cheap to live/rent, and their Airport has cheap flights to absolute everywhere (its Wizzairs main hub), plus lots of great places in different countries in a 2-3 hour radius.

On the Western side you can probably live well and reasonably cheap in Portugal (Oporto, Lisbon).

 

[gutshot]

As far as foreigner-friendly countries go, Taiwan and Singapore are great choices for you and your family to experience.

I never lived in Singapore long-term so I can't say much about it, but Taiwan (moreso, Taipei) is great for westerners wanting to get that Asian experience, but not stray too far from a "westernised" urban environment.

In terms of language, you can also get around Taiwan with just English as many Gen X/Millenials can speak it. Signs are mostly in Mandarin, but you'll frequently find them in dual languages.

The further south you go, the more "traditional" Taiwan becomes. Less English (and Mandarin!) speakers, more Taiwanese dialect speakers. That said, the scenery also gets progressively beautiful the closer you get to the centre, and the eastern side of the island is breathtaking.

Actually now that I think about it, one of the many people I met in Taiwan was home-schooled as well - their father was American while their mother was Taiwanese.

EDIT: Also, if you want affordable healthcare, then oh-ho-ho... Taiwan is a utopia for that. Even moreso than my home country.

EDIT 2: Living costs in Taiwan are also a third of what you'd probably be paying in the US. You can get a decent meal for about $4-5, and of generous portion too.

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This is great. Thanks for the info! I will add Taiwan to the list of possible countries.

 

[iareharSon]

I'll just say that some people are a hell of a lot less risk averse than I am. The thought of selling a house to create a financial safety net for me, my wife, and three young kids to travel for a year? Wouldn't even enter my head.

 

[Deleted member 33887]

Maybe visit a country or two before tailoring your entire life around traveling. Also, I hope your retirement accounts are extremely healthy before even considering this.

 

[gutshot]

As far as foreigner-friendly countries go, Taiwan and Singapore are great choices for you and your family to experience.

I never lived in Singapore long-term so I can't say much about it, but Taiwan (moreso, Taipei) is great for westerners wanting to get that Asian experience, but not stray too far from a "westernised" urban environment.

In terms of language, you can also get around Taiwan with just English as many Gen X/Millenials can speak it. Signs are mostly in Mandarin, but you'll frequently find them in dual languages.

The further south you go, the more "traditional" Taiwan becomes. Less English (and Mandarin!) speakers, more Taiwanese dialect speakers. That said, the scenery also gets progressively beautiful the closer you get to the centre, and the eastern side of the island is breathtaking.

Actually now that I think about it, one of the many people I met in Taiwan was home-schooled as well - their father was American while their mother was Taiwanese.

EDIT: Also, if you want affordable healthcare, then oh-ho-ho... Taiwan is a utopia for that. Even moreso than my home country.

EDIT 2: Living costs in Taiwan are also a third of what you'd probably be paying in the US. You can get a decent meal for about $4-5, and of generous portion too.

Click to shrink...

This is great. Thanks for the info! I will add Taiwan to the list of possible countries.

 

[I Don't Like]

Yeah, we thought about renting, but that would give us a much smaller savings safety net. And if anything major went wrong with the house, that savings could be gone. I'd have a lot more peace of mind with six-figures in the bank to fall back on, if we need it.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure how any of this is advisable if you don't already have a substantial six-figure safety net. To give up a house to have that seems like one of those things that could end catastrophically.

Basically it just sounds like you guys don't have the money to do this. The fact that you can have money by getting rid of your house doesn't make that any better. Not to mention the myriad of other issues like schooling for your kids.

 

[gutshot]

public transport should be fine if you stick to being in or near bigger cities in most of Europe. But I would use a 'hub' whenever you can in Europe (as in, a place where you can stay for a month or 2 or more), and check out the surrounding or specific countries as 'away trips'.

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OK. Good advice. What is the best option when traveling within countries in Europe? I've heard that trains are cheap. But would it just be easier to take a plane?

 

[Lentic]

Why not split these trips up over a period of time without selling your house? That would be the safer option.

 

[Deleted member 11008]

OP is just looking for confirmation bias. I like the idea of travel, but OP your situation look like a recipe for disaster.

 

[CitizenVectron]

Yeah, we still might end up in Canada. But if we like one of these countries a lot, we may end up staying there instead.

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Homeschooling three kids online while presumably moving elsewhere after this year sounds like trouble.


Please, please, please do a ton of research about this before trying to go on this journey. I really don't think you'd want to end up having to return to the US, without a place to stay nor the assets to use to move to another country.

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You can't just end up in a country. You will be deported without a work VISA / permanent residency permit. Canada is not an easy country to immigrate to (most good countries aren't). You need a backup plan, which in this case is enough savings to buy a new house and to live there without jobs for 3-6 months, once you return.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Are you rich? Go for it.

Are you not rich? No. Do not. Are you insane? You have children to provide for. That's like saying "No vegetables, we are all going to eat ice cream forever!! Yay!" Your kids might adore you for it but you fucking them up long term. Provide stability. Provide a home. Compromise. Plan a nice vacation for a few weeks. But no, if you're not wealthy/rich this is ridiculous.

Protip: If you need to sell your house to do this trip then I got some bad news - You're not rich...

 

[Shadow Walker]

If it was just you and your wife I'd say go for it. With three kids though and no real plans afterwards is a terrible idea. How long till we get the update post of I made a huge mistake era I sold my house to travel and I have nothing to return to my wife and kids are panicking.

 

[Vormund]

Basically it just sounds like you guys don't have the money to do this. The fact that you can have money by getting rid of your house doesn't make that any better. Not to mention the myriad of other issues like schooling for your kids.

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Agreed, I can see all that money just being used up rather than becoming a 'safety net'

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE travelling and fly overseas once per year, but I have the means and resources to do so. (My wife's family is based in Thailand and we use that as a jumping off point - we have our own place there too.)

I know I wouldn't be dragging my kids around that much if I didn't have a home to come back to. That's even before talking about Visa's and such. Depending on the country you could only be there for 30 days unless you go through the trouble of applying for extended visa's etc.

 

[Deleted member 431]

Why not split these trips up over a period of time without selling your house? That would be the safer option.

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This is what I'm thinking.

 

[whatsinaname]

lol.

Rent out your house and don't count on 'vlog income'. If you can still afford it after that, why not.

Just don't become one of these people.

 

[Sanka]

I can't comprehend the desire to do this while you have 3 kids to take care of. And your lack of future plans just seems careless and putting your kids into unnecessary risks. But I already find homeschooling questionable enough so go for it I guess.

 

[The Fabled Englishman]

OK. Good advice. What is the best option when traveling within countries in Europe? I've heard that trains are cheap. But would it just be easier to take a plane?

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This is entirely country-dependent. Often, planes are cheaper due to the prevalence of budget airlines - but you also won't be moving large amounts of luggage that way because of their stringent limitations and added fees for excess weight.

Apart from the fact that you're going to be limited to 90 days in Europe (and most of your target countries are European, by the way), most Southeast Asian nations + Australia have 30-day limitations for tourists from the US. You're going to be bouncing around A LOT. Even then, you'll have to go back to the US to apply for any long-term visas and your family almost certainly would not be able to join you immediately overseas if you manage to get someone to sponsor you.

 

[Ultima_5]

man... this is idiotic.

 

[jumper]

I mean, we would still have our assets. They would just be appreciating in a savings account instead of real estate. And then we would utilize them at the end for whatever our new living situation would be.

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Without today's interest rates, it's not going to appreciate all that much. And considering you have to sell your house to fund this trip, I imagine you'll blow through your savings before this trip is done. Did you realistically calculate how much money you are going to burn through on a weekly basis? Just traveling abroad for 2 weeks is expensive, never mind a year. Even if you use Airbnb, how much do you expect to spend on travel, dining, phone expenses, clothes, toiletries, etc., and general activities (including tourist attractions). And that's not accounting for the unexpected (getting robbed, sick, or injured). I don't even want to know how you will school your kids moving from place to place like that.

The trip sounds like a great experience, but to travel for a year like that would require much more money than you have.

 

[Defuser]

Says wants to travel to asia...only goes to Japan :|

 

[CaptSpaulding]

Seems like the better plan would be to go on vacations to some of these places first and then decide where you wan to move to permanently...then sell your house and move.

I also dont know if OP is aware that most countries in Asia pay web developer and IT people in general much less than they do in the US. I would say typical web developer salary would be very hard to raise a family of 5 in most Asian countries.

 

[Manmademan]

With 3 kids, having no plan like that doesn't sound like the most sensible option.

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sounds like a really bad idea, honestly.

 

[AGoodODST]

This seems very irresponsible and ill thought out. Particularly the schooling part of this I find really concerning. There is no way that your kids education does not suffer because of this. Yes, it will be a learning experience of its own but eh, that's not going to help much later down the road.

 

[gutshot]

Without today's interest rates, it's not going to appreciate all that much. And considering you have to sell your house to fund this trip, I imagine you'll blow through your savings before this trip is done. Did you realistically calculate how much money you are going to burn through on a weekly basis? Just traveling abroad for 2 weeks is expensive, never mind a year. Even if you use Airbnb, how much do you expect to spend on travel, dining, phone expenses, clothes, toiletries, etc., and general activities (including tourist attractions). And that's not accounting for the unexpected (getting robbed, sick, or injured). I don't even want to know how you will school your kids moving from place to place like that.

The trip sounds like a great experience, but to travel for a year like that would require much more money than you have.

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The trip would be funded by my normal income. We would not be touching the savings except in an emergency.

Our kids are homeschooled and we usually follow a schooling schedule where they do lessons for a few weeks and then take a week off. So it wouldn't change their schedule much. Once we get settled in a place, they would do their lessons and then have off during the transitionary periods.

 

[Reckheim]

you do you, but traveling with 3 kids for an entire year sounds like a nightmare to me.

 

[xxracerxx]

The trip would be funded by my normal income. We would not be touching the savings except in an emergency.

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Then why sell the house?

 

[Deleted member 5549]

if you were just a couple, I'd say go for it. but with 3 kids it'll get a lot more complicated. especially if you don't speak any other language than english.

 

[McPaul]

Holy shit, what the hell is wrong with you, OP?You have 3 kids and you want to gamble with their future?Man, you're irresponsible as fuck.

 

[thewienke]

I really wanted this thread to focus more on the trip and not what happens after, lol.

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This is literally the worst idea regarding someone's life choice that I've heard in a little while

But I'm guessing, regardless of whatever anyone says, you're doing it so fuck it. I'm on board.

 

[cvxfreak]

Are you sure your children have the the emotional maturity to do this for a year? Health-wise, does it make sense for them to travel this often? Each new country will bring a new climate, new food and new challenges to deal with.

One country for 6 months with intermittent travel to nearby destinations would probably be a better option.

 

[gutshot]

This is literally the worst idea regarding someone's life choice that I've heard in a little while

But I'm guessing, regardless of whatever anyone says, you're doing it so fuck it. I'm on board.

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I mean, nothing is set in stone. I did write "thinking of" in the title, after all.

I appreciate everyone's input! We will continue to research before making any final decisions.

 

[dpanim]

Can you adopt me before you depart.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Why don't you rent the house out if you're going to do this?

Also if I was doing this I would dramatically cut down the list of places you're going.

Like set up 3 mos subleases at 4 different places.

You'll save a lot of money this way.

You don't want to be living out of a suitcase for an entire year with 3 children.

Imo if you are banking on the equity from your house to have the money to do this trip, don't do it.

You should have enough money already saved up to do this if you're going to do it. You have children to feed.

If it was just you and your wife, sure, do whatever you want, but just understand you then don't have a house to come back to when you're done.

 

[Leunamus]

Do it OP, #YOLO

 

[Damaniel]

This is a terrible idea. Take a month long vacation somewhere and don't sell your house.

 

[tokkun]

Then why sell the house?

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The feeling I get is that the OP is unsatisfied with their current life and wants to "burn the ships" so to speak.