Time… is on our side, yes it is (Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France)
A common way of thinking is that world travel is something only for the childless and empty nesters. “I would love to do what you do, but I have kids” is something we heard once or twice before becoming parents ourselves. Responsibility for a small human is absolutely life changing, yes, but in a way that opens new doors.
Two year old GCCJr has already been to 28 countries. Since he first boarded an airplane at 5 months old after we figured out how to pack our favourite baby gates up for the various hotels and AirBNBs, he has been putting his 2 passports to heavy use. He has already circumnavigated the globe twice, and enjoyed visits to large swaths of Asia, Western Europe, and North America.
Whether at home or in a far away land, The World through the eyes of a little one is an opportunity not be be missed.
- Thailand (Koh Lanta)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BAzgd0oGdvO/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Malaysia (Penang)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BBh1YZqBRc8/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Singapore
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BCnax4ghRZU/ hidecaption=true width=400]
- Portugal (Porto)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePeSOOhpNE/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Spain (Madrid, Plaza Mayor)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePeadQhpOC/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Italy (Firenze)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BGzMCfsGdtX/ hidecaption=true width=400] - The Vatican
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePeuPhBb7s/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Czechia (Prague)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePendhh1fv/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Germany (Berlin)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePefm_BOIg/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Denmark (Copenhagen)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsn2zbDQoU/ hidecaption=true width=400] - United Kingdom
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BIN-h81DnBl/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Ireland
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BIjyvs4jjVP/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Iceland
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BJJLdVDjj_8/ hidecaption=true width=400]
- United States (Santa Monica, California)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BMMJhwHjhHG/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Taiwan
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BOCtQZLjw99/ hidecaption=true width=400] - France
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BWC6O4IjT1M/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Luxembourg
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePe_9lBfxS/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Belgium (Bussels, Grand Place)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePfGQOhI2v/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Netherlands
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePfomchsxt/ hidecaption=true width=400]
- Greece (Santorini)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BUjT8bnhnRQ/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Hungary (Budapest)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePe5r3h_r2/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Austria (Salzburg)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePe0oZB8Fx/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Switzerland
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BVm-DIvjokJ/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Croatia (Dubrovnik)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePffjTBe1O/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Bosnia & Herzegovina
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePfQSJhTkd/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Montenegro
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePfYN7Bp1-/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Canada (Victoria)
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BePftMNhvGq/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Japan
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcq8dVKhf4J/ hidecaption=true width=400] - Next stop: Vietnam!
Got here last Friday… photos coming soon…
Bonus Photo: Osaka, Japan – 2 years apart
Related
Traveling with a Baby – our first family travel experience
16 Months, 16 Countries – thoughts on traveling with kids after 1 1/2 years of experience
Packing for Perpetual Travel – how we pack, with a list of kid stuff
A version of this post originally appeared on BuzzFeed, but…
That’s one of the more accurate emails I’ve received in some time.
Where Should We Go Next?
Your son’s Instagram photos would make any millennial jealous!!!
Seriously though, I agree that exposing children to so much of the world can only lead to culturally sensitive, inclusive, and curious children. Plus I can see you are having a blast together!
Brilliant! I’m only up to ten, and even that is more than I thought at first. To echo Ledy D above, I’m impressed with how well you’re raising a true Third Culture Kid. I believe our best hope for the future is to make sharing our various cultures as vividly and vibrantly personal as we can.
That’s awesome! My recommendation as he gets older is to throw a soccer ball in a Chico bag. Have him pull it out in a park—instant friends! Could even work now. Amazing pictures of a really cool life-enjoy.
I liked the last article too. There is something to be said for making everyone happy with asset allocation-I’m sure my wife will feel the same way.
Thanks again for the great, motivational posts!
We do this a bit now. Yesterday Jr was kicking a ball around a park with some older kids, and they were trying to communicate with a bit of Chinese, Vietnamese, and English.
I can never get enough of the pictures! I love to enjoy your travel experience through them. The bullfight costume one always makes me laugh. Julian is so darn cute! Love n miss you guys.
Nice list of places to visit! I sure hope Gcc Jr. appreciates all the cool experiences he’s getting!
Enjoy Vietnam!
Come see us in Cuenca, Ecuador and add another to the list:)
We still haven’t touched South America so this idea speaks to me :)
What a cutie:) And I mean GCCJr !
Do you think you will keep travelling as much once he is in school?
None of us really love traveling this much. We would prefer to go a little slower. So planning around a school calendar would help, but we are still thinking about the home/world school options
I recently came to the (pretty obvious) realization that I can’t put off things until after the little one is off to college, just due to the age at which we’re starting having kids (I’m 37, my wife is 31). So things like traveling abroad, maybe some slow travel, maybe doing some van life stuff…all that has to be designed with a kid in tow.
It’s not about putting our dreams on hold, but about tailoring them a bit so that the little guy can come along.
You have to live your values, ya know? Kids will thrive as a result
I travel quite a bit and do not have kids at the moment. I constantly get the comment, “Travel now while you can, because you won’t be able to when you have kids”. Traveling with kids can be done. Yes accommodations will need to made, but that doesn’t make it impossible. Thanks for proving all the nay-sayers wrong!!
I prefer the view of “work while you can, because you won’t be able to when you have kids”
Nice list. Our oldest is at six countries, though all but one for multiple trips (He’s five) The more you travel with them the easier it is to do. Also in some locales the kids help bring down the barriers to the locals. In Europe for example they are very welcoming to kids. Where a local might give you the cold shoulder on your own you strike up a conversation with kids.
Kids definitely bring down barriers. In part because we spend time where other kids are playing (like a park) and partially just because people like kids.
I would love to know how you will travel once your kid is school age. We took our oldest all over the place before she started school but now every trip has to be planned around the school schedule. Our 13 year-old is in a rigorous math and science and she cannot afford to miss school at all. Plus our kids like the stability of going to the same school system regularly for years and building relationships with a group of friends. We’ve spent several summers abroad and they love it. But school really nails us down for 9 months out of the year.
That’s awesome. GCCJr has been to more countries than a lot of adults. I wouldn’t worry about when he’s in school. You can still travel in the first few years. They’re not learning that much in school. Mostly social skills.
Are you guys planning on living in Taiwan now for good? Can you tell us more about that Japan vacay? GCCJr is so cute. You have a lovely family! Keep on inspiring us.
Unlikely. Taiwan is great but there are other places we like more.
I have a post partially written about Japan. Anything special you want to hear about?
Thank you!
Traveling worked fine with kids until they reached age 13. They were very vocal about wanting to stay in one spot for high school and were tired of seeing new places. So we are now in a high school holding pattern. 😊