Ruth and Steven Rowe have saved around £36,000 by leaving the UK to travel the world with their two children, living out of two suitcases on a budget of just £30 a day. The couple sold "pretty much everything" they owned and bought a one-way ticket to Sri Lanka in 2023, and have been travelling ever since.
A leap of faith
The family decided to embark on their globe-trotting adventure after wanting more time with their children, Aurora, four, and Atlas, three, before they started nursery and school. Ruth was also not a fan of the cold and wet British weather, so the pair are now world-schooling their kids in exotic locations instead.
They have already visited 17 different countries, ticking off bucket-list destinations such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Indonesia. They stay four weeks at a time in Airbnbs and have also visited Thailand, Malaysia, Cyprus, USA, Colombia and Peru, all while saving around £12,000 a year.
Downsizing to two suitcases
Ruth, 34, and Steven, 35, had been renting a barn conversion in the village of Eardisley, Herefordshire, and had both children during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had always thought about travelling full-time, so they sold "pretty much everything" on Facebook Marketplace or via car boot sales and set off with a couple of suitcases of clothes and a few toys.
Ruth said: "We had travelled before and for us it got to the stage where we were going to put the kids into nursery and it just didn't feel like the right time. We wanted more time with them as we know those early years are precious, so we thought, why not just do it? So we did."
"We sold pretty much everything we owned, which was an exhilarating experience - we mainly sold it through Facebook Marketplace and car boot sales. So our car, our furniture, everything but a couple of memory boxes with some of the children's things inside and a few clothes."
World schooling on the road
The couple say their children are now educated through "life experiences" - whether that be picking up Spanish in Latin America or learning about volcanoes while hiking in Peru. They say giving the kids no screen time whatsoever on their travels has helped them to become more patient and creative.
Ruth added: "They are also learning counting through things like paying a tuk-tuk driver in different currencies and the first time Aurora ever wrote her name was in sand on a beach with a stick. We give them no screen time at all, which I think has taught them patience on their travels and to be more creative when they are bored sitting on a bus."
"They thought the TV back home was a radio, as we'd only use it for Spotify, and we think that's allowed their imagination to flourish. I have just seen their confidence grow so much and of course there's no way of really telling how they would have been at home, but they are just so open and talk to anyone - young and old."
Funding the adventure
The couple support themselves financially via Steven's online coaching business, which he can still run wherever they are in the world. They currently have no plans to return full-time and want to continue world schooling - while spending around £2,000 a month, compared to £3,000 back in the UK.
Steven said: "These positive environments have brought such positive developments so far in our children. Atlas was swimming independently at two."
"This way, they get one-to-one without being part of the larger school system, which we have no issue with, we just see the benefits from doing it this way. We make sure the children are at the centre of what we do, we always research kids' clubs and activities wherever we stay."
They have spent the last five months living and travelling around India, and next year they plan to tour 10 more countries across Europe in a campervan. The countries they have visited so far include Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cyprus, USA, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, India, Nepal, Portugal and Morocco.
