A former workaholic dad sold his home and belongings to travel the world with his family — and now funds their adventure by working just 10 hours a week. Lee Bodell, 47, used to clock up 50-hour weeks as an HGV driver and hadn’t taken a sick day in eight years before the pandemic completely changed his outlook on life.
The dad-of-four and his partner Aimee Bedford, 39, eventually sold their four-bedroom home and possessions before leaving the UK with daughters Matilda-May, 10, and Mila, nine. They flew to Paris in September and have since travelled through seven countries in just three weeks using first-class Interrail tickets.
From 50-hour weeks to 10-hour remote work
Despite giving up his old job, Lee is still earning between £500 and £1,000 a week by remotely selling solar panels for mobile homes through eBay and his own website. He says the business takes him just 10 hours a week to run.
Lee, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, said: “What first triggered it off was during Covid I was placed on furlough and was off work for 10 weeks. I was always a workaholic and never missed a day off work in eight years being sick and I was constantly doing overtime. Spending 10 weeks at home with the family completely changed my mind set on life and I thought ‘I want to do this full-time’.”
He began looking for ways to make money online and spent the following years building up the business. He said: “It’s mostly buying and selling on eBay and Amazon and I have my own Shopify store. It should give us enough income to keep us travelling and even settle down somewhere in the future.”
Trial run and selling the family home
Before completely uprooting their lives, the couple decided to give their new lifestyle a trial run. In May 2025, they rented a villa in Cyprus for 10 days to see whether Lee could successfully run his business while abroad. After returning to the UK, they put their four-bedroom home on the market. It eventually sold for £330,000 in July this year, leaving them with £140,000 in equity.
Aimee, who previously worked as a family support worker at a primary school, said some of the proceeds from selling their belongings and cars have helped fund the trip, while most of the money from their house has been invested. They have spent around £6,000 so far, including their Interrail passes. Their previous life in the UK would cost between £3,000 to £4,000 a month once their mortgage, bills, cars, and days out were taken into account.
She said: “We knew it would be more expensive in Europe and at the end of it when we get to Southeast Asia we will easily be living on £2,000 per month all in.”
Learning through travel
Since starting their adventure in Paris, the family have travelled through the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. She said: “We’d reached the point where we really felt like we just existing rather than living. We had jobs and the kids were attending school all day long and we were lucky if we had two hours with them at the end of the day. We wanted more time to experience life together.”
Matilda-May and Mila have now been de-registered from school, with their parents choosing to let them learn through their travels rather than recreating traditional lessons on the road. Aimee said: “I think we’re deliberately choosing to give them these experiences, and I think we want them to learn through travel rather than just recreating school at the kitchen table if you like.”
Despite their unconventional lifestyle, the family insist they are not treating the trip as one long holiday. They save money by staying outside tourist hotspots and city centres, shopping for food and choosing carefully where they splash their cash. Aimee said: “We’ve been staying at a Eurocamp in Italy and have been shopping at Lidl. We’re very clear about it not being a holiday as well. We do have to make decisions about money like not eating out every night. It’s about being mindful and the things we want to splurge on are experiences. Travelling on a gondola in Venice cost a fortune but we’ll eat in for two days because of that. We’re living life and taking the hit.”
The couple’s eldest children, Billy, 18, and Lyla, 17, chose to remain in the UK with family, although they later flew out with Aimee’s sister Katie, 37, to celebrate their mum’s 39th birthday in Italy. For now, the family have no idea where their travels will ultimately take them - but hope they may eventually find somewhere outside the UK to settle permanently.
Aimee said: “We’ll see where life takes us. The beauty of being able to travel is we might find somewhere and it might be our forever home.” The family are sharing their journey online and hope their decision will inspire other families considering making a similar leap.
