Learn How This Family Of 4 Lives Out Of Their Backpacks

For a large number of US families, traveling and vacation experiences are a once-a-year luxury. Exploring new regions and cultures in such a traditional yet small time-frame simply did not work for Astrid Vinje and Clint Bush, a couple that married in 2009. The former Seattle-based couple realized that their time-consuming commutes were incredibly tiring and that their kids were spending more time at daycare than they were spending at home. The question began to permeate their daily lives. Could they manage to maintain jobs and raise two young children wherever they traveled?

The Family Travel Conference

After attending an incredibly insightful family travel conference held in British Columbia, the couple was able to determine that they could actually make their dream work. But what would their plan look like? Well, they wanted to live three-years on the road as their two children, Mira (8) & Julian (5), were not yet seriously tied down by school and after-school commitments. 

In order to make this plan work, Astrid and Clint needed to be extremely realistic when determining their needs for such a long stretch of “vacation.” While difficult, the logistic behind the feat was manageable. Clint was able to work remotely as he made websites for brands and companies while Astrid was to work on remote writing gigs and continuously update their family blog – “The Wandering Daughter.”

With advice from other parents at the travel conference, the couple was also able to make the most of their chosen arrangement. The couple took this advice to heart. They were able to stretch their finances by staying longer in cheaper countries (Mexico, for example), do a large amount of costly traveling during the off-season, and staying in apartments, as opposed to hotels, so that they had access to a kitchen so that they could cook their own meals. 

Same ‘Ole, Same ‘Ole

The couple mentioned that even with their lack of a permanent location, they were even able to maintain similar state-side lives. Clint mentioned that “I work in the middle of the week and she does homeschooling with the kids… And then I give her Mondays and Fridays [so] she able to work and I do the kids’ schooling. Our schedule ironically is very similar to what it was in the States where we work throughout the week, and then the weekends are usually our time to go out and explore more.” 

Even more so, travel plans are dictated by only the essential travel elements. For example, the family will only travel to warm-weather locations in order to avoid the purchase and packing of winter coats. On the other hand, children do all of their homework on the family laptop to avoid carrying around heavy and often-outdated textbooks. 

Traveling with such a young family would most likely seem daunting for such a young family, but Clint & Astrid have clearly been able to make the most of the challenge and opportunity. Could you ever see yourself taking on such an experience?