The Questions We Are Most Often Asked

We finally made our big announcement that we plan to travel the world full-time and document our journey as The Jetsetting Family!  We knew we would get a mixed reaction and knew some of the reactions would hurt.  If chasing an unconventional path is in your future, harsh reactions are something you should expect and mentally prepare for

Reactions From Friends and Family

As for reactions, they were definitely on both ends of the spectrum: either SUPER excited or EXTREMELY angry and disappointed.  We found that most people who were excited for us were younger, maybe that is because they understand the power of social media and are more willing to take risks. However, telling some people of our adventures and plans was equivalent to telling them we would build a business by being the first family to build a home on Mars.  Others thought we were being extremely ungrateful as my family has gone above and beyond in so many ways to assure we had a great future and Rod has built a great career that we are walking away from (temporarily).  

I have always been a people pleaser my whole life and have taken a pretty conventional path.  I love making others proud of my choices and living a life others approve of.  This choice is one I knew may upset and disappoint some people in my life, and more importantly, some that are close to us. I was anxious to spread the news. Does it hurt? Absolutely. I wish I could chase a dream and have everyone be supportive of the plan, but also know that’s not realistic. You also can’t lead a life the way others want you to at the sacrifice of your own personal dreams.   I don’t fault people for having a negative reaction. This is a big change and everyone is entitled to their feelings.  I hope people do come around and know the decision isn’t one we made quickly. It took a year of thought and weighing possible outcomes. 

To Answer Some Questions We Have Received:

Why Risk What You Have Now?

Why Do Something So Unconventional?

Is It Possible To Succeed

How Do Bloggers Make Money?

How Long Will You Go For?

Why Not Wait Until Your Kids Are Older?

What Gave You The Courage To Pursue This Now?

What About Your Kids’ School?

What Makes You Feel Confident About This Idea?

What if You Fail? 

Where Will You Go First? 

• Why Risk What You Have Now?

Traveling as a family has always been a dream of ours and we don’t want to look back and wonder “What If?” one day. So many times we hear quotes like “live life to the fullest” or “Don’t live with regrets,” but not often do we see people take the risks to live life true to themselves.  We may end up hating travel and it may not be what we envision, but I want the peace of mind knowing we tried it and don’t have to wonder what could have been. Who knows, maybe we will leave and only end up lasting 6 months and decide our dreams weren’t what we expected them to be.  

We also believe life shouldn’t be about just making it through the week and getting bills paid. Yes, bills and priorities are important, but why not try find the job that makes you feel like you are never truly working and do it with the people you love?  Too often we get into autopilot mode and forget to reflect on our values and take the risks to live a life true to ourselves and dreams.

• Why Do Something So Unconventional?

Unconventional doesn’t always mean reckless. Choosing an unconventional path in life is often hard for people to understand, especially when taking the risk to achieve it means leaving a great life you have already established.  I think a lot of people’s anger and disappointment is due to a lack of understanding of our true purpose and what we hope to accomplish. I hope with time and with open hearts one day we can all talk about every logistic, strategy, and dream to see things through our lens. We may be a little crazy, but both of us are business minded people who have spent hundreds of hours thinking each possibility through.

• Is It Possible To Succeed?

Many people have made EXTREMELY successful businesses from blogging, vlogging, and becoming Instagram influencers. Top bloggers make over 100,000 dollars a month, Instagram influencers can make millions a year, and YouTubers make millions a year. While we don’t expect to be top performers in each segment, it is possible to make an income and a great one even if you make a small percentage of what the top performers make.  We don’t expect that the process of building a successful blog will be easy. It will take work, time, and commitment.  Are we guaranteed to have success?  Absolutely not, but what entrepreneurial venture is a guaranteed success? We would love to build a business that can sustain our travel lifestyle.  We believe in ourselves and our abilities to break even and possibly do something amazing with the opportunity.  

• How Do Bloggers Make Money?

Bloggers make money through affiliate marketing (this means recommending a product, providing a website link to it, and receiving a commission for each purchase made using that link), collaborations with different brands, and essentially promoting things they love to the audience they build.  We are trying to build a community of people who are interested in our journey and traveling as a family so we can share the items and products we find useful along the way. We would only recommend brands we love and items we truly use.  Many times, followers have questions about photography gear, ways to keep the kids entertained while traveling, and favorite places to stay all which are suggestions we believe in, but that also allow us to generate revenue.

• How Long Will You Go For?

We plan to travel anywhere from 6 months to 2 years depending upon how the kids are adjusting and how we like it as a family.  Ideally, after that we will come home and put the kids back in school while continuing the blog and traveling during every break the kids get from school.  At this point we would hope the blog would either be our main income or at the least a supplementary income to help afford our travels.

• Why Not Wait Until Your Kids Are Older?

A lot of our feedback is that we should do this when our children are older or when they will remember the experience.  The reality is that we never know what the future holds. I believe dreams shouldn’t be put off for a better time because that time may never come. We have seen families think they are about to get their freedom to live the life they dreamt of at retirement and then are hit with cancer, mental illness, or even death, completely changing their life plans and making their dreams  they put off no longer possible. We don’t want to put off a dream we know we can accomplish now hoping life miraculously works in our favor years down the road.

We know our kids won’t remember each trip, but know they will remember the love and family time we gave them more than a toy we would buy them at home.  We don’t remember our moms swinging us or taking us to the park as young kids. They didn’t do it to so the child could remember! They did it to see their child’s face light up for that second and to cherish the moment shared.  The future is uncertain for everyone, so feel we should all live life as if tomorrow will be our last or at least know we tried our best to make dreams happen.

• What Gave You The Courage To Pursue This Now?

Through the years, we have acquired skills (such as photography and website development) that have put us in a great position to start this journey with more confidence. I also believe the birth of our son, Santiago, changed me as a person and has given me a strength to chase dreams and cherish each moment, since in his first few years he faced some unexpected challenges.  Santi made me realize that we can’t put things off in hopes things go as planned. Life can (and will) throw curve balls. I dreamt of having a child and going to mom groups, birthdays, and family vacations.   I didn’t expect to have a son whom those things became impossible for.  Santi had a really rough first 3 years, requiring us to live a rigid life, not attend many public events, and 10-20 hours of therapy at a children’s hospital every week. The only place Santi truly thrived at a young age was in a very structured setting. Maybe one day I will discuss the reasons for these limitations more, but I’m not ready to yet.  

During this time, I thought the dreams of us vacationing as a family were over, and that I would forever be confined to my home.  It was hard to come to terms with the potential future I dreamt of for both him and us as a family slipping away.  Those 3 years were the hardest and best I have ever experienced in my life.  I do feel like I lost precious moments with my son due to the fact that I was so stressed and we lived our life at appointments daily.  We have dedicated our lives to Santi’s well being and seeing him thrive now in any setting and being a child who loves adventure and school made me realize that the dream that once seemed impossible was possible again. I feel like I get those moments back that I once mourned for and thought would be lost forever.  It also reinforced the thought that we don’t know what the future holds. I never expected the hard journey we endured throughout those 3 years, but am glad now that we will appreciate the journey so much more now because just being at an airport or on a flight are huge milestones we worked hard for.  

• What About Your Kids’ School?

We do want our kids to have traditional schooling when they are older, but for now we are excited to homeschool while on the road. We are blessed that Santi has always loved learning and is very academically advanced so we know he won’t be behind when we return. We look forward to having a year or two to spend all day with our children and experience the world with them. We can’t wait to teach them things without the need of a textbook and give them a hands-on learning experience.  I can already imagine teaching him about each country we go to and learning about geography, animals, and culture along the way.

• What Makes You Feel Confident About This Idea?

I truly believe if you are doing things you are passionate about, people see that and gravitate towards the energy making the business part that much easier.  We both have specialized degrees as well as MBAs and have studied marketing.  Rod has been enthusiastically reading and listening to podcasts this past year and we have researched so much about the online business world. I have developed a love for photography that will help us along the way. Finally, I believe so much in my husband, who seems to always succeed and thrive in what he puts his heart to.  Many of you don’t know Rod is from Mexico and he came to the US and learned English at age 10.  Knowing he wouldn’t have assistance with his college tuition, he worked hard to receive a full ride to MIT in Aerospace Engineering and has always been up for a challenge.  We were lucky to graduate with our MBAs together and have great work experience.   This is a new challenge to both of us, but it aligns with our values. We believe in our abilities and know that doing something we’re truly passionate about will be the key to our happiness and success.

• What if You Fail?

Failure is relative.  For us, building a sustainable business out of this is the dream, but the family time and adventure itself are what drives us the most. It is possible that we will come home and have to start over, but that doesn’t scare us as we are hardworking and will build ourselves back up and will never regret the amazing journey.  The skills we will learn along this journey will also help us possibly branch out into new career fields when we start over.  We have loved building this website and learning about the technical side of blogging which may be something we can pursue in the future. We have embraced the outcome of what could happen if it doesn’t go as planned and accept the risk.

• Where Will You Go First?

  We plan for our first stops to be Hawaii, South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand before coming home for Christmas and planning our next locations.  Since we are traveling with kids, safety and access to health care are important factors to consider when we choose each location so plans may vary depending on global circumstances.

Overall we are dedicated to prove our naysayers wrong and make both them and our supporters proud.   For those saying it is impossible, maybe you are correct, but it also gives us a lot of motivation to try to prove you wrong.  If you have any other questions for our family please send us an email at [email protected] so we can include it in our next question and answer post.  Also to ensure you don’t miss out on the journey be sure to join us on Instagram.