Back in March 2017 I went on the longest family vacation of my 9 year professional life. It was 2 WEEKS LONG! It seemed like that length was long enough to seem like a true vacation, but short enough for it to feel like it went by too quickly. And you know what? I loved every second of it. Even when we got to the airport in Mexico and Santi threw a tantrum because he didn’t want to walk through customs. Even when Nora kept us up all night because she didn’t like the crib she was sleeping in. Why, you ask? Simply because spending as much time as possible with my family is pretty much the most important thing in my life.
This also got me thinking: aside from family, what do we value? And is there a way to design a lifestyle that would maximize fulfilling our values? Is there a way to live life without having to leave home every day to earn the money to sustain our current life?
This is what brought us to our four values that we prioritize as a family. So now, without further ado, here they are!
Family
The main reason that we decided to travel the world as a family is that it allows us to spend more time together. Literally every single moment! While Santi and Nora are still young, we want to be able to maximize our time with them, because we understand that as they get older, that precious time will be harder and harder to come by as they make friendships, get settled into school routines, and participate in sports and activities. Full time travel will also allow us to bond as a family and make many new amazing, hilarious, embarrassing and unforgettable memories together.
Freedom
This one is related to the previous one, because honestly, having freedom means having flexibility to maximize family time. It also means that we are constantly striving to free ourselves from the shackles of traditional employment. For us, freedom means living a location-independent lifestyle. We are consciously stepping away from the routine of our current lives and acknowledging that with freedom comes flexibility, but with flexibility comes risk. However, in today’s day and age, online business is booming, and as the world become even more connected, more and more opportunities for location-independent lives will present themselves.
Learning
One of the joys of having children is that you get to learn how to read and to math again :). As we travel, it’s important to remember that we’re not just going to new places to see beauty in the world, but also to learn about the history, geography, and culture of our new surroundings. In addition to that, we also want to learn from everyone that we meet and share their stories with all of you!
Sharing
It’s obvious that social media has changed the way in which we communicate worldwide. While it’s great to have additional family time, freedom to live a flexible and location independent life, and opportunities to learn, the glue that binds this all together is our willingness and motivation to share our stories. While we definitely want to keep our friends and family apprised of what we’re up to, we also want to build and foster a community of jetsetters that we could learn from. This includes tips for earning an income through online business, stories from our latest travels, reviews of gear, products, and services that we use, and lessons we’ve learned along the way.
For us, it became clear that attempting to live a full time family travel lifestyle is the ideal way to stand by values. So now, our question to you is, what do YOU value? How are you living your life according to your values? Please let us know in the comment section below!
