Andre Gussekloo by Digital Nomads

Author:Digital Nomads
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Location-Independent Publishers
Published: 2016-04-09T22:00:00+00:00

DIGITAL NOMAD STORIES

Meet the Kortman family: Paul, 35, his wife Becky, 37, and their four kids — Alia (9), Josiah (7), Mathias (5), and Zander (3), who traded in their house for life on the road. Since March 2014, they’ve been traveling around the world, moving every three months or so. Dad sustains their family (and three full-time employees) with a digital marketing business.

Paul and Becky enjoyed traveling internationally as a couple before they had a family. “When we were teaching in Kazakhstan, we met many third culture kids.” (A third culture kid is a child who spends a fair amount of time living in a culture other than that of his or her parents.) The couple were inspired to give their kids the same opportunities they witnessed in children who experienced life in different countries, including the ability “to help them avoid the consumerism and American-centric worldview they would have growing up in the states.”

The Kortman children’s lifestyle should go a long way in helping them grow up as open-minded, confident, and creative individuals. “It’s most beneficial to our kids through firsthand experiences,” Paul said. “They’ll be watching a video on YouTube and comment, ‘Hey we were there!’ or ‘That’s not what the Philippines really looks like.’” He explained that the family experiences life beyond videos and books. “Our kids know stuff because they were there.”

While being away from friends isn’t always easy, and the kids miss out on some extracurricular activities, like music, dance, and sports, the freedom and flexibility that the Kortmans enjoy make the trade-off worth it.

To ensure their educational needs are met, Becky teaches the kids, mixing principles of homeschooling, road schooling, and unschooling.

After their first six months of traveling, they realized there wasn’t a formal online place for nomad families to gather and receive support, so Paul and Becky co-founded Nomad Together, which offers support through education, tools, and a community forum.

The Kortman story: bit.ly/no-home-family

The family’s website, HomeAlongTheWay.com

and their site about family travel: nomadtogether.com

Summarizing, we would say: don’t let your family be a hindrance to living your dream life; instead make them part of the adventure.

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