Why full-time slow travel, worldschooling, and geoarbitrage won’t work for us

Why full-time slow travel, worldschooling, and geoarbitrage won’t work for us

Although I am no longer tethered to a traditional job, my more flighty wishful thinking would be that I sell my house and most of my material possessions to do full-time slow travel geoarbitrage around the world while worldschooling my child – however, these are not options available to me. If they were, maybe these options could cut down costs while feeding my nomadic spirit (which has dwindled noticeably over the years) and give my child more exposure to global experiential learning. My daughter is currently flourishing at her elementary and although she is relatively well-traveled, she loves how it is weaved into our current lifestyle in spurts vs full-time. She doesn’t want to move (or so she thinks).

But, the three main reasons why my flighty wishful thinking would not be ideal are:
(1) most of our loved ones live within an hour from us (including my not-yet-retired parents)
(2) my child enjoys building on the relationships she’s established here and
(3) the biggest reason…my child spends about 40% of her time at her dad’s, who lives nearby.

Ultimately, investing in the relationships we already have matters more than my wishful thinking. There’s no denying that her dad loves her and offers her an easygoing emotional presence, no matter our differences. After our divorce, given I am the default parent, primary caregiver and financial provider, he could have easily moved back to his hometown to be closer to his support system – as his parents encouraged – but he chose to stay, because being near her mattered more. Disrupting that bond would be heartbreaking.

Full-time slow travel, worldschooling, and geoarbitrage are often framed as the ultimate freedom – but I don’t see how it would fit a single parent family needing to manage a co-parenting relationship unless the other parent is ok with a few visits a year. Co-parenting has its challenges and learning to maintain stability around it has been better overall for everyone involved.

What is slow travel?

I had entertained slow travel because it prioritizes depth while traveling over speed, spending more time integrating and living like a local vs vacationing like a tourist. These are longer, more grounded stays, where you would likely rent an apartment vs a hotel, shop at the local markets, use the local transit system (if available), and explore the area, unrushed and unhurried. My take as an avid traveler, is that the longer stays allow for better immersion into the local environment.

As a compromise, while my child is still at home, slow travel will look more like extended travel, with summers away (something we were able to try for the first time this year) or a longer trip over winter break (which can stretch to about 18 days, with her missing a day or two of school, which we’ve done in years past). Looking ahead, once she’s grown, I imagine I’d downsize and embrace more slow travel then.

What is worldschooling?

Worldschooling is educating children with real-world hands on experiences through location-flexible travel integrated with life-based learning and customizable academic coursework, compared to sitting through a traditional classroom setting with a fixed curriculum. A child would learn through in-person visits of local museums/historical sites, exploration of the local geography/cultures, and socialize with the locals and through other worldschooling communities.

I think this approach can be a powerful way to raise a well-rounded child rooted in experiential learning, with meaningful exposure to the world beyond a classroom. For now, though, the best I can offer her is a mix of local, seasonal, and hybrid experiences outside a traditional school setting. I’ve considered homeschooling to allow for more travel flexibility, but my child is a social butterfly, and as long as she’s in town, she’s made it clear she wants to be around her peers more often than not – especially since she’s an only child. While one of my motivations for becoming work-optional was to spend more quality time with her, I also recognize that as she grows – she values her independence and time with friends just as much.

What is geoarbitrage?

Geoarbitrage is allowing your money to go further by spending it in a lower cost location. This was also an option I entertained as this allows you to stretch your savings through “cheaper” (relative to where I live) housing, healthcare, childcare/schooling, food, transport, and consumables/services.

I may not live in the most expensive area in the U.S., but there are certainly lower-cost regions – both nearby and elsewhere domestically – and even more affordable options abroad. Given the co-parenting arrangements in place, the closest I can come to geoarbitrage for now is exploring lower-cost locations on our trips. The primary savings I forgo by not doing full-time geoarbitrage are tied to housing and healthcare. Our current housing could be less expensive, even locally, but it reflects a lifestyle choice for my current season of life. Healthcare for my little family of two, on the other hand, is non-negotiable. In the U.S., insurance premiums alone can be substantial, even in the absence of major health issues. I currently pay a significant amount in COBRA premiums but have a plan to manage this cost a little better in 2026.

In summary

In the end, I’m choosing to stay rooted. Before leaving my W2, my “enough” number accounts for the costs of our current lifestyle and includes the added discretionary costs to broaden my child’s world without uprooting it – at least until she becomes an adult.

There are meaningful upsides to this choice:
(1) we can continue to invest into the relationships we care about without major disruption and
(2) our city is culturally diverse with plenty enrichment opportunities – so while my girl has always had extracurriculars, being work-optional now gives me more time to coordinate and curate more customized, value-driven experiences beyond the classroom setting.

This version of freedom is less extreme than full-time travel or geoarbitrage, and I am grateful to be in this position of compromise as I can still attend to Fulfillment Intent activities now vs later in a manner that still remains aligned with my values given I now have enough Financial Independence to do so. Freedom, amplified.

Have you considered slow travel, worldschooling, and geoarbitrage before? I’d love to hear your thoughts.