Has anyone ever done anything like this? We don't even know how to structure our decision making.
Yes, spent nearly 2 years in China and both kids were under 5 yrs when we first went over. (From the states)
I'd say, make a timeline and a spreadsheet. You'll need to decide where you're going first then start. Each country has different requirements for vaccines, passports, visas, etc. From the time we decided to go to when we went it took nearly 7 months of prep for all the paperwork plus $$. The spreadsheet was the only way I kept everything in line.
A) How long? Doing a full year has advantages (can rent the house out for a year and would offset costs. we can register the kid in school where ever we land, and we would probably set up shop somewhere and do smaller trips from there). But, doing 6 months is less daunting, the kid can do online / home schooling, and we can be less tied down. What are the relevant considerations for the "how long" question?
-Think about things like: do you have pets? Where will you store your belongings you won't want to sell if you spend an extended time? Any health issues needing to be addressed? Cell phones? Schooling for kids?
--I don't think I've met anyone who was happy spending shorter time abroad when they could have opted to spend more. I've lived in NZ (1.5 yrs), China (2 yrs), and traveled to multiple countries.
---Go somewhere, and be there. Spend a year. At the end of it, you'll be figuring out how to do it again. I'll buy you a pack of your beer of choice if I'm wrong.
B) Vagabond or Expat? Do we rent an apartment somewhere for the whole time? Or just a few weeks at a time? Do we plan it out in detail before we go? Or just go where the wind blows us?
-If you are going to a non-english speaking country you can find a job that will provide plenty of living money but more importantly housing, internet, possibly foreign insurance, travel benefit and more. If you don't want to do that, make a list of your countries and decide what will be easiest/fitting visa-wise.
--Living overseas, you'll see other foreigners who are tourists who never really experience the country. If you're going to go, GO.
---Again, it depends on the country. If you can drive during your stay, maybe rent an RV and go where the wind blows. Look up local restrictions, laws etc wherever you're going..
C) What the heck do we do with our time? I could do my PhD (sort of a bucket list especially if I could go to a prestigious school, and makes visas easier I suppose and most schools have graduate family housing, etc)
-See above, if you go to a non english speaking country, get a job teaching. Sure you may not need the money etc but it will fill your time and you'll meet people who you can help. When we lived abroad teaching (we're self employed here in the states and worked that while we were in China) I LOVED working with the kids and would sometimes go to places where other foreigners wouldn't and help kids with their english homework for free. My advice, never travel to just add to your life experience. Travel to learn. It will change your life and more importantly, your kids.
D) How do we even begin figuring out how to structure this?
-First, decide to go. For real. It will come easy once you do. Select a country. We used a placement agency for teaching and actually didn't have a say in what city as we had kids and were at their decision of housing etc. I would have never chosen the city we ended up in, but went back for a second year and miss it daily.
--Don't complicate it.
---When the process of moving, travel, storage, health insurance cell phones are getting to be headaches, I promise it will be worth the hassle.
Last night my wife and I were chatting over a drink about "what if" we hadn't gone to China. I can't imagine missing out. As a grown man I learned more than I would have guessed, learned to let myself cry and grow, and it changed my family's life forever in an excellent way. It wasn't always easy and there were hard days, but we're going to go back again. You can't afford not going, especially when you can take your kids. People we know talked to us before we left (with our 10 month old and 4 yr old) and "wished" they could do something like we were doing... They can, you can. You just have to be willing to change, sell things that you're not going to store, the list goes on. What you give up will come back 10x in experience.
Please DM me or respond here if you have questions. Even silly ones, like I had.. "do they have contact solution abroad" etc :)
Best of travels to you.
