“I sold my house to go around the world with my child”

Who has never dreamed of leaving everything to explore the world? Going around it may seem insane, especially with children and a mortgage. However, Charlie did it!

“I have always had this idea in mind but she remained distant, abstract. I told myself that I would leave when I retired …”, says Charlie, 34 years old. Then the covid and the confinement arrived in 2020. “We were watching a program on a family traveling and it was then that with my companion, we made our decision,” she recalls. For 2 years, these young parents of a little boy set out to save himself: “We wanted to leave before our son was subject to the school obligation. At 4 years old, he was already quite independent and would keep some memories of this extraordinary trip.”

Sell ​​everything

Make an exchange of houses, find tenants? It was not the goal. “We decided to sell everything: house, cars, while taking a sabbatical year at work.”

After having sorted their belongings and filled their backpacks, the lovers go to Paris where they show the Eiffel Tower to their son, before flying to the Canadian West to immerse themselves in the great outdoors. Follow adventures through North America, with stops on the famous Route 66 in the United States, and even a getaway on the beaches of Hawaii. “For North America, I had planned hotels and car rental because it was the high tourist season. But thereafter, we improvised by changing the location every 2 days. We were guided by passenger blogs, Instagram accounts or the meetings we made on the way.

Slow journey

Their journey led them to Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and to Argentina. “We were so immersed in our trip that we lost the thread of the news …”, says Charlie.

We were so immersed in our trip that we lost the news thread.

After 6 intense months, the trio leaves the American continent. “We were exhausted, we never fascinated more than 3 nights in the same place. In January, we slowed down the pace.” In Asia, the “Slow Travel” has therefore become the watchword for the remaining six months. Take the time to savor each village visited, to chat with the locals and to immerse yourself in habits totally different from Western.

Traveling with a child: easy?

Traveling with a child requires a certain organization. The beginnings were not simple for the tribe. “At the start, my son claimed his house, his relatives… You had to adapt. Being with your child 24 hours a day is clearly not easy, it must be constantly occupied. But traveling with your family reinforced our links, I even feel like I am falling in love with my companion. Even today, we sometimes want to find this bubble of 3.”

I feel like I am falling in love with my companion …

In the collective unconscious, we imagine these trips around the world reserved for young people or students. However, many families embark on the adventure. Even if the journey is somewhat different with a child… “We obviously pay more attention to the comfort of housing. We travel with a greater pharmacy! But living this experience with a child also facilitates meetings. The locals come very quickly to you. In Asia, human contact is what touched me the most.”

And school in all of this?

Regarding the school, Charlie and his companion had exchanged with the teacher of their son before leaving. “She gave us the skills to work so that he is not late. Upon our return, we found that he had gained maturity compared to his class companions; at 5 years old, he knew the water cycle and the functioning of a volcano.”

Real life

Since this great trip, Charlie sees the world differently: “We were already tolerant but this trip has expanded our open -mindedness. We realize how beautiful the world is, despite pollution.” Rather than feeling nostalgia, she says she is grateful: “It was not a parenthesis, it was real life.”

Today, Charlie still notes the benefits of the trip to her and her family. “My son gained in insurance, he is more tolerant and is interested in ecology. I learned to let go, put into perspective and less want to control everything.” His advice? “No matter the age of your children, go for it! Even with a baby, it is possible to organize. Go ahead without hesitation.” Upon their return to Belgium, the family has grown with the arrival of a newborn baby: “We will have to leave for another world tour, just to make the youngest jealous”, jokes Charlie.

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