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I have to wander if your at that level with wealth and those returns ;why the partime consideration?Being retired I am not sure that traveling and living on 30-40K a year is reasonable really unless we are talking third world;especailly with a family. I woul;d budget that much for reasonable travel even in say south america.Also its unlike that if you cannot travel a 60;you'll be work at much really.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I like your plan and highly encourage it. My employer paid for my family to accompany me to Singapore and Spain assignments, and we lived in BC for a spell (On Thetis Island). I too feel it is more important to be 'retired' / free during kids development years, then return to workforce or career AFTER they have left the nest. I would say your annual budget is too low for a family in decent USA destinations, but adequate for rural / remote (which is not necessarily what you want). I would pick up a few consulting gigs, but more importantly get a very diversified portfolio, including desirable income properties that will spin off revenue + be an inflation hedge. These props can be international, but in high strength developed regions. USA and Europe have significant bargains on attractive properties. I like to get a 10% cap rate + equity appreciation. I have been fortunate enough to see 20-25% combined returns, tho I'm quite happy with 10% on my RE portion of portfolio. I would pick areas that are of long term interest to you, and potentially where you will eventually live. There are tax / travel expense benefits to this strategy, as well as diversification.
International living amongst the culture, will do more good for your kids, than will international schools. I would look at other options (Homeschool / local school, private mentoring...) we did all of those, but never an international school, as I preferred family to travel with me, since I was on the road everyday and for weeks / months at a time. I have friends whose kids did well in International Schools and in Singapore public Schools. They all came to NA for College, but I question if that is best edu.... the credentials I am sure will be valuable, tho the kids are all employed in significant international careers and will be doing grad school elsewhere. Pulling kids in and out of schools is way to stressful, compared to making their life a 'learning environment', Mine did everything from milk cows to designing and building their own houses (from scratch) while in middle / jr high school. They went to college, INSTEAD of High School thanks to WA State 'Running Start' program.
Music and language is very good to immerse the family with. It really helps to form bounds as you travel the world. As a family we traveled a lot and stayed in private guest homes (spare rooms of families). It was a rich experience to be immersed in the struggles / successes of others. A real awakening to our developing kids. (Like staying in a commune that cared for drug addicts... very significant 'wake-up' call to my kids. ) Farm stays were great, and we rode horses, cared for livestock (birth and death), & worked on farms FOR FREE...
Consider ways to stay engaged and current in your profession. It is a challenge to find GOOD paying work as a post 'retiree'.
I like your plan and highly encourage it. My employer paid for my family to accompany me to Singapore and Spain assignments, and we lived in BC for a spell (On Thetis Island). I too feel it is more important to be 'retired' / free during kids development years, then return to workforce or career AFTER they have left the nest. I would say your annual budget is too low for a family in decent USA destinations, but adequate for rural / remote (which is not necessarily what you want). I would pick up a few consulting gigs, but more importantly get a very diversified portfolio, including desirable income properties that will spin off revenue + be an inflation hedge. These props can be international, but in high strength developed regions. USA and Europe have significant bargains on attractive properties. I like to get a 10% cap rate + equity appreciation. I have been fortunate enough to see 20-25% combined returns, tho I'm quite happy with 10% on my RE portion of portfolio. I would pick areas that are of long term interest to you, and potentially where you will eventually live. There are tax / travel expense benefits to this strategy, as well as diversification.
International living amongst the culture, will do more good for your kids, than will international schools. I would look at other options (Homeschool / local school, private mentoring...) we did all of those, but never an international school, as I preferred family to travel with me, since I was on the road everyday and for weeks / months at a time. I have friends whose kids did well in International Schools and in Singapore public Schools. They all came to NA for College, but I question if that is best edu.... the credentials I am sure will be valuable, tho the kids are all employed in significant international careers and will be doing grad school elsewhere. Pulling kids in and out of schools is way to stressful, compared to making their life a 'learning environment', Mine did everything from milk cows to designing and building their own houses (from scratch) while in middle / jr high school. They went to college, INSTEAD of High School thanks to WA State 'Running Start' program.
Music and language is very good to immerse the family with. It really helps to form bounds as you travel the world. As a family we traveled a lot and stayed in private guest homes (spare rooms of families). It was a rich experience to be immersed in the struggles / successes of others. A real awakening to our developing kids. (Like staying in a commune that cared for drug addicts... very significant 'wake-up' call to my kids. ) Farm stays were great, and we rode horses, cared for livestock (birth and death), & worked on farms FOR FREE...
Consider ways to stay engaged and current in your profession. It is a challenge to find GOOD paying work as a post 'retiree'.
If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you started living abroad with your family?
Not sure all this traveling around is going to be in the kids best interest.
.
My thoughts behind that statement were derived from my own experience with parents that had a compulsion to wanderlust, by the time i was 15 i'd lived in at least 20 communities throughout western Europe and North America,When ever i started to feel like i was securing a place in the local community it was up up and away to some other place, Mom and Dad loved the constantly changing places,I cant tell you how much i hated the constant transient lifestyle, never really made any friends,always the new kid in school or on the block,as soon as i was 18 i stopped moving, happened to be in Montreal and i;ve been here ever since,i go to visit Mom and Dad once a year and in 40 years i can count on one hand the times that trip has been to the same place. To this day i have troubles with developed social skills to easily make friends and any situation that gets me meeting 20-30 new people gets me extremely agitated..Just my take on constant moving..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ucbrian
If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you started living abroad with your family?
~39, kids were aged 5&7. One with Red Hair !!! (scary in Most of Asia. as everyone has to rub / touch it). Monks would come running out of the temple and carry my kid off, rubbing his hair and laughing!
Kids, as they aged, did most of the daily food / flower shopping / bartering in local food markets as they learned to account for expenses in different currencies and deal with language / age / culture barriers. AND to shop on a budget !! It was a lot of fun, as they each had their special vendors and got lots of 'extras'. Gutting the fresh animals was always good for science class. The kids really loved their experiences, I can only imagine how much they would have liked sitting at a desk with 30 other 'age segregated munchkins' ... (BTW: our kids as well as parents are very inter-generational / cultural in relationships, our peers/friends are seldom in our same age / culture group.). The kids did and DO complain about the extended car travel (lots of Kliks.. ~ 50,000km just in Europe). Next time I would buy a Westfalia / camper / van. By age 12 the kids were doing cities on their own (b4 cell phones...a real challenge). We would meet as a family at lunch and spend the afternoon taking each other back to special things we had discovered. The kids always found fascinating things. Even in Wash DC they found stuff we have never heard of, and we had spent 6 weeks there when first married.
You will have a blast! (though there WILL be those days...)
as per jambo101 above... there are ways NOT to do this, AND it is not right for everyone. Be sensitive to that and accommodate where needed. (Such as post that suggested that maybe YOU ought to travel solo while family stays home... That would NOT work with my family, but may for yours). My kids (and I) have some regrets, but nothing a lifetime of counseling and meds can't sedate. I would have never considered pulling kids in and out of school / social stress. Thus, no school, no stress (except for mom and dad and nosy neighbors)
I completely agree with Jambo101. I moved a lot just within the US and it was difficult. I had the same social issues.
All things in moderation. Yes, kids need to be exposed to different cultures-(and speaking of exposed have you thought of all the diseases your child will need protection from?) but kids want structure as well.
You could globe wander till your child is 6 then come back here to settle down in a diverse area
and enjoy exotic summers abroad.
Best of both worlds. You are a parent now. The kids needs come first.
I have a friend who by his own admission, lived his life backwards. He was footloose and fancy free. Had great jobs like being a guide for a whitewater rafting company. He worked in National Parks and just traveled and saw the world.
When he was 40, he settled down and got a 'real' job. He said his wandering days were done and the rest of his life would be on the straight and narrow and his number one job would be saving/planning for retirement. He bought a small house to remodel and keep and now he just works every day like everyone else.
He has no regrets about choosing this life. He is glad he did it and had fun while he was young and fit.
You can plan it however seems realistic to you, in fact you need some kind of vague plan. The key is that the world around you keeps changing and you need to keep yopur plan flexible
I always feel we need to balance our time, resources and health in the life given to us, with the goal of increasing one's smile count before the candle goes out.
I have a friend who by his own admission, lived his life backwards. He was footloose and fancy free. Had great jobs like being a guide for a whitewater rafting company. He worked in National Parks and just traveled and saw the world.
When he was 40, he settled down and got a 'real' job. He said his wandering days were done and the rest of his life would be on the straight and narrow and his number one job would be saving/planning for retirement. He bought a small house to remodel and keep and now he just works every day like everyone else.
He has no regrets about choosing this life. He is glad he did it and had fun while he was young and fit.
Mine would be a little different than your friend. I worked hard and had a lot of partying till 30, saved for retirement from 25-40, plan to do early retirement (with some small side business on the side) from 40/42-60/62, come out of retirement and work part-time or continue to run a part time business in my mid sixtys.....
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The kids really loved their experiences, I can only imagine how much they would have liked sitting at a desk with 30 other 'age segregated munchkins' ... (BTW: our kids as well as parents are very inter-generational / cultural in relationships, our peers/friends are seldom in our same age / culture group.). The kids did and DO complain about the extended car travel (lots of Kliks.. ~ 50,000km just in Europe). Next time I would buy a Westfalia / camper / van. By age 12 the kids were doing cities on their own (b4 cell phones...a real challenge). We would meet as a family at lunch and spend the afternoon taking each other back to special things we had discovered. The kids always found fascinating things. Even in Wash DC they found stuff we have never heard of, and we had spent 6 weeks there when first married. 
(though there WILL be those days...)
