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Meet The Bode’s Well Crew!
Angela & Jason and their son Bode make up the team behind the site Bode’s Well.
This intrepid little family is off an an open ended adventure pursuing health, education and the life of their dreams!
We caught up with them and asked them to tell us a little bit about their life on the road.
Tell us a little bit about your family.
We’ve been married for 13 years and have a 6 year old son named Bode. Two years ago, on his 4th birthday, Bode blew out the candles on his cake and then wished for more time with his dad. If that weren’t enough of a catalyst, Jason had also just been diagnosed with extremely high blood pressure, largely due to the stress of a high-intensity job. So, we decided it was time to take a break,reorganize our priorities, and spend more time together
The resulting ‘plan’ was to take off on this open-ended family adventure.
What are you doing that is fabulous?!
Our family is traveling through all of the Americas (and possibly beyond) in a 1971 Volkswagen. We left the comfort and security of California to travel the world and explore other cultures. We sold our possessions, rented our house and took off in a vintage VW (that barely worked at the time). In that time, we’ve traveled across the U.S. and Canada, south through Mexico and Central America and on to South America. Now two years later, we are in Argentina – our 15th country on this trip.
Tell us about your family vision.
When we came to the conclusion that this is what we aspired to do, it was simply because we have always been happiest when traveling.
Nothing is better than when we are exploring new places and seeing new things. Now, we get to do it full time, without rushing, without limits to how long we can stay. We are living deliberately and on our own terms.
Now that Bode is school-age, we’re realizing just what an impact our travels are having on his education.
- He’s learning a second language by going to school in Mexico, Guatemala and Bolivia.
- He learns about animals by trekking though the jungle or swimming with them in the ocean.
- He gets a history and geography lesson every day just by looking around.
It’s not exactly how we remember growing up… and we’re envious.
How did you get started?
We sold or donated almost everything we had. Our rule was that “if you don’t love it, get rid of it.” That simple motto helped us eliminate almost all of our material posessions. And, we don’t miss any of it. At the same time, Jason bought and refurbished an old VW bus. All of this took almost a year – much longer than we anticipated.
Still, just making the decision and doing it was the hardest part. We really had no concrete plan or schedule when we left, and it’s really turned out for the best. We are completley free to follow our
interests wherever they take us.
What have been your biggest challenges or successes?
- We have a kid with lots of food allergies.
- We have a ‘classic’ old car and lots of car problems.
- We have encountered bad weather and political strikes.
But the great thing is, traveling as a family allows us to all focus on the issue at hand and figure ou the best solution. It hasn’t always easy, but it was never easy at home either.
It is certainly empowering as well. Every time we encounter a difficulty, we know we have to figure it out together and we always learn something from it.
What would you do differently if you could go back and do it over?
I think we would have studied more Spanish before we left! Other than that, we wouldn’t change a thing.
What is one myth you’d like to dispel about your lifestyle?
That it’s too expensive or that you have to be wealthy to travel long term.
- We travel ‘low to the ground’ – no pricey airfares.
- We camp instead of stay at hotels.
- We cook our meals and shop at the local mercados instead of eating out.
- We don’t have any monthly bills or expenses from maintaining anything ‘back home.’
- We don’t even have a cell phone.
The result is that it’s much cheaper to travel continuously than it was to live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What would you tell other families who want to do what you are doing?
Pack light, be flexible and go for it!
Introducing your kids to different cultures and parts of the world is something that will forever change them for the better. Don’t be discouraged by the amount of time it may take you to pursue the dream – the time will pass anyway.
You can follow this fabulous family through their website or on Facebook
[...] if you’re interested, Jenn Miller interviewed us a while back for Uncommon Childhood. Thanks [...]