Who says you can't travel the world and have a stable home life?
Shattering preconceived notions about Digital Nomad Families, Lona reveals how she manages her family's school schedules with travel, handles tricky questions from critics, and the impact this unique lifestyle has on her children's friendships and global understanding.
Key Takeaways:
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☕️buymeacoffee.com/whatsyourfree
About the show:
Sam Laliberte - entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.
Who says you can't travel the world and have a stable home life?
Shattering preconceived notions about Digital Nomad Families, Lona reveals how she manages her family's school schedules with travel, handles tricky questions from critics, and the impact this unique lifestyle has on her children's friendships and global understanding.
Key Takeaways:
Support the show:
☕️buymeacoffee.com/whatsyourfree
About the show:
Sam Laliberte - entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.
I think it's not okay to sacrifice, absolutely not. I only have one life and I hope to live to 150 and I want to have a great day every day and I don't want to sit, you know, when I'm 80 and be like, oh man, like I spent the last 40 years just like chasing my kids and, you know, living their dreams and not being happy with mine.
Speaker 2:You're listening to the Freedom Lifestyle podcast series. I'm sharing relatable stories of freedom seekers who ditched conventional office life and courageously asked for more. The energy just completely shifted. My entire being just felt so free. My business was still generating income. While I was on the beach I decided to quit and just stay at home.
Speaker 1:I really can't work for anyone but me.
Speaker 2:It's literally just doing whatever the hell you want to do. As for me, I'm your host, sam, and I've spent the last four years creating a business that allows me to work from anywhere. The Freedom Lifestyle looks different for everyone. What's your free? You're listening to a new episode of the Freedom Lifestyle podcast. Thank you so much for being here. I'm really, really, really excited to introduce you to today's guest, who has been such an inspiration for me as I start to think long-term about what my Freedom Lifestyle could look like. But if you are new here, you are new to the Freedom Lifestyle. You're trying to figure out which path to freedom is best for you. I have a new training. You can go to buymeacoffeecom, slash what's your free and you can learn my expert tips on what you should know before quitting your nine to five job. Essentially, I've uncovered three different paths to freedom and in this training you'll learn which one is best for you and what your next step should be. So that is a great place to start for those who are new to the Freedom Lifestyle, are ready to quit their nine to five job but kind of want to figure out what their best path should be. And now for today's episode you are going to meet Lona. Now.
Speaker 2:Lona is a serial entrepreneur. She's the head of revenue at Safety Wing. Her past business was backed by Y Combinator. She's an advisor to startups all around the world, an expert at building revenue channels. She has done so many amazing things and there are so many ways we could have taken this conversation. But I was really interested in the fact that not only is she a digital nomad who's been to over 80 countries, she also does this with her family.
Speaker 2:So Lona and her husband George, they have two young children and after having their kids, they didn't just prescribe to. The traditional lifestyle of your life ends now and we have to be in one fixed location and that's it, and you've got to create the stability for their children. They've really figured out a way to create both stability and adventure for their lifestyles and really make it work for them. So in this episode we uncover Lona's story about how she first met her husband, who was living a more stable life in Germany. She was this jet setter working remotely, traveling back and forth all around the world, and really got him on board to this lifestyle, and since they have co-created their own version of a freedom lifestyle with their children on board.
Speaker 2:We talked about what are some of the misconceptions that people have about a family that lives this types of lifestyle, including the association that people often have that they're selfish and how society kind of expects your personal lives to end when you have kids. Lona had some incredible comments around that and I left feeling so, so inspired about what my future could look like myself. She also shared a ton of really practical resources that families can plug into. Who might want to try this lifestyle for a period of time? Maybe you wanna take your first extended trip with your family. She talks about different programs that you can join, what global schooling could look like and how you can do it all on an affordable budget. So, with no delay, meet Lona. Lona, welcome to the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast. How are you doing today?
Speaker 1:Hey Sam, great to be here with you. I'm doing fantastic.
Speaker 2:Where in the world are you taking this conversation from? What time is it there? And if you weren't having this conversation with me, what would you normally be doing right now?
Speaker 1:I'm usually on the move with my family and the two kids, but right now we're back in Miami after a three month and a half travel time over in Europe. So in Miami, and what I'll be doing right now would be working. I'm doing my work, hours that I've decided myself Amazing.
Speaker 2:yeah, I think that's a great natural transition to what I want the focus of today's conversation to be. When I was preparing, I realized there's so many different ways that we could take today's conversation. You're such a great example of someone who's taking the time to figure out okay, what are my personal values and how can I create a lifestyle that allows me to live those values every single day. So we could talk about your many successful entrepreneurial endeavors, your experience with remote work, how you're really being a thought leader in this space and paving the way for other remote leaders.
Speaker 2:But something that I think is very interesting about you that I've never covered on this podcast is that you do this all with your family. You are a digital nomad family. Is that right? That's right, Sam, I do this with my family. The most common piece of feedback I get from people who aren't living this lifestyle is oh, that's so fun that you and Jared are doing this right now and it's all fun and games that you're co-creating and traveling the world and having all these experiences, but as soon as you have a family, it has to end. Did you think that was gonna be true for you, or did you go into having a family, knowing absolutely not I'm gonna do this differently and I had role models and stuff paving the way, Kind of like what you are for me.
Speaker 1:Yes, so definitely it's the second one where I felt I would continue to live the life that I was living before, which was a lot of travel in my 20s my 30s for sure seeing the world, going to the most amazing events, including Burning man several times. I don't know if I had role models, but I just knew that I just wasn't conventional in any sense of the word, although I did follow a traditional path in terms of schooling and work and stuff. But still, I always try to break the norms. I always wanted to do what was best for me, even after school.
Speaker 1:After I graduated college in Washington DC, I didn't want to get a real job because I didn't want to commute and I didn't want to sit in a concrete box. So I told my parents I'm not getting a job. I know I just got this degree, it was really expensive, but I'm actually just going to, you know, freelance and help different companies. So that's what I set out to do. I was working with startups and then I convinced my boss to let me work from Paris one summer and I did that remotely at a time where it was not popular at all, and proved that it could work. And then my life was like OK, great, so I can just work for my laptop wherever I am.
Speaker 1:And that was my life when the first child came into the picture. I was living in New York at the time and Manhattan was amazing but also very expensive. So I was like, wow, I need like $10 million to live the life of living as a single person in New York, but with a family. So that's when I set out to travel because I knew that, using geo arbitrage, I could have a good quality of life somewhere else versus sticking it out in the US and working in the hamster wheel trying to make $500,000 a year to pay my apartment and all the child expenses.
Speaker 2:So it sounds like you were pretty savvy in terms of how this could work resources way to set up your life well before you had your first child. And, of course, you know there's a marriage here. There's George, who I love, your husband, who I've had the pleasure of meeting a few times. Sometimes in relationships one person is the more like rebellious, freedom, pushing, visionary for the lifestyle, and the other person has to be convinced. What was going on with him and his lifestyle when he met Lona, this entrepreneur, this rebel, this person who had been living this flexible lifestyle. What was going on for him when you met?
Speaker 1:You know, that's a great question because it definitely exposes those intricacies in the relationship, right? So when we met, I was living between San Francisco and New York and he was just like, okay, so how does that life look like? Like I don't know, I just like travel between the two and I just go to all these things. And he was living in Germany at the time and he was very happy with his life. So after three years of long distance, going from New York to Europe every month or so, it was time to make a decision. So he was the one that sacrificed his life to come over to New York and stay with me, and he followed me in this vision of a lifestyle because he wanted to give it a try.
Speaker 1:But really he was that person that's more of like a homebody and he wants stability, he wants a place. So after we did this for so long and after we had our second child, he's like okay, you have to figure out where you want to live, can you please put your flag somewhere? And he made me make a decision at the time, which was about three years ago, to figure out at least one home base that we can kind of like, grow our family and after we did that, and now there is a home base and there's a lot of logistics, as you know yourself with your home, you know that come with that. He is now more towards the nomadic lifestyle is like, oh, I kind of miss. You know travel as well, so can we go back to doing that, which is interesting?
Speaker 2:So it sounds like you've compromised a few things and you've set up a balance where there is travel but there's also a home base. There is that flexibility, but there's also stability. 2024 is a few months away. How do you think about setting up an entire year as a family? What do those conversations look like and what does next year look like, for example?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So if it was completely up to me, we'd be traveling every two to three months and going from one place to the other. But now that the kids are in the picture and there is the school schedules, they are the ones that are kind of dictating a little bit part of my year, which, when I found that out, how strict they were, I cried and I was, you know, very sad that some part of my life was maybe being dictated by somebody else and not me. However, I found a way to make that work as well. So, you know, we came into this school year quite late, because we're still in Europe and I'm sure we'll figure out some way to still be flexible within it.
Speaker 1:But 2024, what it looks like is that I'd love to create these opportunities where my friends can also join us for a month or two in this location. So, for example, bansko, bulgaria. It's a digital nomad hotspot. Many of our friends live there, but also others travel and bring their families as well. So I want to invite my network, kind of like, is on a free basis, like I'm not gonna make money from this, but I'm gonna say, hey, we're gonna be in Bouncekobogaria for a month. Let's all meet there.
Speaker 1:If you're single grade, if you have a family grade, the kids will learn and play and work together. We wanna set up a few of those next year and that could be really interesting to see because, like you said, maybe you know who are those role models and I think I see a lot of my friends looking up to me and say, oh, how do I get into doing this? Can you tell me where would I go first? Can you help me figure that out? And I'm going to just post it out there and see who is called to doing it and then come join me and see if you like it.
Speaker 2:What are the rules in terms of how much you can actually pull them away and how accommodating is the Miami school system in terms of remote learning? And well, can't I just take the math chapter for the month? How does that all work?
Speaker 1:You know it's a great question because a lot of people have those questions around kids and schooling and that's one of the biggest things that has to be figured out in this nomadic lifestyle, because one of the things that it's offered in this type of lifestyle it's world schooling. However, that comes with a lot of logistics, arrangements and also maybe you being that central part of how that world schooling takes place, because I need to dedicate a good portion of my day to work. It's really hard for me to say I'm going to homeschool my kid or I'm going to be that parent champion to get everybody around and have my kids have this place where they can learn and play together. You know there's a lot of nomads that do the world schooling. There is parents that take a teacher with them.
Speaker 1:My kids have been still pretty young so far where I've put them into daycares in a local country where we go to, and now my son just entered kindergarten. So they are strict. They say just 10 days a year you can have an excuse absences, and then more than that it's not really allowed. I'm planning June, july, august type thing for those travel, kind of like cohorts or friend gatherings, versus during the school year and then as I get more sophisticated and I have more information in terms of how can the kids spend eight hours in a place with other kids and be happy, then I'll let you know.
Speaker 2:OK, well, I know your children are quite young, but they're old enough to have friends at school. They're old enough to probably have a best friend that they hang out with all school year. And I'm guessing their classmates are looking forward to a summer in Miami and are talking about maybe the local soccer team they're going to join. What is it like for your son knowing, actually, my whole family is leaving for the entire summer and I'll just see you in the fall for the school year? What's that been like for him?
Speaker 1:To be honest, so far it's been very easy, so I have not had to have any of those difficult conversations. Before we left for Europe in May, he was the one asking like mom, when are we leaving here? When are we going to Albania? When are we going to Bulgaria? When are we going to Portugal? You know, he was just like waiting for the day and it's like is it tomorrow, Is it in two nights and two days? Is it three nights and three days? He's like counting the days and then we get on the airplane.
Speaker 1:They're so excited to be back on the airplane so they fully enjoyed it. And then, coming back here, they're like, oh yeah, we're going back to Miami and they're just like excited to be back. And then they see the friends that they had here. We just had my daughter's birthday this past weekend. We had a little gathering. It seemed like we never left. They haven't felt any of that yet. I'm going to be very curious to see how that changes and then how that will change us as a family. But I'm hoping that, because they've been traveling since they were two months and they've been going to all these places where we've made friends everywhere, that they are going to be used to that and also crave that as they grow up.
Speaker 2:Hopefully I don't know how much. Do you think that the fact that they were doing this from the age of two months plays into their I guess we would use like adaptability and flexibility themselves, into their personalities? Like if I had a seven year old right now and my child had never really been on a flight before and I wanted to join you in Bulgaria next summer. Do you think that that is like a learned skill that your kids have, or do you think children in general can just pick up and adapt? Like what can you say about that from what you've learned talking to other families?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think what I will say is from my personal experience that seeing my kids adapt and also see them just pick up friends wherever they go, it's so interesting to me because, like we were just in France at a wedding and they were outside waiting for the bride and the groom and they just started playing with the local kids and they're completely immersed, like nobody introduced them to anyone and they were just doing their thing. And that's what they do everywhere they go. And even here in Miami, when we came back, they go and play with all kinds of different kids and one set of parents, which were two women that had a child, one of them said wow, your kids are so social. Like usually the people here in Miami don't come and say hello or the kids, like I'm just kind of like, stand offish and they won't socialize. I was like, oh, that's strange, I don't know what that looks like.
Speaker 1:So, to be honest, it wasn't designed, it wasn't like I set out to be like, oh, I want my kids to be adaptable and to learn these languages and to do XYZ. I'm so far away from that. I'm very like relaxed. It's kind of like I go with the flow, I do what feels good for me as a parent, so I'm actually a bit selfish and not think so much about what's going to be best for the child. So, to answer your question, I think yes, for sure it does play a big factor. If they do start traveling when they're young and expose them to different cultures and expose them to different planes and different modes of transportation, they are much more willing to become that type of person hopefully, I don't know. Let's see, you know they're not 20 yet to tell me, like mom, that was the worst thing that you ever did for us.
Speaker 2:I think it's interesting that you just use the word selfish and kind of owned it, because, at least for me, that's like one of my fears and trips ups that people think that I am right. It's like, oh, you're selfish for just living a lifestyle based on what you wanna do and what makes you feel good. And my partner and I have had to really unpack that, like, why do we feel guilty about doing things that make us feel good? Like, why is there like this weird association with selfishness? So can you talk a little bit about what that was like for you? Like, did you give yourself that name? Or are you feeling like people thought that about you and the way you were living your life? And how have you come to terms with the fact that, like, yeah, I just I'm okay with making decisions that are good for me and rolling with it and seeing where that takes me.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, 100%. People did give me that thing. I mean even starting with my partner, like, oh, you're so selfish for like choosing the lifestyle and I am so okay with that, sam, and I cannot tell you how happy that makes me because I know that if I am living my best life, I guarantee you that my child is also living their best life and I'm not gonna sit here and live up to whatever expectation that I have to be in a cul-de-sac with the mom group or whatever you know stuff that you wanna put me in like a white picket fence, like that was like my nightmare, like growing up, and still it is today having children. I do not wanna be in any other situation. I wanna be having fun. I wanna be surprised by wonder and adventure and new places and beautiful places. I wanna be inspired.
Speaker 1:I don't want to live a boring life and I think what happens in the US and Canada is that many parents give up their lives for their kids and they think it's okay to sacrifice. I think it's not okay to sacrifice, absolutely not. I only have one life and I hope to live to 150 and I want to have a great day every day and I don't want to sit, you know, when I'm 80 and be like, oh man, like I spend the last 40 years just like chasing my kids and, you know, living their dreams and not being happy with mine. But yet, just to give you an example, like I have a neighbor here whose kids are now 20 and 22 and she gave her all life to them and now they've turned completely against her, where they're doing this crazy lifestyle and all these things that she doesn't approve and she's like my life is worth nothing now because I sacrificed everything I have for them. I'm like see, there's your problem. Do not sacrifice anything for anyone. Like you be true to yourself and the rest will fall into place.
Speaker 2:Thank you for saying that. You're definitely an inspiration for me. So please keep passing on that message because you're right. As a Canadian growing up in North America, that is definitely the default state of your life ends now and it's no longer about you and if you try to make it about you, you're selfish. And I actually watched my mom struggle with that a lot because she openly wasn't that maternal and she openly like had kids because she wanted kids but she wasn't naturally that mom that just wanted to sacrifice everything for her kids and I think she struggled with that a lot and with a lot of stigma that people put against her and I think it has been hard for women in terms of the expectations of our life kind of ends now.
Speaker 1:It has been. And also, how are you putting all of that weight onto your children, right, like? Imagine you tell your children like, hey, I sacrificed everything for you. And the kid is like but I didn't ask you to Like, you did that because you wanted to. So, just like you said, you know you're happy to see her doing what she does best and that made you happy because she also showed up as the best version of herself. She didn't show up as this grumpy mom like no makeup, no, nothing, no whatever, just the shoveled completely every single day, to every single place. And you're like oh God, you know who is this person. Yeah, I mean kids see that Like, I put a little bit of makeup on my son, my mom, he looks so beautiful. Where are you going? What's happening? I mean you'll just start making all these compliments and you're like oh, okay, I should, you know, dress up more often.
Speaker 2:Thanks, annie. No, that's amazing, very inspiring and so true. So when I asked you to prepare for this conversation, I have a few questions that I get my guests to answer ahead of time, and one of them is about misconceptions people have about your lifestyle. And, lona, you were very thorough. You had many misconceptions I'm counting like 10 here so I'm guessing that really triggered something in you in terms of I'm bang on that people typically think you're living your lifestyle in a certain way and you're finding yourself correcting people often. Is that true?
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly. So, yeah, like one of the biggest ones that we get is that people think that you're always on vacation and I'm sure you get this all the time as well, sam but working and living from everywhere in the world and Instagram, you just show like those nice things and it's only like a snapshot in time versus your 24 hours in a day, and they don't see all the chaos and the craziness and everything that goes behind to make that beautiful shot. On Instagram.
Speaker 1:I also tend to not post as often because I feel that I will be criticized. We also follow each other on Instagram, so I'm sure you see that I don't post often at all, just because I don't want people to think like, oh, look at her, like she is posing for her life or I just don't want to brag about anything. I just want to be very humble and just kind of like showcase things, like once in a while, like hey, I'm alive, but not like bring it every day, so it's like in people's face. I will do that on LinkedIn, but again, like I won't show my life. It's more like the thought leadership part, which I think is very interesting.
Speaker 2:I think that's a good point about social media, right Is, what's the balance between like bragging and feeling like you're one-upping people versus inspiring people to realize like this is actually possible and being that inspiration like you are for me. How do you think about that? Do you think about it strategically or do you just kind of post when you want to have you thought about that balance before?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I've thought about that so much and one of the main things that Instagram is not my main platform is because our customers have no website, so we must have the same platform. So it's usually the heads of people heads of HR, people, person those are the founders. They will be on LinkedIn. So for me it makes sense to invest in a platform that gives me back some ROI, whereas with Instagram, I have a lot of people on there, not only my family members.
Speaker 1:So when I'm posting, I don't know who's seeing what. And also I've gotten so many different comments I mean even from investors that I've had in my last company. They'd be like, oh, did you go to this place with my money? And I'd be like, no, I went with my money. So there are so many layers to a person's life that somebody can just go in and rip apart that you just have to be very careful. I'm also very careful with what I share with kids and their faces. I don't want the algorithms to pick up faces and have a record of everything that they've done, of they've been to and all the locations.
Speaker 2:Also careful with that Social media safety for sure. Okay. So one misconception people think you're always on vacation, which is not true. You are extremely hard worker, very ambitious, multiple startups, many venture backed companies that you've been part of or started yourself, and so I know you're working, but people think you're just on a vacay. What about the fact that people think it's only for the wealthy and that this lifestyle you're living you must be so rich? Not saying that you're not, but that that's the only way to achieve this?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm not rich. I can set the record straight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:My big dream was to have a billion dollar company so I could have a billion people impact through that.
Speaker 1:However, that was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life and actually did not pay me well at all. So it was a path that I took truly because I wanted to have this impact and I believe, and I still believe, in sustainability and many things that we can do to be sustainable, including remote work, can help us with climate change. So instead of commuting to an office and instead of all being in an office space, we can work from wherever we are without having to contribute to greenhouse gases. So that's one of the big things that. That's why I'm so passionate about remote work. But really, it's not for the wealthy. Anyone can do it, and I'm proof of it because I yes, I have been through the most exotic locations in my life, like Ibiza and Niconosa, san Tropez, my early 20s 30s. However, now that I have kids, those locations are out of the picture, because I need to have at least $10,000 a week to spend in those locations and that's not my budget right now.
Speaker 1:So really, what I found is that I can go to places like Bansko, bulgaria, which are beautiful mountain towns, and spend $500 for the month for rent, and then maybe another I don't know $500 for food, and that's definitely something that everyone can afford. It's not something for the rich, but you have a very high quality of life because you have beautiful outdoors, lots of adventure, clean air, clean water, access to organic, good food, interesting community around you. So it's not just rich people bumping our shoulders with each other and showing off their boats and yachts. It's about real people conversing about the real life problems, and I think that's very interesting and it's very rich. I can mention more, but that's just one example.
Speaker 1:So that's Bulgaria in terms of a place, you think is that's Bulgaria, that's Costa Rica, which you also have been quite a bit, that's Mexico, croatia, albania. That's come up to be one of the most interesting destinations Lately. There's so many places, the world is so big and we focus on this hot spots for so many years because the media had a grip on these places that paid them money, like Italy, greece, france so everyone heads to Paris and everybody heads to Rome, but then if you go to Provence, for example, where we were in the summer, we paid very reasonable rates, like $80 a night type thing for a two bedroom apartment and amazing places like pretty much empty in August, whereas if you go to Paris, you'll pay an arm and a leg and you'll be shoulder to shoulder with millions of other tourists that are going at the same time. There's a way to discover the world without going to the very hot spots.
Speaker 2:And the fact that you're able to just pick a random location and go there, bring your family explore it, put yourself out there. That is a special type of person, Perhaps somebody who is naturally like that, but also maybe somebody who's done it a few times before. I know there's also some resources for families who are wanting to do this for the first time, who can kind of be facilitated. I think it's boundless. Can you talk a little bit about those programs and organizations? Have you ever been part of any of them?
Speaker 1:Yes, so boundlesslife, which is the website, is one of our partners at Safety Wing and they are a great company. They basically help families that want to live this lifestyle and they set up locations in Greece, Italy, Bali and Portugal. I was with them in Portugal for about a month and a half last year and really we had the best time. They set up the apartment, they have a co-working space, they have activities for the parents and kids and they also have the schooling for the kids, which basically you put them in and they're there for seven, eight hours of the day. You pay a certain fee to be part of it and then everything is taken care of. So those parents that want to get started with that, that's the easiest way to do it and then you can venture on your own when you feel comfortable. But if those prices are maybe expensive for you, I usually just have hacked it on my own.
Speaker 1:As an entrepreneur, I just kind of like figure things out. So if I pick the location, I'll go onto Facebook and find a group Maybe world schoolers in Mexico, in Clare del Carmen, or Nomad families and I'll type up something or expats and there I'll ask questions like hey, what local schools do you guys recommend? What area should I look into? How much should I pay for an apartment a month?
Speaker 1:Because this is one of the main things that I dislike is that when Nomads go to a place like Costa Rica or Mexico, we do not want to price out the locals and what we have to do is negotiate pricing of around what the locals pay. So wherever I go to a place, I try to negotiate the local rates, meaning like, if the monthly rental apartment is 500, I won't pay more than like 600 or 700. I'm not going to pay 3000, you know, because it's hurting the local economy. But that's some of the tips that I would say. And then I'll Google places around in terms of childcare and then I'll show up to the door and be like, hey, can you take my kid? They're like, yeah, sure, Okay, here she is. And then take them out at 5 pm when we're done with work and we go from there.
Speaker 2:The idea of just dropping your kid off with someone that you've never met before, that you found on the internet, can be a leap for a lot of people. I know some of my friends are just having their first child now and are making the decision about which nanny to get, and it's such a grueling process. And like this is someone who's going to come into their own home that they're meeting several times before. That lives in the city. And you're talking about just going to a random place in the world and giving your child to someone in a foreign location, Can you?
Speaker 2:comment on a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:Yes, Well, it's a child care center, right. So it's a kindergarten type thing, right. So it's something that's licensed and some governmental body Probably said it's OK that kids can be there. So I feel pretty OK with that and also we're totally cool with them not knowing the language. So the kids went to this Mexican daycare and they didn't speak any Spanish and they came out speaking some Spanish. It's not so bad. So, as I said, I'm pretty relaxed and not bad kind of freaked out. So I trust the world very much and the universe that things will go well, and they usually do. Knock on wood. But yeah, if you're the type of person that has a lot of fears, I don't know how I can alleviate those fears because it's very internal and would have to be a lot of self-work, but yeah, so I guess for parents that are adventures and they are willing to do this type of thing is not that difficult. Just like you travel to other places and you figure things out, you'll do it the same with kids, it's not that hard.
Speaker 2:It sounds like it's much more about the mindset piece of, I always say, trying to focus on what could go right, not what could go wrong, and I feel like that's one of the biggest way to distinguish people. There's either people that just dwell on the risks and the potential challenges or people who dwell on the possibility, and if you can do that, then you can sort the other stuff out, and you've been doing this for a long time. So there have been some challenges that have come up. They've been pretty minor, but I would not have traded in all the amazing things that have happened, because I had a couple of challenges that I had to work out, which I worked out. I'm guessing you're the same.
Speaker 1:Yeah with you, Sam. And one last thing I wanted to mention, because we kind of are associated with safety. You are, but I am much more. The cool part is that when you go to these locations, one thing that you want to have peace of mind is some type of insurance. So, as you're traveling from place to place, one thing that you are worried with your kids is like if they get sick or do you take them, and if you have some type of global health insurance that kind of follows you wherever you go, it's much easier to feel that peace of mind. Or you're going from country to country and safety wing provides that. So that's something that parents can do to have that extra peace of mind, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, great, great point. We will include a link to safety wing in the show notes. I've luckily never had really any incident with having to use insurance. I've never gotten sick or had any accident, despite all of the ridiculous things that I put my body and life in. But it is good to know that it is there in case I need it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and even more so for parents, right? Because, like a baby or a child can get sick much more often from like zero to three, four years old, so that's something that makes a lot of sense for them.
Speaker 2:Well, on that note, I know we're nearing the end and as we're talking about potentially risky behaviors and wildlife styles, you and I have both been to Burning man. I've been twice, sounds like you've been a few times as well. I just got back. There's a lot of families at Burning man. I distinctly remember meeting a woman my first year who was pregnant and she was working at the free post office. You could go there and you could create a letter and they would stamp it and send it and that was their free gift. You can mail anyone anything anywhere in the world to let them know hey, I'm at Burning man checking in, sent something to my grandma it was super sweet. And this woman she was pregnant and she had a little child, maybe three year old, with her. She pointed at her stomach and she's like it's this one's first burn and then this one's second burn, and I just remember that really stuck with me. I was just like wow, that is like that for me.
Speaker 2:I was five years younger and so I was at a different stage in my life, but that seemed like crazy. I'll use that word right Now, going back a second time. Five years later, a lot of my life has changed what I think is quote unquote normal. I saw children everywhere and I didn't even think twice. What are your thoughts on bringing children to Burning man? Would you ever?
Speaker 1:I would say yes, because it's one of those experiences that has been life changing for me for sure, and I've been three times similar to you, and in different stages of my life, but definitely before kids. So you'll see that my answer hasn't changed. Even after having kids. I thought before having them that I'll bring them. Even now, I think it's such a special experience that parents can use the bonds with their kids and also show them a world that they can also learn from from different people.
Speaker 1:People go there from late in life, early in life, so there's a range of ages, which is beautiful, that it's not just like young people getting drunk or trashed. It's actually very thoughtful, very intentional. There is a lot of love and connection and I want kids, my kids, to be able to feel that they have access to that and that they can develop that unconditional love for the other and the way to help others without needing something back from them. Because our society in real world works in this exchange format where I give you something and then I expect you to give me something, whereas there it's so beautiful because you just give without expecting anything, and that's where the magic lies. Like without expectation, you receive everything that you need and you ever thought you would need their love.
Speaker 1:I think it's something incredible that kids won't be able to see anywhere else in the world but there, yes, there are things like nudity or adult things that they might not want to see, so perhaps there's a way to protect them from that. But also, I don't know, that's also life, so I don't know how you sense their life with your kids. I mean, they'll see it at some point. I don't know what age they'll be when I take them there. I haven't decided on that, but it is something that I think would be really fun with kids as well, I agree.
Speaker 2:Well, hopefully we're all on the playa someday soon and I can take your kids for a few hours while you and George go have some fun and venture around, have some adult time. I think that would be such a special way to give back to you. You've given so much to me. Thank you for being such an inspiration and coming on the show and talking about. You know what it takes to live this lifestyle, but also like what it doesn't take to live this lifestyle, and it's really just a decision you have to make and a mindset that you have to stick to, and then there's, like, this whole world of possibility waiting for you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, sam, and thanks for having this platform. I think it's important for people to have a place where they can learn about this type of lifestyle that we both enjoy so much.
Speaker 2:Same Thanks. So much Thanks for tuning into another episode If this one inspired you to take action, but you could use some help on your plan, or perhaps you've got too many ideas bouncing around in that beautiful grain of yours. You'd love some clarity on your strategy, what you should pursue first and why. Well, I am now offering one-on-one freedom coaching sessions. You can book these at buymeacoffeecom. Slash what's your free. This is our opportunity to have a virtual coffee together. Spend an hour getting clarity on how you can unlock more freedom and flexibility in your life. On these calls, you can ask me anything, but here are some things that I'm an expert in Creating a location, independent lifestyle, building service-based and freelance businesses, leveraging the gig economy and platforms like Fiverr, utilizing podcasts to build your personal brand and developing passive income streams. So book your freedom coaching session with me at buymeacoffeecom. Slash what's your free. I would love to have a virtual coffee with you.