Thinking of Having A Baby Abroad? This Couple Did it Twice…on 2 Continents!

Wondering what it’s like having a baby abroad? You’re in the right place!

In this article, we highlight the best features of our podcast on this very topic as well as offer the podcast links for your listening enjoyment. So let’s jump in!

For travel inspiration and guidance from families living this lifestyle, have a listen to season 1, episode [#10 ] of Our Offbeat Life! Listen on iTunes and Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

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Introduction

Brad and Jenny are avid travelers who have taken their love for exploring the world to the next level. In this fascinating interview, they share their journey of becoming full-time travelers with their two young children.

Their story: unexpected baby abroad, settling in New Zealand. An incredible example of embracing life’s twists, new cultures, and the rewards of slow travel.

How Their Journey Began

Brad and Jenny were avid travelers even before having a baby abroad. They took trips together early on in their relationship and always had an interest in seeing the world.

We started traveling in early 2018. it was the end of March and we thought that we’d only be gone for a year. [00:01:07]

Bradley Urias

In early 2018, they decided to take the leap into full-time travel by quitting their jobs. They found a cheap one-way flight from Orlando to Paris for only $200 and booked it.

This locked in their start date to embark on the new traveling lifestyle. They began their trip focusing on Europe, with no idea at that point that Jenny would become pregnant just a few months in.

Finding Out They Were Expecting

A few months into their trip while exploring Italy, Brad and Jenny discovered they were expecting their first child together. They scheduled their first scan in Scotland since the doctors spoke English.

We found out a few months. into our trip, we were expecting. [00:02:27]

Jenny Urias

As they continued moving around Europe, they periodically got prenatal care appointments along the way.

The original travel plans had to be adjusted due to zika virus risks in certain regions. They extended stays in some places as Jenny’s pregnancy progressed so she wouldn’t have to travel frequently.

Giving Birth Abroad

When they found out they were having a boy, Brad and Jenny decided to stick with the plan to give birth in South Africa. They arranged to deliver at a private hospital with a backup OBGYN.

However, the hospital unexpectedly closed right before Jenny’s due date, forcing them to scramble to find new arrangements last minute. They ended up going through 3 different hospitals in South Africa for the birth.

The first one that we had scheduled, ended up closing down before we got there. [00:19:35]

Bradley Urias

Jenny gave birth via emergency C-section – a crazy experience but all went well. Despite concerns about cost, the total fees were only $1300 for the private hospital birth including all nurses, doctors and facilities.

This is much lower than the average $18K in the U.S. For their second child, they also found themselves having a baby abroad.

Jenny gave birth in Malaysia at a private hospital during the pandemic. The total fees were around $1200-$1400 including all prenatal care and the delivery.

The care quality was excellent. In fact, many Singaporeans choose to give birth in Malaysia because of the great hospitals nearby. It made them realize that having a baby abroad is just a matter of perspective.

Traveling As a Family

In the early years when their first son was an infant, Brad and Jenny found travel wasn’t too difficult. As he grew older, they hired local nannies or childcare help about 3 days a week.

The nannies exposed their son to local culture – animals, gardens, music, and more. He even learned some language skills from nannies in Costa Rica and Malaysia. In Costa Rica, Brad and Jenny briefly enrolled their son in preschool.

The schools there focused on teaching practical life skills like cooking, building, and gardening. However, once their son reached toddler age, travel became much harder for the family.

We did take them to like a daycare place in Costa Rica. [00:41:31]

Jenny Urias

They learned they had to take shorter flights and allow time for breaks between destinations. This lesson was learned the hard way after an exhausting 24-hour journey at one point!

Hotels being costly, they preferred affordable apartments for a more authentic local experience. They loved exploring markets, immersing in neighborhoods, and engaging with communities, rather than sticking to touristy areas.

Two of their most memorable experiences were watching a local Albanian man make music with their young son and eating at an authentic Turkish family-style restaurant.

Full-Time Family Travel Tips

Based on their years of experience, Brad and Jenny offered several tips for families considering long-term travel:

✔️ Have at least a small income stream through remote work, investments, etc. 
✔️ Stick to a tight budget – they managed on $2000-2500/month for family of 4
✔️ Recognize cost of living is much lower outside the U.S. – be open to new locations
✔️ Research work visas if planning to stay 1+ years in a country
✔️ Consider using an immigration advisor for visa process
✔️ Jobs on the country’s “green list” make it easier to get approved
✔️ In New Zealand, got job offer first, then applied for temporary work visa
✔️ Immigration agency helped organize required documents
✔️ Don’t underestimate challenges of full-time travel with kids
✔️ Focus on slow travel – stay 3-4 weeks minimum per location
✔️ Take breaks in a home base between active periods
✔️ Capsule apartments can be affordable housing option
✔️ Furnished rentals with kitchen save on food costs
✔️ Shop local markets for fresh, cheap ingredients
✔️ Take advantage of free activities like parks, beaches, trails
✔️ Consider home-schooling or online school options for kids
✔️ Join Facebook groups to connect with other family travelers

We encourage people to look into the, financial independence movement, which is, usually using an acronym called FIRE, Financial Independence Retire Early. [00:06:22]

Bradley Urias

Settling Down in New Zealand

After having two kids, Brad and Jenny wanted to settle down and make New Zealand their long-term home. They sought advice from immigration advisors and concluded that a work visa was the best option.

They secured a job offer first, then applied and were approved for a temporary work visa. With the visa, they were able to enroll their kids in local preschools that focus on outdoor, hands-on activities.

When you don’t have a work visa yet is, you know, that whole catch 22. Like, you need a work visa to work there, but you can’t get a work visa until you have a job offer. [00:31:37]

Jenny Urias

After 3 months of work in New Zealand, they qualified for residency under the skilled migrant category. Now they have the option to stay in New Zealand long-term without time limits.

They still retain their U.S. citizenship but can also work and reside in New Zealand. Their kids will start primary school soon. Brad and Jenny remain open to traveling internationally again as a family in the future. 

Conclusion

Brad and Jenny’s adventure of having a baby abroad, not once but twice, underscores the tremendous rewards that come with full-time family travel. It demands careful planning and adaptability, especially when life tosses unexpected curveballs.

However, immersion in diverse cultures yields invaluable learning experiences and unforgettable memories. Travel extends beyond merely seeing new places – it’s about the people you encounter on your journey.

Kids, in particular, reap immense benefits from such hands-on, global exploration at a young age. With prudent budgeting, meticulous organization, and a dash of bravery, this lifestyle is within reach for many.

Of course, challenges are part of the package when it comes to having a baby abroad, but the lessons gathered along the way are priceless.

Brad and Jenny’s journey serves as an inspiring beacon, encouraging others to embrace the concept of long-term family travel and uncover its myriad delights.

Apple Podcast reviews are one of THE most important factors for podcasts. If you enjoy the show please take a second to leave the show a review on Apple Podcasts!

✔️ Click this link: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
✔️ Hit “Listen On Apple Podcast” in the middle next to the picture.
✔️ In iTunes, Click “Ratings and Reviews” under the show name.
✔️ Leave an honest review.
✔️ You’re awesome!

Key Takeaways

✔️ Look into the financial independence movement and the FIRE acronym.
✔️ Consider saving money and managing income and expenses while traveling.
✔️ Research the New Zealand Green list and skilled migrant visa for immigration.
✔️ Work with an immigration company to navigate the immigration process.
✔️ Consider getting a job offer before applying for a work visa in New Zealand.
✔️ Explore local cultures and interact with locals while traveling.
✔️ Gather information and documents needed for residency in New Zealand.
✔️ Research English-speaking doctors in foreign countries for prenatal care and birth.
✔️ Find nannies or caregivers in different countries for childcare while traveling.
✔️ Look for local markets and explore the local areas while traveling.
✔️ Enroll children in local preschools or kindergartens while slow traveling.
✔️ Take advantage of opportunities to learn about local customs and traditions.
✔️ Prioritize slow travel and spending extended periods in each location.

Transcript

[00:00:00] David: . Hello and welcome to another episode of the Our Offbeat Life podcast where we bring you inspiring stories of wanderlust and exploration. I’m your host David and today we have an incredible treat for you. We’re joined by Brad and Jenny, a couple who’ve taken their love for travel to the next level by making their Full time lifestyle, a reality, along with their two children, they’ve journeyed through different countries, immersing themselves in a vibrant cultures all over the world, overcoming unique challenges from giving birth abroad during a pandemic to establishing a home base in New Zealand.

[00:00:41] David: Their story is nothing short of extraordinary. Buckle up listeners as we embark on this fascinating journey with Brad and Jenny. Welcome, Brad and Jenny.

[00:00:53] Jenny: Thank you. Thank

[00:00:53] Bradley: you for having us.

[00:00:55] David: Oh, it’s a pleasure to have you. I know I kind of gave a little bit of a teaser there, but can you briefly introduce yourselves and tell us about your full time traveling lifestyle?

[00:01:07] Bradley: Yeah, sure, absolutely. so we started traveling in early 2018. it was the end of March and we thought that we’d only be gone for a year. and that that changed. at the end of that year, we decided that we would continue traveling, because it was quite an experience. We, we loved the lifestyle and, interestingly, our first son was born at the end of that year.

[00:01:35] Bradley: So it, so it just kind of flowed through, a bit of a. Decision making process there at the end, you know, do we go back home and give birth or do we stay, continue our travels and give birth abroad? that, that one, was a difficult decision, but we decided to keep going.

[00:01:54] David: Yeah, so I mean, it sounds like it was a quite the journey. You guys started about a year or so before we even did. I don’t know. I couldn’t imagine giving birth or even having to go through that as the spousal partner from another place that’s totally outside of your norm. did you know that you were planning on having a family before you went on the trip?

[00:02:17] Bradley: know

[00:02:18] David: No.

[00:02:21] Bradley: that that was going to happen.

[00:02:22] Jenny: We found out a few months. into our trip, we were expecting,

[00:02:27] Bradley: so.

[00:02:27] David: Oh, okay. So yeah, life brings us our joys.

[00:02:32] Bradley: yeah, we started out thinking we were just going to be traveling on our own. Before we had kids, and, yeah, a few months in, we found out what we were expecting. And, yeah, that changed a lot of things.

[00:02:43] Bradley: We had a lot of thought processes to go through.

[00:02:46] Jenny: And we also had pre booked some places that we had to end up, uh, changing, because at that time like Zika virus was kind of a thing. And so, it was dangerous for pregnant people. So,

[00:03:05] David: That’s things, yeah, you don’t necessarily think of. That’s interesting.

[00:03:08] Jenny: Yeah, we ended up changing some of the places that we were going to be going to, and then extending some of our stays as well, because as I got more and more along in my pregnancy, it was harder to travel.

[00:03:25] David: Oh, all right. Okay. So then let’s rewind just a little bit then. What inspired you to embark on the journey, before you even had the family?

[00:03:36] Bradley: Good question. so I know that when Jenny and I met that we had already traveled to a few other places, individually. And our initial conversation, actually just went straight into traveling to different countries. and we always had it on our mind during our relationship that we would. at least travel, if not, travel quite a bit and, uh, just kind of grew over the course of a year, year and a half, into maybe we could do a whole year, at once.

[00:04:10] Bradley: And yeah,

[00:04:13] Jenny: we started saving, we, we did

[00:04:18] Jenny: a year before and, his brothers had backpacked around Europe. that summer. And we were like, Oh man, we wish we could join, but we were still working. And, then we went to Switzerland and we’re like, Oh, it’s so beautiful here and amazing. And we’re like, you know, we. We do have some savings and if we keep saving we probably could do traveling for a full year.

[00:04:46] Jenny: So, we kind of were just thinking about it and then he found a flight to France that was like a really good deal and

[00:04:58] Bradley: it was Orlando to Paris for two hundred dollars, so

[00:05:02] David: Nice.

[00:05:03] Bradley: Hmm down

[00:05:06] Jenny: a one way ticket and we’re like Let’s buy it. So then we had to End date, or beginning date? I don’t know, what?

[00:05:15] Bradley: An end date to our, uh, our prior to traveling, you know, life.

[00:05:20] Bradley: And so that was essentially the end, of that life, and transitioned us into the beginning of the, the new one.

[00:05:25] Jenny: It gave us like a deadline, not like a… Someday we’ll do it.

[00:05:31] Bradley: Yeah, so we had a specific date it was booked. we were somewhat committed. Sure, we could have just given up that, that price that we paid for the ticket.

[00:05:40] Bradley: But, we stuck to it. We booked even more and, then we became more committed, on top of that. So, eventually we knew it was going to have to happen.

[00:05:50] David: Yeah. That spiraling process where it just starts moving along and it’s kind of, if you don’t move with it, you get steamrolled.

[00:05:58] Bradley: Yeah, that’s right.

[00:06:00] David: All right. Well, I know a lot of people that are listening to our podcast. They always ask us about money. They always ask us about finance. so really, how do you finance this lifestyle? did you have a savings before you started? Do you work remotely? Well, how did this all kind of comes together for you?

[00:06:22] Bradley: So in, in the beginning, just, actually a bit of a backstep here. My background is, is actually in finance. So I know a little bit more about investing and stuff than probably the average person, but, we also encourage people to look into the, financial independence movement, which is, usually using an acronym called FIRE, Financial Independence Retire Early.

[00:06:47] Bradley: we encourage that only because it, it gives a pretty good road map on how anybody could essentially get to a point of being financially independent. Now, we weren’t Entirely financially independent as a couple at that point, that we made the decision. We had saved up some money that we thought, Hey, we want to have kind of a vacation, like lifestyle while we travel for that first year.

[00:07:13] Bradley: And, as many of us learn on the road, that vacation, like lifestyle isn’t always a vacation. especially if you do have a. kids, which we ended up having, and, and not saying that it wasn’t a vacation still, it was, it was everything that we wanted it to be, but at the same time, it was different than what we expected it to be.

[00:07:34] Bradley: and, in the beginning there, we had savings that we could use. And I also had investments that I could, use the dividends and interest from. I did a little bit of trading in order to gain more income while we were on the road over the course of the years, but we also stuck to an extraordinarily tight budget, in order to keep that money, providing for us for the longest period of time possible.

[00:08:02] Jenny: Yeah, I think also, like, people that I’ve talked to, that have asked, they, they think they have to keep the budget that they have, like, lower from America, right, or the U. S., and so they think that they have to keep the budget that they are spending living in the U. S., so if their budget is You know includes their rent or their mortgage and the food and transportation all of that and it ends up being

[00:08:32] Bradley: Like five or six thousand dollars a month or something like that Yeah, it does not need to be that much while you’re traveling.

[00:08:40] Bradley: Actually, it’s quite a bit cheaper most countries in this world do not cost nearly as much so Our budget ended up going down to about 24,000 U.S. dollars per year, which is about 2,000 U.S. dollars a month, and we have been able to Live fairly decently in many countries on that budget. I’m not saying that every country is going to work on that budget, but a lot of them do.

[00:09:09] Jenny: And that includes going to prenatal doctor appointments and giving birth and all of that.

[00:09:19] David: Yeah, that’s that’s awesome. And it’s not often I get I actually get to speak to somebody who’s a financial expert on this type of thing or financial expert period. I mean, you probably have your own insights and you probably have your own spreadsheets and you do all that to track this you’ve been doing this now for five years, six years.

[00:09:39] David: is it what you expected or what you projected

[00:09:44] Bradley: As far as, projecting out financially, in year one, like I said, it was a bit different. We were actually, using a higher budget because we were using savings that we, thought was only going to be used for that one year. we did end up using all of it, all the savings anyway in that first year.

[00:10:02] Bradley: So as far as the budget was concerned for that first year, yes, everything went according to plan, but, afterwards we were like, okay, we’re going to need a different budget because now we don’t have those same savings that we, had. And if we want to continue, we need to manage our income and expenses accordingly.

[00:10:23] Bradley: after that occurred, we did quite well, sticking to our budget for a number of years, until I think COVID occurred and flights and stuff, became a little bit more of a challenge, sometimes moving from one place to the other, for example, when we tried to go back into the United States from Europe, we didn’t get so lucky on a 200 flight, we, we ended up having COVID 19. Just us and two kids at that point, flying back to the United States from Europe was a little over 3, 000. and so on a monthly budget of 2, 000, a single plane trip used a month and a half’s worth of our savings and, and, or our income essentially. And that kind of thing, can put a damper on it, but, living in South.

[00:11:12] Bradley: America and Latin America, essentially for a little while helped recover that a bit as well. So it all depends on how you manage it. Once it happens, you can have some fluctuations up or down.

[00:11:25] David: Definitely, definitely. So what do you tell people who are thinking or thinking about this lifestyle or thinking that people are crazy for doing this type of lifestyle that is that it’s unattainable? type situation.

[00:11:40] Jenny: I think it’s, it’s not for everyone. I mean, if, if people aren’t interested at all, then, you know, that’s okay. but for the people that are interested, I think it is definitely attainable. were just talking, like, last week about if you had told us, you know, before, before we had started traveling, like, all the things that we would have done in the past five, six years, it… It seems like a dream or like it, it doesn’t seem like it would be real, but you know, We did it and I think anyone can do it.

[00:12:17] Bradley: Yeah, so honestly, there are a bit of differences between one lifestyle and the other but the reality is it’s just a different lifestyle. It’s not any more challenging necessarily than living a regular life, going to work, fighting traffic.

[00:12:33] Bradley: That’s one lifestyle. You can do that on a regular basis and get back home, have a limited amount of time to do the things that you really want to do. Whereas the other lifestyle might require a little bit more planning. you might move around a bit more than you would usually do. But, the reality is you have a lot more time to yourself.

[00:12:53] Bradley: even if you’re trying to, to add in some work, we, we encourage people to try to work remotely. it, especially in the beginning, if they have a remote job, it could really help out, with providing additional income, but, In the beginning, that’s, that’s a bit of a challenge because the mindset isn’t really there.

[00:13:11] Bradley: the mindset is more like this is a vacation and, and it takes a while to adjust to the fact that, you know, you might want a little bit of downtime on occasion and it doesn’t hurt to sit in front of a desk and, do a little bit of work that would provide you some income. in order to give you that break.

[00:13:30] Bradley: so, it’s a different lifestyle and it does take a little while to adjust to it, but there’s plenty of resources out there, that help you, understand how to live that lifestyle. So there’s so many people that think that you just have to be a millionaire in order to do it. And you just don’t, you, you, you really can.

[00:13:51] Bradley: Get a source of additional income that’s small and enough to pay for your entire travels. We did it as a couple on 2, 000 a month and even with a child and two, we were able to keep around two to two and a half thousand dollars a month. And that’s, that’s all of us combined. And so we just needed a little bit of, income from remote sources or, or investments or something of that sort that could bring in a small amount.

[00:14:19] David: there’s probably people here in the U. S. are, thinking about this and they’re like 2, 000, 2, 500 a month. they’re like bread and water? What are you living on? can you give us an idea of like your quality of life?

[00:14:34] Bradley: Oh, so, on that budget in certain places. Yes, it could probably be, A bit more challenging to find extraordinary food, but you can get local markets, you go to local markets and food is always quite inexpensive. So, no, I don’t think that it was bread and water. and when you go to like places like, Southeast Asia.

[00:14:58] Bradley: or, I mean, even, even Japan’s becoming quite affordable these days, and, South America, those places are. Are a lot more affordable. And so here’s, here’s a story for you. We wanted to go to Singapore and we were worried that it was going to be too expensive to stay there for the duration. And so we stayed just over the border in Malaysia.

[00:15:23] Bradley: We didn’t know anything about Malaysia at the time. We were like, I don’t know what this country is, but it’s right across the border and they’re going to allow us to cross back and forth. So, we can go into Singapore and it’ll be a lot cheaper for us here. we stayed in Malaysia. We ended up loving it.

[00:15:39] Bradley: we were like, wow, why didn’t we know anything about this place? Here we were thinking we’re going to end up spending two and a half, 3, 000 for a month of in, in that area to go to Singapore, we ended up spending about 1, 300 and we were living extremely well, like in brand new, large three bedroom, two bathroom places, with, shopping malls and, and Legoland and everything like, All, all in that vicinity and great restaurants.

[00:16:08] Bradley: The food, I mean, it was inexpensive. If we needed to get anywhere, the, the Ubers were almost nothing. Yeah, there were grabs and, and they were, they were, it didn’t cost hardly anything. And it was like, Oh my gosh, I could give people all sorts of tips everywhere I go. And it still doesn’t add up to anything.

[00:16:28] Bradley: It was 1, 300 for that. That month, for each of the months that we were there and then we decided, you know, we’re going to have to go back to Malaysia at some point, because we want to explore this country and it doesn’t cost hardly anything. So yeah, we, we felt like royalty for quite a while and with hardly any money.

[00:16:48] David: So that worked out. Yeah, I love Malaysia. It is. It’s so affordable. The culture is nice. It’s really cool. So I love that.

[00:16:59] Bradley: Yeah! Yeah, you guys there too.

[00:17:02] David: yes, yes, that’s where we ended up meeting you. That’s on our way out, though, unfortunately. hopefully one these days we’ll get a chance to, to meet and hang out for a while.

[00:17:12] David: that’s right. That’s right.

[00:17:14] David: So, all right. So now there’s people that we’ve already talked about how you had a baby. now two of them while you’ve been traveling. so let’s talk about that story. That’s probably a very interesting story. I mean, I know the average cost in the U. S. of having a baby is a little over 18 grand. is it expensive?

[00:17:34] David: still where you are, where you did it. Was it hard to find a doctor? Not knowing languages? Or what was that whole story? How did that unfold for you?

[00:17:45] Jenny: Oh, okay. so our 1st child, we found out we were expecting, while we were traveling through Italy.it was enough to get a pregnancy test. Just walk into pharmacy or something. and then we scheduled, I think our first scan in Scotland. So they speak English there. I think I just did a Google search on like.

[00:18:13] Jenny: I don’t even remember, but like pregnancy scans or like first scans or, so I think that we went to a specialist clinic for. Pregnancy scans and we just paid out of pocket. I don’t remember how much it was, but maybe like 20. It wasn’t a lot. and then, um, I think the next checkup we did was in Belgium.

[00:18:38] Jenny: That one I.

[00:18:42] Jenny: Had to do a little bit more searching because they don’t speak English there, but I just did a search for English speaking doctors in Belgium. and then, um, I think I also looked at reviews. And looked through expat groups on like Facebook or, sometimes they have like websites or things like that.

[00:19:08] Jenny: And people give recommendations. So, that’s how I found the English speaking doctor in Belgium. and then, that’s where we found out we were having a boy. and then we had moved around our travel plans, and so we knew we were going to be in South Africa, when I was due. so, I, that is a crazy story.

[00:19:33] Jenny: we…

[00:19:35] David: Ooh,

[00:19:35] Bradley: Yeah, so we’re worrying about it in case people want to, actually read the whole story about what happened there. But, it ended up that we had to go through essentially three different hospitals, but that’s not really… their fault. That’s not the way that it would generally work. it’s just that the first one that we had scheduled, ended up closing down before we got there.

[00:19:55] Bradley: but it was a really luxurious private hospital, but for some reason, it ended up having to close down before we got there. And so then we had to do a couple more changes after that. but we have a article about it on our website, Eat, Wander, Explore. And, we were able to schedule some doctor, quasi, midwives there.

[00:20:15] Bradley: So we got some midwives to bring us to a, private hospital and, deliver at the private hospital with an OBGYN on reserve. so, that’s the way that we ended up doing it there.

[00:20:28] Jenny: Yeah, um, but yeah, a lot of it is just like looking online and like reading reviews and then going to check it out

[00:20:37] Bradley: and as an FYI on that cost, they were telling us that it was going to be extraordinarily expensive.

[00:20:43] Bradley: so we’re thinking, oh, okay. Maybe 18, 000 like the U S but, when it came down to it, this private top notch place that we, we got all settled with and everything. I think all in cost, this is like everything included, you know. Not like just a part of it. Everything included like 1, 300 at a private hospital.

[00:21:06] Bradley: And people there were saying, you’re ridiculous for spending so much. If you went to the public hospital, it would have been like a hundred dollars. And I was like, yeah, but we got this amazing care and it was less than less than 10 percent of what we would have paid in the U S so I was like, it just doesn’t seem expensive to us.

[00:21:26] Bradley: yeah. So then. Then, a few years later, there we were in, lockdown and COVID in Malaysia. We ended up back in Malaysia, and that’s, when we learned that our second was going to be coming along and, the hospital down there was, I think Right around the same price, a very luxurious private hospital, Glen Eagles, they did quite a great job.

[00:21:52] Bradley: We were very happy with everything. again, everything included, I think it was like somewhere between 1200 and 1400. I could always look it up. I think that we have written it in our articles. But, but the point is, it was not expensive. Pretty easy to get scheduled appointments, to see, doctors, ahead of time.

[00:22:11] David: And during, just was a little bit crazier on the first one because we were in different countries as we’re moving around. Whereas for the second one, we were in the same country because we’re still kind of moving around. So we just went to different Glen Ingles throughout Malaysia. Glen Eagles. They did well by me too. Both Brodi and I ended up having to go to a Glen Eagles for a procedure each. Affordable. Amazing service. So

[00:22:40] Bradley: Yeah, we were very happy with it. So, yeah. And then

[00:22:43] Jenny: the one in Malaysia in Nusa Jaya or whatever, they, a lot of Singaporeans go to that one too. So, great.

[00:22:51] Bradley: Yeah. So, people from Singapore who could potentially get what they would consider a better hospital in Singapore, but the reality is, is that it’s just as good or better right across the border in Malaysia at the Glen Eagle.

[00:23:03] Bradley: So, yeah, they choose that one over the ones that they have. And here you have a couple of Americans, you know, choosing the Gleneagles over going back to the States. So there, there you are. Those hospitals are decent.

[00:23:16] David: There you go. There you go. All right. Well, you mentioned the pandemic. So let’s talk about that a little bit. How has that affected your travel plans?

[00:23:24] Bradley: Well, that’s an interesting story. so we, we were in New Zealand, when we started hearing about, this virus that was spreading and we were being a bit cautious then, because I had known from the beginning that it was probably going to turn into something big. and, we. Already had a trip out of New Zealand.

[00:23:46] Bradley: Something that a lot of travelers would tell you is that if you’re going to go into a country, usually the country requires you have an exit ticket. and so, our exit ticket was. to Malaysia. And so that was that situation. That was the second time we were going to Malaysia. and we ended up in Penang.

[00:24:06] Bradley: We’re gonna go to Taiwan after that. But when the lockdown began, we didn’t end up spending three months in Malaysia. We ended up spending 14 and hence our daughter being born in Malaysia. but there were a number of plane tickets that we had. Tried to move on and were canceled. and then we just decided to make the best of it and stay in Malaysia as long as we could.

[00:24:30] Bradley: yeah. And after those 14 months and the birth of our daughter, we ended up seeing you guys on the way out

[00:24:36] Jenny: when Malaysia kicked everyone out.

[00:24:39] Bradley: Yes. finally

[00:24:40] David: all had, we all, what did they give us? A week? Two weeks to get out? What was that?

[00:24:44] Bradley: yeah, it’s time. You guys have to go. You’re, this is it. We’re not gonna renew you. Yeah. And it’s like, okay. I guess we have to book a ticket then

[00:24:55] David: Ah, yes, the, the quick turnaround that they gave us. I don’t blame them. I understand we, we were there for, we were there for 18 months total, I think, and you guys were there for 14 months

[00:25:07] Bradley: 14 months during COVID and two months before

[00:25:09] David: during COVID.

[00:25:10] Bradley: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:25:11] David: Okay, yeah, I think we had like 15 months during COVID for us while we were there. Something, pretty close, something like that.

[00:25:19] Bradley: Okay.

[00:25:19] David: Yeah, so it’s crazy.

[00:25:21] Bradley: Yeah. Yeah. Crazy.

[00:25:23] David: in I think a little bit before you all did.

[00:25:26] Bradley: yeah, I think so. You probably, we, we came in in February, probably like February 21, 2020. So somewhere around there.

[00:25:34] David: I’d have to check our dates but yeah, we were hosting a pop up hub Got a

[00:25:40] Bradley: Oh, cool.

[00:25:41] David: whole bunch of families together in Johor Bahru and we had a lot of fun while we were hearing all these rumors about a virus. We had a lot of fun at Legoland. And then after a week or two of having a lot of fun, they locked us down,

[00:25:55] Bradley: Yeah.

[00:25:55] David: and a lot of families left and some stayed and weathered it. And yeah, we talked a lot about that on our blog.

[00:26:02] David: We’ve talked about that on another podcast episode as well. It’s crazy. So,

[00:26:06] Jenny: Yeah. Yeah. I think we just missed each other because like when we arrived, we went from Penang all the way down back to Johor Bahru and then when we arrived in Johor Bahru, I think I messaged Brodi, your wife, and she’s like, oh no, we just left like two days ago.

[00:26:22] Bradley: yeah, yeah,

[00:26:24] David: yeah, we just left, we went up to Kuala Lumpur because everything was supposed to be letting loose, you know, relaxing and then it tightened down and then it relaxed again. And

[00:26:35] Bradley: Mm hmm. Back and forth, right?

[00:26:37] David: yeah, it was a nice little yo yo of, of, lockdowns,

[00:26:42] David: Um, so after we left Malaysia, there was still, you know, some lockdowns and different, rules and regulations going on around the world the next year. but we ended up in Turkey. people ask why we went to Turkey. And one of the main reasons is we just had a newborn baby and our son.

[00:27:01] Bradley: was, just only a couple of years old. And if we were to go to certain countries, they were requiring a COVID test for the children. Now we didn’t mind doing it ourselves, but if you know, in Malaysia, most of the, the jabs that they had were those long sticks that went deep into your nose and, into your brain, maybe, it felt like it.

[00:27:22] Bradley: and so we were, Not wanting to do that to our really small child, our two year old and our, I don’t, I don’t know if. Our daughter would have had to do it or not. But all I know is that we decided that we didn’t want our son to have to go through that. So we decided to go to Turkey, which was allowing us to come in, with our tests, but he didn’t have to do it because he was under six.

[00:27:47] Bradley: and so we said, okay, we’ll go to Turkey then, as that we have to leave, we don’t really have much of a choice and we enjoyed life there for a little while. it was not too bad at the moment when we arrived and,

[00:28:00] Jenny: we ended up in some remote area.

[00:28:03] Bradley: It was very beautiful. Yeah, we stayed out near Trabzon, which is in the northeast of the country near Georgia and on the Black Sea.

[00:28:12] Bradley: So we, our, our place was just there and we were like, look, if we’re going to relax during this COVID pandemic, that’s probably a decent place to do it. And we got a really great deal. We chilled there for a while and it was everything that we wanted it to be and more so. Yeah. Turkey turned out to be amazing.

[00:28:30] Bradley: and we were worried to go there to begin with. So, yeah.

[00:28:34] David: I hope to make it to Turkey one day. I have a friend up there, a couple. Brodi’s got a friend from college and I’ve got a friend from one of my first jobs. So it’s going to be, it’d be kind of cool to see them. It’s

[00:28:45] Bradley: Yeah. Always great to meet friends while you’re traveling abroad.

[00:28:49] David: good to run into people. Yes.

[00:28:50] Bradley: Yeah, I love it. So after Turkey, we spent some time in Albania, which I’d love to talk about, but ask me about it if you really want to hear about it. And then we went onward to Germany. we stayed in Germany for Christmas that year. They did have, they did require COVID passports to show that you got your vaccine in order to be at their Christmas markets, but we really wanted to see the Christmas markets before we headed back.

[00:29:21] Bradley: and flew into the United States. We were there for a month in Florida. and then we went into Columbia, spent some time in Medellin. amazing place. really, really liked it. I mean, we liked it a lot more than we were anticipating. great place. Definitely recommend. and, we also recommend people to stay in Envigado if they go there.

[00:29:44] Bradley: Envigado is,

[00:29:45] Bradley: Yeah, probably better of the places to stay in there. more enjoyable and relaxing, a bit quieter, especially if you have kids. And then we went up to Costa Rica, spent a significant amount of time in Mexico, I think it was like five months or something. and during that time that we were in South America, we were reflecting on our time in New Zealand.

[00:30:10] Bradley: We decided that, we would actually try to go through the process of. getting a longer type visa there that we might be able to slow down a bit being as that we had two kids that were now very energetic and might need to let them get their wiles out before we continued on again. So we stopped, uh, thinking that would just keep traveling regularly and maybe park for a short period of time in New Zealand if possible.

[00:30:40] Bradley: So we started looking into that.

[00:30:44] David: So then, yeah, I heard that you set up a home base in New Zealand,

[00:30:49] Bradley: That’s right

[00:30:49] David: that’s kind of, you’re like your home base now.

[00:30:53] Bradley: Yeah, so Yeah, that’s interesting Jenny

[00:30:57] Jenny: yeah, so a Little over a year ago. I guess we kind of we were talking about it and then we thought well Let’s see what we can do and see if it will become reality So I think Bradley started, submitting to different immigration companies to see, what advice they could provide, I guess, just seeing if we would even be eligible to come here and stay for a while. And it looked like a work visa would be the way in. So we were researching what that would entail and starting a job search.

[00:31:37] Jenny: When you don’t have a work visa yet is, you know, that whole catch 22. Like, you need a work visa to work there, but you can’t get a work visa until you have a job offer. So, we had to go through that. We did end up working with an immigration company and, uh, I guess they helped to just, give us a list of all the documents we would need to be able to apply for a work visa.

[00:32:07] Jenny: yeah, and now we’re here in Wellington.

[00:32:10] Bradley: Yeah, so the requirements were like it, we, all the, all the documents and data and security checks and, All that kind of stuff needed to get done beforehand. And so the immigration company really helped us organize all of that. so that everything that would be needed for that process was there before we even started the process, with, with New Zealand itself.

[00:32:33] Bradley: And so once it was in place, then we’re like, all right, now we’re going to submit that application and go through that process, but, Actually, it’s a lot easier to get a job in New Zealand if you have all of that paperwork, prepared in advance. And the only thing that you’re, you’re still needing is the job offer.

[00:32:52] Bradley: So then when you’re applying to places and talking to people, then you’re just like, yeah, everything is there. I’m working with an immigration company. They can verify that all the information looks good to them and that they think that I’m going to be a breeze into, the job market. It is. The only thing that I need is a job offer.

[00:33:11] Bradley: So essentially, the company doesn’t have to wait forever, expect delays because we didn’t do things right or whatever, and, and that gives them more, uh, confidence in, in the fact that, you know, you’re, you’re not going to be a hindrance to their job search. Actually, you’re, you’re going to shoo right in and, and take the job, essentially, yeah,

[00:33:37] David: Then having gone through that process yourself and knowing that there’s a lot of people that are interested in moving to other countries such as New Zealand, like I see New Zealand’s ads all the time out there. People come here, come here.

[00:33:50] Bradley: right.

[00:33:52] David: what would you say is your top five tips that you would give to somebody who’s looking to come to New Zealand to live and work or get residency?

[00:34:02] Bradley: Good question. so number one, New Zealand, has what’s called a green list. if you’re trying to immigrate to New Zealand, you can look it up, New Zealand green list, just on Google or something. And, that green list is essentially, the, the careers and jobs that they are currently short of in New Zealand.

[00:34:23] Bradley: So if you fit in any of those categories, it’s a lot easier for you to get in if you’re in that green list. if you’re not in that green list, then they have something where they, they call it a skilled migrant visa. and that is based off of, your education and your experience in whatever fields you might have had in the past.

[00:34:47] Bradley: And so you can do a search, regarding, whether you meet some of those criteria that might help you decide whether it makes sense for you to even come to New Zealand or even try it. if one of those two things is true, that it might. Look like, hey, I could qualify for one of these two things. Then I’d say go for an immigration company because they well, there might be some additional expenses and having them.

[00:35:14] Bradley: they can tell you for sure right off the bat. it’s not like you have to spend like 10 grand just to have them tell you, yeah, you’re, you’re gonna, you’re gonna make it. the reality is you come in and that initial consultation, they’ll, they’ll take a look at your data and, I think that that’s either free or maybe up to a hundred dollars.

[00:35:34] Bradley: It’s, it’s almost nothing. And then they’ll tell you, okay, yeah, it looks like you’re going to make it. So from here, we’ll just collect your information and you can proceed in that, that order. So then it ends up costing more money for them to proceed for the steps of applying for your different, applications and stuff that you need.

[00:35:56] Bradley: So, I would recommend if people are trying to move to New Zealand that those are the things that they look into first. Jenny, did you have anything to add there?

[00:36:05] Jenny: I guess if you’re on the green list or like on a skills shortage list, and you’re highly organized, you might not need to get or use an immigration advisor.

[00:36:18] Jenny: We did because we’re not on that list. And, um, while we are used to gathering information for visas and whatnot, we just weren’t sure what the process would be here. But having gone through it, um, I would say that Immigration New Zealand is friendlier. I don’t know. I feel like they’re, they’re nice and you can call them up or, you know, send them a message and ask like, Hey, I have, I need.

[00:36:52] Jenny: You know you need to submit like relationship proof or whatever and you’re going to be sending these documents in and is this enough and you can call them and ask them and they’ll just tell you or even after you submit your application if you’re doing it yourself and maybe you missed something immigration just Notifies you and say, hey, you missed this part.

[00:37:15] Jenny: you’ll need to send it in and it’s not a big deal You don’t get in trouble You’re not fined heavily

[00:37:21] Bradley: Yeah, it wouldn’t be like you’d expect maybe in the united states if you were to submit a visa request for a green card Or something you get something wrong and they just deny you and you can’t Can’t apply again for six months.

[00:37:32] Bradley: It’s not like that at all for New Zealand They will be super friendly to work with you and they’re casual about it If if you can produce all the information and they can check all the boxes, then you’re gonna get in Yeah Scary immigration company. They’re not out to get you. I mean actually if anything they’re out to get you in to New Zealand So, yeah, you could pretty much do it yourself, especially if you’re on

[00:38:02] David: so note to those listening, New Zealand is very friendly immigration and note to those immigration officers in the U. S. listening, take note of New Zealand’s immigration team.

[00:38:12] Bradley: a plane. That’s right. That’s right. Yeah. Very much so.

[00:38:17] David: So, yeah, so that sounds really cool. I love that it was an easier process for you there. And now how long have you been settled there now?

[00:38:27] Bradley: So, we flew in, in February, February 13th. There was a cyclone going on at the time, but we still managed to land. It’s just another one of our travel stories, flying into a country during a cyclone. Fairly fun,

[00:38:41] Jenny: flights before us were canceled and flights after us were canceled. And for some reason our

[00:38:46] David: just slipped right through.

[00:38:48] Bradley: yeah, they’re like, there’s going to be a break in the storm so we can land.

[00:38:53] Bradley: And I’m like, Oh yeah. Okay. Let’s see how this goes. we made it, I did not have, the job secured at the time, so that didn’t come until I think, June or so, early June, so then it was secured there and during the process between June and August. no, is it? No, actually I found the job offer in May.

[00:39:15] Bradley: Yeah, the job offer was in May. Sorry. So the job offer was in May and then about a month later or so, it was approved and, or the, the application for our stay in New Zealand with the job offer was approved. And then I think it was only like three months after that that we, we got residency. So they allowed us to have residency even three months after that.

[00:39:38] Bradley: so now, We don’t have this like commitment to the particular job that, I had, and we can, we can live our regular life here in New Zealand. They won’t kick us out. We’re, we’re basically allowed to stay here as long as we want at this point. It’s really cool.

[00:39:54] David: That is really cool. There might be some folks that are totally, uninformed about this, but when you get residency in another country, are you giving up, anything in the United States?

[00:40:08] Bradley: Oh no, not at all. we’re still citizens of the United States. We still can take advantage of everything that goes along with our U. S. passport and everything. It’s just, basically saying, you know what, you’re allowed to stay and work in this other country as well, if you want to, So we’ve given up nothing as far as our U.

[00:40:27] Bradley: S. citizenship goes. in fact, if we wanted to become citizens of New Zealand in the future, the U. S. and New Zealand have an agreement that we could be dual citizens as well. So, the reality is we wouldn’t have to give up anything at that point either. But, for now we’re just residents, which allows us to stay, work, eat.

[00:40:48] Bradley: go to school, whatever we want to do, travel around as long as we want without any time limit. in New Zealand, that’s, that’s the point that we’re at right now, which is, which is really awesome. It’s, it’s like basically the same as being a Kiwi, a New Zealand citizen, but not being a citizen yet.

[00:41:09] David: Alright, alright. Now I do want to hear some of these really cool stories, but before I ask about those, tell me a little bit about schooling with the kids. Like, they’ve been all over the world now. And what do you do now that you’re in New Zealand? What did you do while you were traveling?

[00:41:28] Bradley: We can start with the traveling part.

[00:41:31] Jenny: Well, since we gave birth to kids, our kids, while we were traveling, they were obviously really young. So, yeah, so we didn’t really have, like, I mean, they weren’t school age, I guess, while we were traveling. we did take them to like a daycare place in Costa Rica.

[00:41:52] Bradley: Oh, before we talk about that, we should mention the multiple different nannies and stuff that we had, because it was kind of a good about,

[00:42:00] Jenny: yeah, that’s true too. so in Malaysia, we had. a lady come three times a week. Yeah. while I was pregnant to help, just clean a bit. And then, also help take care of our toddler or almost like one and a half year old.

[00:42:19] Jenny: so he got used to having someone come over and play with him. And then that helped out when I gave birth to our second one because, our son wasn’t allowed to come into the hospital ’cause of the pandemic. so she stayed with him while, and then Bradley came with me while I gave birth. and then in Costa Rica, Costa Rica, we had. Our host, we, we stayed with an Airbnb person and then our host knew someone that did some nannying. So she came over and she, she came about three times a week as well. And she only spoke Spanish. so the

[00:43:02] Bradley: kids learned a little bit of Spanish,

[00:43:03] Jenny: a little bit of Spanish, and they would go with her. We’ll feed the chickens and run around and yeah, they had a great

[00:43:12] Bradley: time.

[00:43:13] Bradley: So, so they learned, quite a bit from these different exposures as well. They weren’t just being watched after, but these nannies were, showing them things about like, especially the one in Costa Rica was showing our kids things about, What life was like for people who are living there and what they would go and do she showed them like the gardens and how they were like, growing, coffee beans, because we’re actually staying at a coffee farm.

[00:43:40] Bradley: so in Costa Rica, and so the nanny was showing them the different. Plants and everything and what was going on. And although she was speaking in Spanish, they, they still seemed to like be learning, they wanted to show us, Oh, look at the chickens, look at these plants, whatever was going on. So they were learning some things even at that small age.

[00:44:00] Bradley: Now they’re still young, even now. so back then. You know, they still weren’t quite school age, but we did decide to try to get them into some preschool while we’re in costa rica and that process was not too difficult We just went to the school and started talking to them. They had us fill out some forms but our experience with that was Our experience with

[00:44:24] Bradley: Well, any daycare, childcare type of place, we, with our children growing up as young as they were during the pandemic, always being inside, kind of in a bubble, never really getting sick. And then we brought them to a daycare. We all got sick.

[00:44:39] David: Yep.

[00:44:40] Bradley: we all got sick. Oh my gosh. that, they, they did learn.

[00:44:44] Bradley: they did,

[00:44:45] David: pandemics, pandemics aside, aside, every parent can, feel you there because when you first take your kid to school, they get something and everybody in the house always gets sick. That’s just a new parent thing for you, but you learned it during a pandemic.

[00:45:03] Bradley: yeah, so, so we kind of went through that situation. It was, it was a trying couple of weeks. we’re like, okay, does it make sense to bring them to the school? Or does it not make sense? Because it’s really putting us out too. It’s, it’s, it’s a bit of a challenge. But, we We, we thought, you know, what, if we were going to stop somewhere, we were going to stop here in New Zealand and try to get them back into school.

[00:45:29] Bradley: And, we we’re okay with homeschooling and we’re thinking about doing more homeschooling actually in the future as well. But at the moment where there’s like a, there’s a. Kindergarten here in New Zealand and they do all sorts of like life things Can you explain some of the things that they do over the kindergarten to me?

[00:45:50] Jenny: Yeah, so I mean, I don’t know if you have US listeners, but in New Zealand Kindergarten is actually like preschool age Equivalent to US so like three to four years old Yeah, three to four years old Sometimes two anyway, the, the kindergarten here, they, the teachers are really great every day. They set up different stations and they’re always different.

[00:46:21] Jenny: So whenever the kids come in, they’re always like, Oh, what are we going to do today? And so there’s like, like send. Station, you know, like modeling clay. They have, they have blocks of wood with nails and hammers and, um,

[00:46:40] Bradley: They, yeah, they, they cook food. The kids are chopping up vegetables and stuff.

[00:46:44] Bradley: Peeling the vegetables, chopping. They’re doing things that you would think, you know, might be dangerous, but they’re supervised. they’re learning how to do these things. I don’t know they, I mean, yes, they have playgrounds, but they also have worm farms and chicken coops and, you know, they’re learning how to cook, they’re learning how to use tools, they’re, it’s just amazing all the things that they’re showing the kids.

[00:47:10] Bradley: What to do. currently in our son is almost five now. So once he turns five, he’ll, he’ll progress from the kindergarten into the, I guess you’d call it like an elementary school. he’ll progress into there. and our daughter will only be turning three, next month. And then, so she’ll, she’s just now.

[00:47:31] Bradley: going to be starting the kindergarten. And so, yeah, that’s, that’s the process over here. I think that they focus a lot more on those life skills and life activities that generally aren’t, they’re more of an extracurricular activities that they would have in the United States. Like a lot of the sports and things.

[00:47:51] Bradley: and learning how to cook and stuff. You might go through it and like middle school or something like that, I think in the States, but, this stuff is like ingrained into the school systems here, in the elementary school, the kids are going to be. Brought out to learn how to swim and you know, and they go on bushwalks, which are like hikes and stuff.

[00:48:14] Bradley: And

[00:48:15] David: Bushwacks.

[00:48:16] Jenny: a beach here too. So they go out to the sea and then sometimes they can see the seals or I guess like sometimes we get whales and dolphins in the harbor. So, Yeah, they’re, they get exposed to all of that. So I, we were talking with the principal and the teachers here at the elementary or primary school, they call it.

[00:48:37] Jenny: and I was like, Oh yeah, that’s cool that you get to do all these outdoor things and they’re like, Oh, it’s normal here in New Zealand. They’re like, wherever your school is at is the environment that they get exposed to. So like, if they’re out in the farmlands, they learn more about farming or like.

[00:48:53] Jenny: Since we’re living here in Wellington, they’re learning more about like the harbor and sea area and then the mountainous bush area. So, they just, they get to learn about the land that they live in.

[00:49:07] David: That sounds like a take on, kind of a take on Montessori.

[00:49:12] Bradley: yeah, yeah, it’s, it’s, it seems really closely related, even though they even have Montessori schools out here. they’re not too much different.

[00:49:23] David: Very interesting. Okay. Now, all right, so now I’m curious about your favorite travel stories because you mentioned Albania and it seemed like you really wanted to talk about that.

[00:49:37] Bradley: Well, so we can tell you about Albania. so as you know, there’s a little bit of a climate. change thing going on in this world, and when we arrived in Albania, it was during one of the hottest, points, I think, of, I don’t know, their history or whatever, but whatever it was, we arrived, it was very hot, and so we just wanted to be inside during the day.

[00:50:02] Bradley: For the first month that we were there, we were there for four months. We’d originally thought to go there because, we’re trying to, um, live out the, you know, the pandemic and wait until every everybody had their, countries sorted, but, when we arrived, we were expecting that we might stay for up to a year because Albania was actually, it’s one of the few countries that, at least at that time, I’m not sure if they currently do, but they were allowing people from the states and a few other countries or whatever to stay for up to a whole year, on a regular visa.

[00:50:36] Bradley: Most countries, I think, are around three months, some are a little bit more or less. Mexico, I think, was six, but. There’s been some that are one and Albania was a year. So we’re thinking we’d stay there for a year. It ended up being four months. That first month was so hot that we basically stayed inside as much as we could.

[00:50:55] Bradley: And we only had one living room with an air conditioner. That was the only room with an air conditioner. So we basically lived in that room. we moved all of us lived in that room. We, we Everything. so I, I wouldn’t say that our first month in Albania was really an Albanian experience. moving beyond that, we started to explore, the Grand Park, in Tirana.

[00:51:20] Bradley: I think that’s how you pronounce it. It’s the, capital city there. the park is fantastic for walks. Lots of great food and stuff in the area. If you have their local food, it’s absolutely delicious. I don’t know. It’s like, it has so much flavor. There’s, there’s, a lot of countries you go to and, and you don’t hit, that type of flavor.

[00:51:43] Bradley: When we were in Southeast Asia, we came across a lot of great tasting, amazing foods that were very different than what we had in the past. And so when we were in Albania, the foods there. We’re also very unique. I, it just blows my mind at like what people can do with food. And, that was one of the big experiences that we had there is their food.

[00:52:07] Bradley: we went out, to a few other places. We went up on one of their big mountains. they have a mountain that you have to take a. Cable car up to, yeah. In

[00:52:17] Jenny: the

[00:52:17] Bradley: castle cruise. Yeah. And there’s a cruise castle, not too far out of, Tarana. it’s a really old city. and so you get a lot of culture there.

[00:52:28] Bradley: we got dropped off. You kind of walk through a bizarre. You know, lots of people are selling like really old items. And yes, there are some, you know, touristy knickknacks, but there are a lot of really old, unique items that you, you know, you’d think that. These antiques wouldn’t just be like hundreds and hundreds of them in all these different shops.

[00:52:51] Bradley: And it’s like, wow, there’s quite a bit of authentic, artifacts here. This is quite amazing. we get up into the castle and there’s this really old man playing this like. I don’t know. It’s like kind of like a guitar, like banjo or something. And he’s playing it. And our son at the time, um, about two and a half years old or so, he’s looking at the old man, he’s like, he, he just bought some like maracas and a drum, from the bazaar, a little drum for kids and some like little shaky maracas.

[00:53:26] Bradley: And so. He’s got this old man playing and he goes up there and he’s like, playing with the old man, like hitting his drum and shaking his maraca. And the old man is, is like having a fun time, like he’s playing and they just went off on a musical thing. And I’m just like. Wow, this is not something that you’d see, you know, anywhere else in, you know, it’s just not going to happen in other places in the world.

[00:53:51] Bradley: So, without this experience of us traveling, we, that’s, that’s just something that’s going to live forever.

[00:53:59] David: That is, that’s a beautiful story

[00:54:03] Bradley: Yeah. Thanks.

[00:54:04] David: would probably sit with you for forever. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I was going to ask a little bit more about your interactions with local cultures and, and anything like that. what other types of interactions have you had? Cause it sounds like you’ve been on multiple continents and lots and lots of countries over these past few years.

[00:54:24] Bradley: Yeah, um, so we started out in Europe, we went into Africa, then to Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, back to Southeast Asia, then we went to Eastern Europe, a little bit more of Europe, yeah, a little bit more of Europe, Western Europe, and then we went down into, South America. And back around.

[00:54:46] Bradley: So yeah, we’ve been to I think over 40 something countries, during our five, five and six, five and a half years. I don’t know. I can’t remember anymore going on six anyway, years of traveling. And, there are so many different cultures everywhere. it’s amazing to see how people. live their lives.

[00:55:11] Bradley: I would say that it’s not a bad thing. It’s, it’s like eye opening and it’s, it’s like a good thing. It’s like, sometimes you see like some aspects you might not agree with and some aspects you look at and you’re, you’re like, wow, if we did things that way, then, then. Maybe things would be better, you know, if, if, if we took this culture piece into our lives or brought it back to our country, you know, and, and it became a part of that, then, our country would be greater for that, you know, not just our family, but, it’s just amazing to see things like that all over, all over the world.

[00:55:47] Bradley: however. Some of our favorite. Oh, you want to add something?

[00:55:52] Jenny: Oh, I was just gonna say like I think it’s also been good that Like we have been traveling on a smaller budget, you know Or I don’t know if it’s big or small for people but two thousand dollars a month or so And so when we go to some places that might be more touristy, I guess, people tend to stay in, like, hotels or, you know, in the big cities where we’re only tourist school, but because we’re on a smaller budget, we might look at places in more local areas and.

[00:56:24] Jenny: We’re able to see how people actually live there because we’re spending, you know, a month or two or three, in these local areas. And so we’re not seeing it, I don’t think, as much as a tourist because we’re going to the local markets for our shopping or, walking around the neighborhoods and all the people around us are locals.

[00:56:48] Jenny: So, I guess being able to see that Different viewpoint, is kind of eye opening as well. So when people talk about like, oh, I went to Columbia or Fiji or, you know, all these different places, but they went. On a one week vacation, their experience is going to be a lot different than ours, I think, because we didn’t stay in the hotels or beachfront areas.

[00:57:22] Bradley: Yeah, so in regards to Fiji, we stayed in a very local area and let’s say that, we learned. If you think of Fiji like a vacation, then you should not stay in the local areas. you should stay in the touristy, vacationy areas. They have a place called Denaro Island and they have lots of different islands that you can go to and if you stick to those it’s gonna seem like an amazing Incredible place.

[00:57:48] Bradley: But if you go into the local area, you’re gonna you’re gonna have a completely different view of like what Fiji is and what it might have. like, what’s what’s going on? some of the conflicts that are occurring. and and so it’s not that it’s bad. It’s just it’s just eye opening and and you have a different sense of connection to it.

[00:58:08] Bradley: then then you would otherwise. however, we’ve been to, like, When we went to Turkey, for example, we saw some of their farmers markets. These are people that like live in the mountains and stuff, and they come down with their crops and actually sell them. It’s not people who, you know, are growing them on a farm and bringing them into, you know, the farmer’s market, you know, that you have in your local city and everybody’s dressed well and everything.

[00:58:32] Bradley: These are people that are like wearing. they, they’re still wearing their traditional, yeah, they’re wearing all their traditional stuff. It looks like they’re, they’re living in the mountains and they come down and they’re like all out there. And you’re like, wow, this is very fascinating. And like some people will have butter that they’ve churned themselves and they’re selling butter and eggs and cheeses that they’ve made.

[00:58:55] Bradley: And, and like, yes, they have all the vegetables and everything, but it’s like, all of this is like. It’s, it’s all local stuff. It’s none of it, you know, brought in from overseas or produced in a factory or anything of that sort. And so, seeing that, type of thing is eyeopening and amazing. And I mean, it’s just, it’s, I don’t know, it’s like.

[00:59:21] Bradley: What one time when we were up in Turkey, we went to a restaurant, maybe Jenny can tell you a little about this restaurant we went to and it just if they had these pots and stuff right out in the middle of the restaurant, it’s not like there was a kitchen in the back or anything. And they’re cooking all their food right there.

[00:59:39] Bradley: And you just like sit around and you get like scoops out of the food that they’re cooking there. And it’s like, Oh, what’s happening in this place, you know, and yeah. really a fascinating thing to, experience because it’s, I mean, it’s not like those, teppan chefs and stuff that you go to a Japanese restaurant.

[00:59:57] Bradley: It was, it was quite a bit different. It was like, it felt like somebody’s home with like, I don’t know, like a cooking set in the middle of the living room and you’re all sitting around on like a couch eating, eating from it. And it was just, I don’t know, it was. Very unique, but it felt authentic. And, we love those kinds of experiences.

[01:00:19] David: That is very unique. Very cool. All right. This has been so inspiring. I mean, you’ve got some really cool stories and I want to make sure people out there know that they can find more of your stories on your blog as well. Can you tell people again what your blog is?

[01:00:38] Bradley: Oh yeah. The blog is called Eat Wander. That’s with an A W A N D E R, eatwanderexplore. com. we have a lot of our stories and, tips and tricks and all that kind of stuff, recommendations on making this a part of your lifestyle, how it. Anybody could do it a little bit easier than, than we have. we did it one way, but we have also learned that there are easier ways to do it, throughout our travels and wish that we had started one way as opposed to the way that we did start.

[01:01:13] Bradley: but we. We share all of that on our website. So if you are interested, eatwandererexplore. com. anything you want to add in there, Jenny? We also have an Instagram, but we’re not as active in that anymore with two really small children. It’s, it’s a bit of a juggle.

[01:01:32] David: it can get to be tough, tough to, to maintain all these different social media stuff out there.

[01:01:38] Bradley: Yes, absolutely. Okay.

[01:01:41] David: All right, I’m, I’m, now I’m curious because, now it’s time for the lightning round, our little trivia time. So let’s see. So let’s have some fun here. and we might have two different answers coming from either of you. So let’s see. First, coffee or tea?

[01:02:00] Bradley: Tea. Coffee.

[01:02:03] David: Ayyyy. Our first conflict, okay. Or dog.

[01:02:10] Bradley: Dog.

[01:02:15] David: Pool. Or beach.

[01:02:18] Bradley: Oh. Both dogs. I guess I’ll go with the beach.

[01:02:24] Jenny: I’ll go with pool.

[01:02:27] David: Okay, okay. I’m with you though. I go for the pool because, you know, you don’t get the sand and the, and the salt.

[01:02:35] Jenny: Although I will say

[01:02:36] David: But I like the

[01:02:37] Jenny: sea. Water pools.

[01:02:40] David: Okay, okay. would you rather be able to understand and speak every language in the world, or be able to teleport anywhere at any time? I would,

[01:02:54] Bradley: Yeah, I’m gonna teleport as well. Yeah, that’d make traveling a lot easier.

[01:03:02] David: I definitely would. Alright, now, imagine this. You get off the plane at your next destination, and you arrive into the zombie apocalypse. You’re able to get to your bags. What is the first thing you would grab and why?

[01:03:20] Bradley: My phone, and probably just because it’s got access to everything else, so yeah, there’s that. but, I don’t know that that’s a good defense tool against zombies. So, I don’t know. Yeah,

[01:03:36] David: Who knows? Who knows?

[01:03:38] Jenny: I know. I, I

[01:03:39] David: How about you, Jenny?

[01:03:40] Jenny: running .

[01:03:42] Bradley: The kids aren’t in the bag, babe. I know. I would

[01:03:44] Jenny: grab my kids and start running. That’s, I would leave the bag behind.

[01:03:47] Bradley: That’s a good point. That’s a good point.

[01:03:49] David: Leave the bag behind. All right. Okay.

[01:03:53] Jenny: I don’t have

[01:03:53] David: All right. Now,

[01:03:54] Jenny: bag.

[01:03:56] David: no, I know. I know. I, we’ve, we’ve, we’ve gone over this Brody and I were like, Oh no. What would we grab? I guess maybe the kitchen knives that are in our checked luggage. If we can get to the checked luggage,

[01:04:07] Bradley: There you go. There you go. It’s about as best as you can do, right?

[01:04:12] David: that’s the best that you can do for that. Yeah. We’ve done a few trivia questions, based on countries that I think that you’ve visited. So, first off, what is the capital city of Malaysia?

[01:04:27] Bradley: Call ’em for, yeah.

[01:04:31] David: Yes.

[01:04:34] Bradley: Yes, Sorry I didn’t answer this quickly.

[01:04:37] David: Wit Go It’s okay. Which famous landmark in Germany is a symbol of the country and is located in Berlin.

[01:04:50] David: Ooh, I do not know. We actually weren’t in Berlin. So, in Berlin. Yay.

[01:04:58] Bradley: Yeah, you’re gonna have to answer us that.

[01:05:03] David: The Brandenburg Gate.

[01:05:06] Bradley: Oh, the Brandenburg Gate. we will have to make our way to Berlin. So we will check it out.

[01:05:12] David: Yes. I plan on being there in a few years, doing… Hehehehe Wanna do a Christmas market in Berlin, that would be awesome. Hehehe

[01:05:21] Bradley: Yes, definitely do

[01:05:22] David: now, Now, which Central American country is known as the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes?

[01:05:33] Bradley: Is it Costa Rica? That’s what I would guess. Is that Costa Rica?

[01:05:40] David: No, it’s Nicaragua.

[01:05:43] Bradley: Oh, just north.

[01:05:44] David: there? Or, or…

[01:05:46] Bradley: Yeah, you guys were there, and we really wanted to go. Ah, they did have the beautiful lakes, and we were gonna go to those, those areas. were you in Leon? Is that what it’s called? L E O N? did you go to that area?

[01:05:58] David: we were in Lyon for a bit. Yeah.

[01:06:01] Bradley: Okay, uh,

[01:06:03] David: Yeah. Nicaragua is amazing. I always recommend people go to visit. It’s awesome. I think I actually felt it was better in my twenties, in my thirties than it was even in my forties, but

[01:06:16] Bradley: We were gonna drive over the border into Nicaragua from Costa Rica. that’s… The way that we would have ended up going, but it turns out Costa Rica is actually bigger than we had expected it to be And we didn’t make our way up there. Yeah,

[01:06:34] David: got it. Got it. All right. Now let’s go for Albania. Which Albanian city is famous for its Ottoman era architecture? Starts

[01:06:49] Bradley: Whoo with that. Oh my gosh. Is that in the South or is it Crujah? I don’t know Ottoman era architecture. I don’t know. I think that it’s in

[01:07:04] David: with a G, or at least its

[01:07:08] Jenny: Oh Maybe we did look that

[01:07:10] Bradley: up. I’m sure that we did. It’s probably even in our article. I feel like I should not be drawing a blank here, but give us a little bit of a break on the fact that we have two really small children and our minds are not with us very, very much anymore. We’re going parent brain.

[01:07:28] Bradley: Yeah, parent brain on this one.

[01:07:31] David: That’s okay, and I might be mispronouncing it, but it’s, Girocaster?

[01:07:36] Jenny: Yes, okay, yeah, I think it’s like in the mountains or something. I think

[01:07:41] Bradley: we looked that up. Okay, so is that the north of Tirana like north northwest or or was I forget where it was? I don’t know where it’s located Okay, well, we’ll look it up again

[01:07:53] David: Yeah, you guys did a whole article and that kind of stuff, but yeah, the arc of the buildings are just like on the side of the mountain, almost, and the trees built in, it’s really cool looking.

[01:08:05] Bradley: yeah

[01:08:06] David: Alright, last question.

[01:08:09] Bradley: Okay,

[01:08:12] David: What is the indigenous Maori people’s traditional dance in New Zealand called?

[01:08:19] Bradley: the Haka Kappa Haka

[01:08:22] David: The Haka. Yes. Have you guys tried the hockey yet?

[01:08:29] Bradley: we’re here after all this is this one’s fresh

[01:08:35] David: Yes. All right. Now, as we wrap up, do you have any pearls of wisdom or tips or for any of these parents who might be considering the similar family travel?

[01:08:53] Jenny: Don’t overestimate or underestimate Slow travel even if you’re only planning to take a year off to try it out. I would recommend slow traveling. It’s, it’s really difficult because you want to see everything in the world. and maybe you only have a year off, so you want to travel every week or something to a different place.

[01:09:18] Jenny: I think you’ll get burnt out. Most people do. So, I would recommend trying to stay in a place for three to four weeks at least, even if you’re only going to do it for a year.

[01:09:31] Bradley: Yeah, you could probably do a month, in 12 different countries for a year or something of that sort, but We highly recommend slow travel.

[01:09:40] Bradley: Secondly, traveling with an infant is not as difficult as you might imagine, but once they get into the toddler stage, they become quite a challenge. And if you are, flying on airplanes, we used to not care if it was a red eye or if we were flying for 12 hours straight or something like that, no problem.

[01:10:01] Bradley: But with small children, at least, I would highly encourage reconsidering that, make some shorter trips, fly maybe four or eight hours tops, and then, you know, have some downtime there. Stay there for at least a night, maybe a couple of nights before you make the next shot, you know, on your journey.

[01:10:23] Bradley: we’ve, we, we had a, uh, very, very. Bad 24 hour trip. One, one, one duration, that we learned quite a bit from and, uh, won’t be doing that mistake again.

[01:10:43] David: Excellent pearls of wisdom.

[01:10:46] Bradley: All

[01:10:47] David: Learn from our mistakes and our successes. That’s why I love these shows.

[01:10:51] Bradley: Absolutely. Absolutely. And thanks for having us on.

[01:10:55] David: all right. Well, Oh, you’re welcome. Thank you for joining us. And, I mean, it’s a big, big thank you. I mean, I know we’ve been trying to reconnect for a while to get this scheduled, but thanks for sharing all of your inspiring journeys with us.

[01:11:11] David: I mean, First off, your story is really it’s a testament to the fact that travel isn’t just about seeing new places. It’s really about experiencing life, um, in all of its diversity, learning from each encounter, going with the flow. I mean, you had the babies on the road and, didn’t even weren’t expecting that.

[01:11:29] David: I mean, that’s amazing. I’m sure our listeners are going to be inspired by your adventures. Check out their website. For more, I’ll have a link in the show notes below. it’s not always easy to travel full time, but, the rewards are immeasurable. Until next time, people keep dreaming, keep exploring and remember the world is yours to discover. All right. Thanks again for for joining us today. Jenny and Brad. It’s been fun.

[01:12:05] Bradley: you so much. Definitely appreciate it. Awesome.

[01:12:10] David: Awesome. Awesome. Thanks.