061 | Being a Jetsetting family with Jessica Sanchez

Feb 3, 2022

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Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/061

I was first exposed to the Jetsetting Family through their podcast when I was looking for inspiration from families who travel.  Through their podcast episodes and Instagram feed I felt like I was on so many of the travels with them and they opened up my world to places I hadn’t heard of or were not in my zone of awareness.  

Jessica is a photographer and social media content creator for The Jetsetting Family. Three years ago, she sold most of her stuff and took her family on a full-time adventure around the world. In two years, she visited more than 40 countries with her husband and two young children, working with dozens of brands in the travel and hospitality industry. She now calls Florida home, and is always ready for the next big adventure!

Key Takeaways

1. They bought a home that ended up being exhausting.  It felt like “we were always saving for the next repair.”  They were spending so much time and money on things that weren’t important to their family. One of the items they wanted to prioritize was travel.
2. When single, young and had all the energy in the world she liked fast travel. But with 2 young kids, fast travel was exhausting.  
3. The transition from vacation mindset to lifestyle mindset is a learning curve.  After 9 months the settled into a routine of having 2 down days and work days built.  You can only travel as long as your budget allows.  They planned to travel for 6 months, thanks to Instagram following they were given discounted free stays reducing their expenses. Then expanded to tours and eventually at the end of their 2 years of full-time travel had secured substantial paid contracts.  
4. “If you are going to travel full-time you have to learn to take everything as it comes.  The reality of travel is there are beautiful moments and there are really hard moments.” 
5. “Yes kids might not remember the travels, but seeing how they adapt, the funny questions they ask along the way, and how it becomes so normal to them is really a beautiful experience” (9:09)
6. Cruises are great taste test of where you want to go, but don’t allow you to go deep. 
7. Transitioning home she is reminded of how much more exhausting it is to travel from a home base than to travel full-time.  When you are traveling full-time you aren’t thinking about what to pack because everything you own is with you.  It costs a lot to travel and own a home.  I think people see full-time travel families as families who are really wealthy, or have some secret to life.  The reality is you are substituting living expenses instead of paying car ownership expenses you are paying for a flight, instead of rent or mortgage you pay for lodging. Being at home it feels like we have our own independent lives, we spent much more time together while traveling.
8. After a year of travel, anytime they were at a location 1 month or longer they would enroll in local schools or activities where they would have daily exposure to other kids.  
9. Families interested in exploring full time travel might want to explore Instagram. Many families are passionate about the lifestyle and want to make it accessible. Send them a DM and ask your questions, chances are they have content or insights to share.  
10. For every bucket list place you go, you end up adding 2 more.  You meet people and they offer gems or suggestions.  

 

Lessons learned from fulltime travel: https://www.thejetsettingfamily.com/lessons/ 
Pros and Cons of travel vs. being home. 

To follow or connect with Jessica Sanchez: 

Website: www.thejetsettingfamily.com
Email: [e-mail]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thejetsettingfamily
Instagram: @thejetsettingfamily