Ripon family 'sold up' to travel world searching for new life
A family who sold almost everything they owned to travel the world have said they were "sick of the grind" of working life in western society.Emma, 34, and Joe, 33, gave up their house and possessions in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and flew to Central and South America with their 12-year-old daughter, Tilly.They set off on their adventure in January after taking Tilly out of school, and plan to find a new country to settle in.
Joe, who worked as a mechanical engineer and technician in the renewable energy sector, said: "We wanted Tilly to have relevant life skills that we think the world is going to teach her."Pulling Tilly out of school was a logistical hurdle, but it was an easy one."School didn't argue, they actually pushed it and said, 'we don't blame you for doing what you're doing'."The family have learned Spanish and Tilly's maths developed as she got used to using difference currencies. Her confidence and cooking skills have also improved, her parents said.Joe added: "We're travelling around the world and she's involved in the logistics side of things - how we're going to get from this country to this country."Her mother Emma, a former occupational therapist and teaching assistant, added: "We are not massively concerned about her GCSEs."A lot of people that we know that haven't done well with GCSEs have done well later on in life. I didn't get much out of school."Joe added that "life experience" would make Tilly more employable, although she could "pick up" GCSEs if she would like to sit exams.
After starting their trip in Mexico, they have travelled through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, before relocating to Thailand.At each location, they have stayed at a mix of hotel and Airbnb accommodation, often negotiating a cheaper rate in exchange for promotion on their social media channels.Emma said the family "have looked at long-term rentals for a base", which would be cheaper, but had "complications" with their visas."Tilly's already starting to miss having a house and a routine and friends, but we're also thinking that we don't know exactly where we want to call home yet and the only way we're going to find out is to keep travelling," Joe added.The family have now made friends among the expat community in Chiang Mai.
Emma said: "For me, travelling is to get out of that western society of consumerism and constantly trying to work, and the grind."I also want to be around people that are just grounded.Joe added: "I want to get away from the point of 'we need to make more money to buy a bigger house, we need to get more money to buy a better car, we need to get more money for better clothes'."
However, the trip has not been plain sailing, as they left Colombia for Thailand after witnessing a young girl being held up at gunpoint. They felt "generally unsafe" in South America and changed their plans to tour the continent for around a year.Joe said they "fast-tracked" their visit to south-east Asia and now "don't really know" when they will return to the UK to visit their elder daughter and other family members.
Their 16-year-old has moved in with her grandmother and "understood" that her parents, who were in their teens when she was born, wanted to explore and travel.Joe and Emma resigned from their jobs and rehomed the family dog before leaving, and said some of their relatives struggled to understand their decision.Emma said: "The older generation see it as 'you need to graft hard' and they don't really understand the technology and the different ways of working now."
The couple post about their travels on social media under the "Smiths On Tour" account.Joe said: "We're just an average family from the UK that have completely jumped out of our comfort zone."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
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