Episode 28 - Living the Dream: A Family's Global Adventure

What happens when a young couple swaps their wedding vows for an epic global adventure? Join us for an eye-opening conversation with Seth and Sarah, who did just that—and came back with more than souvenirs. This episode unveils their incredible journey from backpacking across continents to the unexpected joy of parenthood, all while navigating the challenges of a world on lockdown. Discover how they resumed their travels with baby Millie in tow, from traversing Canada to soaking up the sun in Jamaica, and the crucial lessons they learned along the way, like the art of packing light and finding supplies on the go.

We also dive into how rising mortgage rates pushed Seth and Sarah to make a life-changing decision: transitioning from occasional vacations to full-time globe-trotting. Learn their secret sauce for meticulous yet flexible travel planning, and get inspired by their memorable detours like the one to France. They also share the hurdles and rewards of maintaining a social media presence and generating income through their blog, atlasadventured.com, and personalized travel planning services. Plus, get a taste of their culinary escapades in Peru and hear about their future travel aspirations.

Ever wondered how to homeschool your child while exploring the world? Seth and Sarah share their unique approach to "world schooling" Millie, highlighting her impressive language skills and social interactions with kids from various cultures. They open up about initial skepticism from family and friends and the research and safety measures they take to ensure smooth travels. In this episode, we also explore the logistics of long-term travel in Europe, especially within the Schengen Zone's 90-day limit. From their strategic planning tips to reflections on how this lifestyle has inspired even their most travel-averse relatives, Seth and Sarah offer a compelling narrative that will make you rethink what's possible for family life.

Website: https://www.atlasadventured.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AtlasAdventured
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@AtlasAdventured
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AtlasAdventured

Transcript

Jim Santos: 0:19

Welcome to Travels with Jim and Rita. With Jim and Rita, I'm your host, jim Santos, and in this podcast series you can follow along as my wife, rita and I work out our crazy plan to outfox the real estate market in the US and actually increase our retirement nest egg by spending the next three years or so living abroad and exploring the world. Are we bold, forward-thinking pioneers or just plain nuts? Let's find out together, shall we? Hello, and welcome once again to Travels with Jim and Rita.

Jim Santos: 0:55

You know, one thing we're learning while we do this podcast is that there's an incredible variety of travelers out there. We've talked to a solo cyclist, a single mom traveling with two kids, caravanners in New Zealand and plenty of couples of all ages. Today's guests are yet another twist in these Tangled Tales. Seth and Sarah are a young couple who chose to pay for a one-way ticket to Europe instead of a wedding. They came back from their trip with a passion for travel and a baby on the way. Now Millie has joined in as the trio continue to explore the world and document their journey on the family's blog site, atlasadventured. com. Seth Sarah, welcome to Travels with Jim and Rita.

Sarah: 1:35

Hi, thanks for having us, hello.

Jim Santos: 1:37

Well, let's start with a little bit of background. From what I've read on your blog, you both had pretty solid professional careers before the travel bug bit correct. Yes, we both did.

Seth: 1:46

In the beginning you backpacked all across Europe and then made our way to North Africa, southeast Asia and Australia New Zealand before finding out we were pregnant.

Jim Santos: 2:15

Yeah, I've often thought the problem with the rat race is that only the rats win.

Rita: 2:19

Yeah, exactly, so it sounds like quite an epic journey. How long did that take?

Jim Santos: 2:21

Yeah, exactly, so it sounds like quite an epic journey.

Seth: 2:25

How long did that take? We were gone for about three months.

Sarah: 2:28

Yeah, we packed a lot in in that short amount of time. Yeah, we did.

Jim Santos: 2:32

Now understand that you had a similarity to us. We decided that we wanted to roam the world. Also, we didn't have a baby, but we also had COVID interrupt our travel plans.

Seth: 2:49

But I guess with Millie that must have kept you pretty busy during that time it did. It was kind of good timing in terms of us having a baby at that time, because we were stuck at home anyways for the first year or so and then, as soon as the restrictions started getting lifted, we took some trips from up in Canada all the way down to Georgia and then came back and went to Panama and Jamaica as soon as we could do some international traveling again. So that's great.

Rita: 3:08

Did she like the airplane?

Seth: 3:10

Oh, she's her favorite. Yeah, she's an amazing traveler. She is just awesome. Never had one issue with her at all.

Rita: 3:17

That's been great.

Jim Santos: 3:18

We started pretty young with her, didn't you? Do you have a early cruise?

Seth: 3:21

Yeah, we, yeah, we took on a cruise to Mexico. That was her first abroad experience and it was awesome. We could see that she was just a traveler right off the bat, so we got her started young and it's been amazing.

Jim Santos: 3:35

You know, I talked to another couple that traveled with a very young child and they said one of the biggest problems was all of the paraphernalia that they had to take the diapers, the diaper bags, the travel crib, all the little things that go along with taking care of a baby. How did you deal with those issues?

Sarah: 3:51

At first I went overboard. Seth looked like some sort of pack mule like in the airports with all of our diaper bags and stuff.

Sarah: 3:59

But I realized everywhere we went had everything we needed. Especially traveling to Europe I brought I mean, the first time we traveled with her I brought pretty much a whole suitcase full of medications in case she got sick and vitamins and, you know, all her favorite organic snacks from home and then realized once I got to Europe that everything was way cheaper and way better quality in terms of medication for a child and their standards. So I felt like I really over packed and overdid it with a kid when you can pretty much find whatever you need anywhere you go.

Jim Santos: 4:34

I brought it up. I think that's pretty common with travelers in general. You tend to pack less and less the more often you travel.

Seth: 4:41

I think so too it's true, yeah, but the learning lesson every trip.

Rita: 4:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean there are some medications that I have found over this past fall. When we were in was it Turkey that I know it was in Vienna that we couldn't get a certain medication, but they substituted something else. It was. It was fine. You know I got through it. But yeah, you can always jump back and regroup.

Jim Santos: 5:07

For the most part we found in other countries. You can just go to the pharmacy and tell them what your problem is, and they'll generally give you something.

Seth: 5:16

Right, exactly, they're like doctors there. It's not as strenuous of a process as it is in the States. The healthcare in Europe is pretty easily accessible for the most part.

Jim Santos: 5:27

It's true. Now, when did you make the decision, rather than just taking vacations as a trio, then when did you make the decision to just go out on the road and start traveling as a family, as you are now?

Seth: 5:39

I mean, as soon as the rates started ticking up in the mortgage industry, it just seemed like it was probably a good time to take that leap of faith. We really wanted to share our experiences on the website and kind of go on that venture. So that was late 2022 where we started kind of making that decision and we had an idea that we wanted to share the budget tips as well on our website, just because living abroad is actually a lot cheaper than living where we were living. We were able to cut our expenses almost in half and still enjoy a lot of extracurricular activities and some great foods while we were traveling. So that was kind of our thought process there. It was very expensive living in Orange County and if we could travel for our livelihood, that would be an ideal situation for both of us and for Millie just showing Millie the world.

Rita: 6:34

Yeah Well, I think it's the difference. When you go to Europe and you're on vacation, it's a different spending procedure than when you go to Europe to travel along, you know, for months and months and months, because you learn tips and tricks to make it so much more livable and cheaper.

Seth: 6:56

Correct, yeah, and each community kind of find out where you can save costs. I mean, we went from Spain where we were having bread, oil, vinegar and certain meats and cheeses every night for dinner, and then when we got to Montenegro for our six-week stay, we realized that olive oil there was 25 euros each. So we had to kind of shift our eating habits based on the environment we were in and we would find just amazing foods everywhere, which was great for Sarah because she has such a culinary taste everywhere, which was great for Sarah because she has such a home.

Jim Santos: 7:26

Yeah, that's one of the things that I really enjoy about travel is trying the different foods everywhere and then trying to reconstruct it. But as a trained chef, that must, that must just be heaven for you.

Sarah: 7:33

Oh it is. People must think I look so silly sitting at these tables and like savoring each bite trying to figure out, like, what exactly is in it.

Sarah: 7:42

It's my favorite thing and we're super lucky that Millie is very open to trying any new food. That's great. We've kind of pushed all sorts of food at her since a very young age, trying to get her to be open to trying everything. And yeah, she's eaten what haggis in Scotland and loved it. What else does she eat? A black pudding is like one of her favorite breakfast items now. Yeah, it's been really fun for me, but watching her get excited about these flavors as well it just makes it so worth it For sure.

Rita: 8:17

Oh, and the markets. Every country has these, or they seem to have these wonderful markets. It's not just like the co-ops and the mini markets that you see here. Yeah, it's so different. The farmers markets here are so expensive and you go there to these wonderful markets and it's so reasonable.

Seth: 8:35

I know, and it's such great, great produce there too. I mean I love supporting those communities in that way.

Sarah: 8:41

Yes, shopping yes, the size and colors of, like some of the produce you see in those markets, it's just unreal it really is, it is.

Jim Santos: 8:52

You probably have the problem I have, sarah where you go into the market and you find yourself wanting to take one of these and two of that and six of these and four of that, yes, you have to remind yourself it's here every day.

Sarah: 9:03

I know that's so funny.

Jim Santos: 9:10

Now, Seth, you mentioned that one of your reasons for deciding to try this out was you were watching the mortgage rates tick up. We were kind of on the other side of that. We didn't have a mortgage, but as those mortgage rates went up, rates on savings accounts went up and rents prices on homes also were going up. So we decided to sell our house and put the money into those high interest savings accounts. Now you made the decision also to sell your home. Did you find it difficult to let that go?

Seth: 9:31

No, not really we were. It seemed like it was the top of the market and we had just had a an issue with our house that we had to get fixed and we were tired of putting money into it because we had bought an older house and we could make a nice profit on it. So we did put that money into a high yield savings account as well to help fund our travels. But yeah, it was definitely a good time to sell.

Rita: 9:52

Do you think it is the top of the market?

Seth: 9:55

I don't know. I mean, it's kind of one of those rare occurrences in our economy where home prices and interest rates are astronomical. It's usually kind of one way or the other, but now both are very high, so something's got to give. And way or the other, but now both are very high, so something's got to give, and I don't know if interest rates are coming down anytime soon, based on what the Fed keeps saying.

Rita: 10:12

Yeah, I was a realtor for 32 years and I'm telling you, I just don't see how people can sustain those prices.

Jim Santos: 10:20

That's crazy. Did you put anything in storage or leave with friends and family when you left?

Seth: 10:25

Yeah, we put all of our stuff in storage. We did the same thing in 2018, but we were renting in 2018. So we put all our stuff in storage and then traveled. And then this time we got a giant storage unit, put all of our stuff in there, we took everything out that we needed and we'll get it out once we get another place and we decide to settle down somewhere. But right now we're still really enjoying traveling and we kind of wanted to give the website and this venture a couple years, because we knew it's going to be a labor of love for a little bit, because it takes a while to start making income off of that. But that's the end goal is, hopefully this can be something we do together and it's our professional career as well, so that would be an ideal situation.

Rita: 11:02

Well, I think it's great because you are showing young couples with small children that this is doable.

Jim Santos: 11:08

I wanted to talk to you about your blog because I know how much effort that takes, especially when you're on the road Looking over your blog. There's just an incredible number of places you've been to just a couple of years. So just tell us about the blog. What are you trying to accomplish with that?

Seth: 11:21

And again, this is called Atlas Adventured, with the E-D at the end of that featured with the ED at the end of that, yeah, so one of our main goals is to share budget tips and sustainable travel tips, because we always like to give back to the communities that we visit and we like to teach that to Millie. Another big reason for it is when we came back from our 2018 trip. It was just very evident whenever anyone asked us a question like what was your favorite place, it was just so hard to narrow it down because we had so many great experiences and when we talked to other friends or family and they had been to Greece or Paris or Rome and they said they had a bad experience, it was something very difficult for us because we didn't really get that. So we really wanted to help people plan a trip correctly as well. So there is options on our website if someone needs help planning a trip to make sure they have a great time.

Seth: 12:08

We always have to plan for contingencies. I mean, we've had in 2018, we had some times where we would miss the train or our Airbnb would cancel on us and we'd have to get something last minute, which was part of the fun. I mean, one of our favorite places we visited was in this tiny town in En Masse in France, because our place in Geneva, switzerland, canceled and we ended up having a great couple of days in this tiny little town. So I think that's one of the things about traveling is kind of being flexible and having contingency options which we want to provide to people as well if they are planning a trip, because I do know people who have paid 10, 15 grand to a travel planner and did not have a good time. So that's hopefully what we're facilitating with the blog is some peace of mind for people and some some options if they are, if they do want to travel with a child or a toddler.

Jim Santos: 12:52

Yeah, that's the hopes, and, in addition to the blog, you also maintain a presence on TikTok, youtube, instagram.

Seth: 12:58

Yeah, that's another project in and of itself. It's just learning how to write code for a website and do all these things and design a website with no technical background and then also trying to video edit and do all that. I mean we have a backlog of probably 100 hours of footage that we're just trying to sift through and create new YouTube videos all the time. But it's, it is a project, it's, it's a, it's a learning curve for us.

Jim Santos: 13:21

You know we're retirees with Social Security, pensions and money we've been working for all of our lives. I guess a lot of your blog is helping other families learn how to finance travel, like you're doing, correct, and budget accordingly, yes, has that been working out for you? Are you able to generate enough income while you travel?

Seth: 13:38

It's not generating a ton of income, but it's getting there. We're seeing a lot of growth week over week, month over month. The first year was just kind of getting everything set up and getting our rankings on Google and different search engines. But I think more of our income comes from helping other people plan their trip, because we've planned for senior citizens, we've planned for young families, singles couples, teenagers and kind of that, where some of our income comes in as well to help plan out their trips.

Jim Santos: 14:06

So people can contact you then via the website, correct?

Seth: 14:09

Correct. There's a little questionnaire on there as well for them to fill out, and then we'll do a consultation with them to make sure we plan it based on their likings and it's personalized.

Jim Santos: 14:17

I won't ask you the question that we get asked all the time. You mentioned it earlier about your favorite places to go but I would like to know is there any place that you would not visit again?

Sarah: 14:26

That's a good question.

Seth: 14:28

I can say definitively In my case no, I mean, I found something amazing in every country we visit. I think I'd like to go to every single place we've been to Again, honestly, I mean, I feel like I never get enough time in these places.

Jim Santos: 14:40

That's true. Yeah, you got to hit all the other ones first, though, right.

Seth: 14:42

Yeah, I know, yeah, we're kind of like on that seesaw of do we go to new places or go to these proven amazing places. But yeah, we want to get Millie to some other new spots. We've been planning a trip to Peru for September after we do some traveling around the States to visit family. But we've kind of shifted from that and started looking at Salinas after listening to your guys' podcast on Kindness Without Borders podcast on kindness on kindness without borders. So when it looks amazing and we can go there for a couple months and maybe do some short trips to peru or I will tell you the best food that I have ever eaten in my entire life is in peru so we love peruvian food what was your favorite dish from peru?

Jim Santos: 15:24

oh, I think it was um a quinoa risotto shrimp and quinoa risotto Shrimp and quinoa risotto, and they also had shrimp and yama or yama and quinoa risotto. That was really good. I mean, it's something about the flavoring and the seasoning. Nothing is really overpowering, there's just a lot of flavor to it.

Seth: 15:44

I was going to say have you guys had Peruvian food in the States? Because we eat it pretty regularly here and it's so amazing, but I don't know how, how much of an americanized version we're eating here, and that's why we are excited to go to peru and see if it's really the same you know I don't know if you've hit this, but we um like we just had really excellent food in greece this fall.

Jim Santos: 16:04

It's the best. And there's's a Greek restaurant here in town where we're staying now and I've thought about going there, but then there's, you know, will I be disappointed?

Rita: 16:13

Yeah, Because everything yeah.

Jim Santos: 16:15

It's always.

Rita: 16:16

Americanized it is.

Jim Santos: 16:19

Have you guys thought about well, how old is Millie? Now Is she about three.

Seth: 16:22

She just turned five, a couple of weeks ago Just turned five, oh my gosh.

Jim Santos: 16:29

Well, when she gets a little older? Now, have you thought about what you're going to do about schooling?

Seth: 16:32

So we homeschool her right now that was part of the reason we came home is because we did want to interview some schools and see if that was a path we wanted to take.

Sarah: 16:38

But this, yeah, I mean she's she is smarter than the average five-year-old. Yeah, she, she can count in 10 languages, she can pretty much converse in three or four languages. I mean, if you showed her a globe, she could name every continent and almost every European country on that globe?

Seth: 16:57

Yeah, probably 30 countries or so.

Sarah: 16:58

Yeah, that's great and so when we've gone to these schools and we've seen the. You know she's five, so she would be kindergarten. We've seen the curriculum and know she's five, so she would be kindergarten. We've seen the curriculum and she knows all of it and so I would. I'm worried that it would be boring for her and then it wouldn't be fun anymore. So we're right in this. In between is do we travel and let her learn through traveling, or do we put her in a traditional school and, you know, make sure she's got the basics down.

Seth: 17:25

Yeah, I mean we've, we've signed her up for like extracurriculars. She's done a soccer program and sports and dance and piano and stuff of that nature. But in terms of the, the academia, I just I love homeschooling her. It's. I love learning. That's one of my favorite things to do. So I mean, by the time she was two she was counting to 10 and six languages, and now she's at 10 languages and we're trying to teach her the basics in all those languages and, like her, science acumen and math is just exceptional.

Jim Santos: 17:52

So we really enjoy the homeschooling portion if we can keep traveling with her for a bit and, yeah, eventually she'll want to go to school, but right now she really enjoys the traveling part of our life so yeah, suppose for now as much as she's learning, as long as you just have the homeschooling basics and you know where she's supposed to be on the curve and you can make sure she's ahead of all of that.

Rita: 18:10

With her math especially. But she's going to be so far advanced because she's having this worldly experience.

Seth: 18:19

One of the things that's a benefit now as well is you're noticing all these world schooling options for people who are nomads. There's places in Florence that we're looking at that you can sign them up for, like a three-month program Florence and Portugal, bali. So there's a ton of these options for her as well, where she can enroll in school, and there's other kids there as well that are part of traveling families, and that's ultimately one of our hopes for her is she could do that a couple semesters.

Jim Santos: 18:46

One of the things we noticed when we some of our grandkids came to visit us in Ecuador. We stayed with a family in this little village and the kids were all playing together, not understanding a word that the other was saying, but they were all playing together. I was wondering if you've seen Millie interacting with people in other countries as you, as you travel.

Seth: 19:03

Oh yes, we have tons of videos. We're trying to put a compilation together because she just makes friends everywhere we go. When we do video chats with family back home, she'll talk about her friend Sophia she just made and they're I mean, they're not communicating verbally, but they're having a great time together, I mean she from Ukraine.

Rita: 19:28

Who spoke?

Sarah: 19:28

to her and they, they act like they understand everything they're saying and they play together Like they know what they're supposed to do and I'm like, does she understand?

Jim Santos: 19:33

Yeah, we saw a lot of giggling.

Rita: 19:35

Yeah, when, uh, when my son was five, I was in Cozumel, mexico, with him and he was playing with a little boy on the beach, didn't understand a word, each other saying they had such a wonderful time.

Seth: 19:49

It was so cute. It's great to see. Yeah, at that age they can really play.

Rita: 19:53

There's no barrier. Yeah, yeah, no barrier. No embarrassment, they're just having fun.

Jim Santos: 20:00

Let's go back to when you were just starting out. Did you get any kind of feedback from friends and family about the wisdom of going on the road and take your young daughter with you?

Seth: 20:10

They were a little skeptical of it, you know, especially when we told them we were staying in places like Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They had some apprehension, which is expected. But we did a lot of research and we had to sell them on it as well to kind of ease their concerns. So once we showed them these places and we were doing videos back home and they were seeing how much fun she was having, then it really wasn't as big of a deal.

Seth: 20:32

It became easier for them as we went along, but they definitely missed her, so that's why we're back for a little bit, so they can get their.

Rita: 20:39

Millie fix. Yeah Well, we drive our kids absolutely crazy by our country choices.

Jim Santos: 20:49

There is a lot of fear in the US about traveling to other countries. Have you run into any difficulties or had any problems in countries traveling as a young family?

Seth: 20:59

Um, we have not had any issues, thank goodness. Um, I mean we have not really had any bad experiences we got. I mean we've gotten some speeding tickets in France, but I mean that's about the extent of it. But yeah, I think that's one of the things too is, here in America there's kind of a fear of leaving the country and seeing the and, and they feel like it's unsafe outside of here. But a lot of these places are more safe than here. Yeah, it was very eye opening.

Rita: 21:25

Yeah, we've never had a problem either. In all the years that we've traveled, we've never had an issue ever.

Sarah: 21:31

I have a lot of anxiety while traveling. So for me, doing a lot of research on the places that we're visiting, like safety ratings, and I mean we'll Google earth things so I can see what the neighbor's place looks like and how far we are from the grocery I mean we'll Google earth things so I can see what the neighbor's place looks like and how far we are from the grocery I mean I a lot of research goes into that to ease my anxiety. So showing my family that I'm willing to go do it and they know my levels of anxiety, I think it makes them also feel a little bit more at ease.

Jim Santos: 21:58

If I'm willing to do it and put our family in that position, it's hopefully it's a safe endeavor yeah, I've used, uh, google earth and google maps too, to take a look at the area before we get there yeah, and, like you say, find out where it's a grocery store. Where's the market?

Sarah: 22:13

yeah, we try to make sure we're pretty central to everything that we need. I mean because when you're living in a place for a few months without a car, you really need to be close to a store and the things you want to see, and public transportation is kind of a big thing that we harp on when we're traveling, so it's a Where's the closest bus stop?

Rita: 22:30

I read your Montenegro blurb and yeah, after you get a cancellation, you are stuck with what you can get.

Seth: 22:37

Yeah, we get that One thing canceled. You can't go and change everything else, that all the flights and other bookings you have.

Jim Santos: 22:45

It's a cascading effect.

Rita: 22:47

Yeah, we've had that happen too.

Jim Santos: 22:49

How long are you generally staying in each country when you go to visit?

Seth: 22:52

Well, with Europe it's a little different because they have a Schengen zone requirements where you can only stay 90 days within 180. So we had to kind of map that out correctly. That's why we had to go to Montenegro. We were planning on going to Croatia when we were planning the trip in 22, but Croatia got admitted to the EU the Schengen zone, so we settled on Montenegro because it was right next to Croatia. So, yeah, that's kind of. I mean, usually we're in a place for six weeks or so. 30 days usually has a better rate on rentals, on Airbnbs or on local websites. You can get monthly rentals for a cheaper rate than a daily rate. So we usually try and say at least 30 days and six weeks if it's a good location.

Rita: 23:32

It is kind of hard to zip through this engine because I feel like there's a few of like the Eastern European countries that Jim and I are going to this fall, that we better be looking at them now because we're probably not going to see them in our lifetime if we don't. Yeah that's true, but it is a lot of. It's more fast travel than slow travel sometimes, but then you can jump back to the slow travel.

Jim Santos: 23:58

It is annoying that more countries keep joining, exchanging a route.

Rita: 24:01

It is. It's very annoying.

Jim Santos: 24:05

But I've read that they're looking at coming up with a tourist visa that allows you 180 days.

Rita: 24:09

Well, that'd be great, that would be great.

Jim Santos: 24:12

But the first reference I saw to that was like six years ago and it still hasn't happened. It still hasn't happened.

Rita: 24:17

I mean, we're looking at after we expire our 90 days and then we're going to Britain and Ireland, which is out of the Schengen, thank God. But we'll still have to go to Morocco or somewhere to be able to come back in to the Schengen.

Jim Santos: 24:39

Have you visited Albania?

Seth: 24:41

We have not. That was we were planning a road trip, either going south from montenegro and doing albania or doing the bosnia and croatia route, but we have not been to albania. But southern albania looks amazing, the coast is just yeah beautiful.

Jim Santos: 24:57

Yeah, we've heard it's really nice and it also will let you. Uh, if you have a uS passport, you can stay for 365 days.

Seth: 25:04

Yeah.

Jim Santos: 25:04

Oh, that's good to know. Yeah, apparently, the Clinton administration was very helpful during one of their conflicts. As a reward, they said that US citizens can stay there 365 days just on their passport. But if you have to do the Schengen shuffle, yeah.

Rita: 25:20

Yeah, it is very inconvenient, but I guess they're so overrun with tourists at the moment that it's very convenient for them.

Seth: 25:28

Yeah, I mean even compared from 2018 on our trip and our families had come out for part of our 2023 trip and it was a different beast. There were so many people. It was much harder getting around than it was in 2018. And I think it's only going to be worse this year in terms of travelers.

Rita: 25:48

You know, yeah, although we were in Turkey and Greece and it was in the fall.

Jim Santos: 25:55

I think there's just a lot of people that were overcompensating for being unable to travel.

Seth: 25:58

Yeah, they were all pent up. Where'd you guys go in Greece?

Jim Santos: 26:02

We went to Athens and then we went to Thessaloniki.

Rita: 26:05

Yeah, oh nice.

Jim Santos: 26:06

Have you been there?

Seth: 26:07

We haven't. We did Santorini and then we stayed in Crete for a few weeks in 2023. And Crete is I mean. I've been looking at real estate there because I want to buy a house. I love all of Greece, but Crete. We do that everywhere.

Jim Santos: 26:21

Yeah, we do it absolutely everywhere.

Rita: 26:23

We're so bad.

Jim Santos: 26:25

Yeah, I really enjoyed Greece. I felt very comfortable there and, like you said, the food is great.

Seth: 26:30

It's one of the best. We crave it all the time.

Rita: 26:34

The olive oil is exceptional.

Sarah: 26:37

It's just out of this world. It's so completely different than anything I've ever tasted.

Rita: 26:43

It is, yeah, us too. We feel the same than anything I've ever tasted. It is yeah, us too, we feel the same way.

Jim Santos: 26:46

I've never eaten olives before, I've never liked green olives, but in Greece I ate every single olive they put in front of me Every day, every day.

Rita: 26:56

We were going to go to Mykonos and apparently they have this ferry fight every once in a while and they closed all the ferries down, so we didn't make it to mykonos we wanted to try an island, but that ferry uh strike I don't know but you know you were talking about rolling with it.

Jim Santos: 27:14

What was the downside? We're gonna have to stay in athens for a couple.

Rita: 27:17

Yeah, oh, my god, oh, darn. You know, I know, you know, if you go to albania, corfu is very close very short ferry ride.

Jim Santos: 27:27

Yeah, you take a ferry right across to Corfu.

Rita: 27:29

And that's supposed to be a lush green island. We haven't been, but that's what everybody tells us.

Seth: 27:35

Yeah, we would love to hit as many Greek islands as we can, because the people, the food, I mean. Greece checks all the boxes in terms of a great destination. Yeah, it Very nice.

Jim Santos: 27:44

Yeah, we talked about a little bit of flack before you started doing this. Now that you've been doing this for a few years, do you have any friends and family members that are kind of thinking, you know, maybe we should try this out?

Seth: 27:55

Yes, both of our, both of our. Well, our parents are pretty close as well. They've gotten close over the years. So they Sarah's mom and dad and my mom all came out to Paris for Millie's fourth birthday when we were out there to do Disneyland and we went on a cruise and went from Venice, a few different countries and it ended in Barcelona. So after their experience out there, I think when they retire they're also looking at potentially moving out there with us. If we can get a golden visa program going or something along those lines. I would love to get everyone out there.

Jim Santos: 28:26

Yeah, travel can be awful habit forming. Yeah, it is, it's addicting.

Rita: 28:31

Yeah, and no matter where we go. Yes, we are looking at real estate, we are thinking about it, we're thinking about their taxes, the whole nine yards.

Jim Santos: 28:40

Do you have any particular words of encouragement for other young couples who might be considering something like this but aren't sure if they should take the plunge?

Sarah: 28:47

Just do it.

Seth: 28:48

I mean it is one of the best things you can spend money on is traveling. It's I mean the experiences you you have, the knowledge you gain. It's just so eye opening and you won't regret it. I mean, it's a it's a very important thing to do in your lifetime. I know everyone says they want to travel, but they don't usually get around to it. So if you can make that leap of faith, I mean to go to New York, like we went and visited Sarah's family and it was double the price as flying to Rome or somewhere in Europe.

Seth: 29:16

I mean, it's more expensive to travel in the US than it is to go for two weeks in Europe, so it's definitely something everyone should do and experience.

Rita: 29:26

And I think it makes you more accepting, because everyone wants the very same thing. You know they want to be happy, they want to be able to raise their families and they want security. Everybody wants the same thing, it's true.

Jim Santos: 29:39

I'm sure, as parents, you're hoping that Millie also grows up with this idea that you know the world is her place. She can go anywhere she wants in the world. I'm sure as parents, you're hoping that millie also grows up with this idea that you know the world is her place. She can go anywhere she wants in the world.

Sarah: 29:47

Yeah yes, I don't want her thinking she only belongs to one country. You know it's yeah, right she lives on the war and this planet, and I mean already from our travels we've seen this. This empathy in her stem from seeing other culture. I mean everywhere we go we give back While traveling. This last time we went from summer to winter so we had to ditch all of our summer clothes and make room for winter clothes. So we had her go donate her clothes and the toys we accumulated in our lengthy stays, bicycles, bikes and our books.

Sarah: 30:21

So having her go to these shelters and give them to other kids who she sees as in need of them was eye-opening for her, and you know. So having her go to these shelters and give them to other kids who she sees is in need of them was eye-opening for her, and it's something that she talks about all the time. You know she will once in a while say it makes my heart so happy that I gave that girl my bike and we're just like, oh my gosh, we did something right.

Jim Santos: 30:39

We've been talking with Sarah and Seth, two-thirds of a traveling family with Millie growing up as a citizen of the world. Be sure to check out their family blog at atlasadventured. com for stories and pictures, and you can find their Instagram, TikTok and YouTube sites by searching Atlas Adventured and, as always, you can find the links in our show notes. Sarah and Seth, I'd like to thank you both for sharing your lives with us and maybe we'll run into each other somewhere in the world.

Sarah: 31:05

Thank you Jim, thank you Rita.

Jim Santos: 31:10

Thank you. You've been listening to the Travels with Jim and Rita. Thanks for your support and please continue to like and follow and promote on social media as you are able, and, of course, subscriptions are not required, but they're always appreciated. A quick reminder Rita and I will be at the International Living Ultimate Go Overseas Boot Camp in Las Vegas, nevada, october 26th through the 28th. I'm now scheduled to give four different talks and Rita and I will both be in the exhibit hall to answer questions about what we've done, where we've been and where we're going.

Jim Santos: 31:41

You can get more information or sign up at intliving. com/ events. That's intliving. com/ events, but do it soon because it looks to be a sellout. If you'd like to read more about where we've been and see some photos and videos, check out our blog at jimsantosbooks. com, and you can access my books, audiobooks and short stories at jimsantos. net. We'd love to hear from you as well. So if you have a question or topic you'd like us to cover, or maybe you want to tell us about your travel story, email us at jim@ jimsantosbooks. com. Until next time, remember, we travel not to escape life, but so that life does not escape us.