These Digital Nomads Travel the World So Their Kids Can Study Abroad

(Illustration by Lynne Tuttle/Barron’s; Adobe Stock (2))

Key Points

More American families are traveling the world since the pandemic so that their children can be educated overseas.
Families face varying budgets, cross-border complications and tax headaches while managing their finances during worldschooling.
An estimated 24% of the roughly 17 million U.S. digital nomads travel with their children, according to a 2024 MBO Partners report.

Kimberly Tesarek, a 42-year-old mother of three, was a corporate lawyer in Austin, Texas, before quitting in 2024 to travel the world with her 3-, 6- and 7-year-old children and her husband.

The couple sold their house, cars, and most of their possessions and embarked on a journey that took them from India to Australia to Switzerland.

“We may eventually go back to more meaningful lucrative work but we are enjoying making choices on what inspires us and fulfills us and our family, instead of being tied to a paycheck,” she says.

Since the pandemic, more American families are traveling the world so that their children can be educated overseas.

There are roughly 43 million digital nomads from all countries, up from about 35 million in 2021, according to online platform RentRemote. And about 24% of the estimated 17 million U.S. digital nomads travel with their children, according to a 2024 global talent solutions platform MBO Partners report.

But as more people try “world schooling,” or traveling with children and teaching them along the way, they are also learning to manage their finances in an unpredictable environment.

Between the cost of lodging, flights, changing currency rates, travel insurance and schools, families are navigating varying budgets, cross-border complications and tax headaches.

Vanessa Hope van Engelen, founder of worldschooling site Worldly Tribe, first recommends building a safety net of three to six months’ living expenses alongside setup and emergency funds before leaving the U.S.

“There’s no magic number,” she says. But take into account costs such as flights, insurance and a buffer for surprises, she says.

As for schools, costs vary greatly, she says.

All-inclusive programs, which bundle housing, schooling and coworking space so parents can work remotely, typically start around $4,500 a month for a family, depending on the location, she says. For instance, a month in Tuscany organized by the world schooling hub Boundless Life, with a package including a one-bed apartment, school and events for the parents, starts at about $4,600.

But some programs at local learning centers such as the home schooling hub TruePath in Hang Dong, Thailand, can cost just $570 a month for school, she says.

“Budget-friendly world schooling is absolutely possible,” she says.

The major financial drain of world schooling is if someone still pays rent, a mortgage, or bills back in the U.S. “The biggest pitfall is paying for two lives,” she says.

She recommends tracking every expense, especially in the first few months, as real costs will differ from projected costs.

“The families who last aren’t necessarily the ones with the most money. They’re the ones who know their numbers,” she says.

That is how Irene Genelin, 42, and her husband Andy, 57, feel.

The couple transitioned to full-time travel in 2019 after selling their organic fruit farm in Minnesota and have since been in over 30 countries with their now-12-year-old daughter Ani.

“We grew fruits and vegetables for nine years, burned ourselves out and decided we wanted to travel,” Genelin says.

They are able to afford the lifestyle primarily through the farm sale proceeds and because the husband took early retirement from his information technology job in 2024. The couple sometimes works remotely: Andy still does IT work, and Irene is a self-published author.

The couple tracks their spending through a 20-category spreadsheet, maintaining a monthly budget of around $5,200: $2,000 for lodging, $2,000 for meals, $800 for transport and $400 for activities.

They negotiate cheaper rates when they stay in a home longer. They travel with other families to split costs. They sometimes housesit.

“We have a pretty strict budget,” says Genelin.

They also stay longer in lower-cost countries such as Egypt, where monthly rent hovers around $350, to balance higher expenses in Austria, for instance.

“Each country has a different standard of living, so your money can go further depending on where you are,” she says.

Russell Hammond, a chartered financial planner and investment advisor based in London, recommends geographic arbitrage.

Staying longer in a low-cost country provides savings, as well as flying less often—staying in one country for longer—and prioritizing short-haul flights over long-haul ones.

Geographic arbitrage also means earning a U.S. income from remote work and enjoying how far that income stretches in countries with lower costs of living.

But Hammond warns about taxes and visas. Some countries don’t allow remote work. In Germany and Japan, for instance, working on a tourist visa is strictly prohibited.

Other countries have strict rules on tax residency.

The U.K., for instance, has a residence test that takes into account family and work ties to the country as well as days spent there.

Americans also have to report their worldwide income to the I.R.S. and face taxes in the U.S. regardless of where they reside.

“For American citizens, the tax admin can be really quite complex due to the rules on worldwide income,” says Hammond.

His advice is to establish a likely tax position before departing and setting everything up for that.

As for Tesarek and her husband, they have been able to travel the world without facing tax issues and after building a portfolio of investments and savings over 10 years.

The couple established a plan to withdraw less than 4% of their overall savings yearly and operate on a fixed monthly budget of $12,000 for their family of five, keeping housing costs to about $3,000 a month.

“It’s more about being intentional and smart about how you spend rather than needing a specific dollar amount available,” says Tesarek. The couple picks lower-cost destinations such as Mexico and prioritizes a limited number of unique experiences over many expensive excursions.

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