IMers Living Abroad with Kids

With so much money in pocket don't you have the resources for private tutors and internet? Both would serve your children very well educationally, though they might not have much social interaction with other children. Just depending on who your neighbors are.

Home schooling is an option if you and/or your wife have the time.

You will find that the education your kids will get are better in lots of these places. Your kids will also benefit a lot in other ways from living abroad and learning about new cultures etc.

I say go for it.

Just look for cost of living and related statistics online and do your calculations. Also take crime rates and everything into account. Sometimes its best not to leave home.

I've never heard of anyone with kids doing it. It's always young males looking for the party lifestyle. I'm speaking purely in terms of this business. I'm sure there are many families in other industries who have done it, but I highly doubt they chose places like Costa Rica, Thailand or any other party friendly atmosphere.

I think that your kids and you need to stay in the US.

First of all they are too young to move to a new country. That is my own view.

Only when they reach 10 years old is when you can make a move and go somewhere else.

The first thing I will suggest is that you think about the reason why you want to move abroad. What would you like to achieve and why? You also need to consider what you want out of life for your self and your family. Once you clarify the reason, this should narrow down the potential locations that will meet your objectives. Without a clear objective and focus, you may make choices that are unsuitable for your family. As you are aware, your choices will affect not just you but also the life of your children so think wisely and properly before making a decision.

There are many places abroad that are nice and lovely but not all locations will be suitable for your family.

Some interesting replies. I've done quite a bit of research online and there are a lot of American expats living abroad with children, I was just hoping to find someone here to have a dialogue with.

One of the huge benefits of earning a living on the internet is the ability to work wherever and whenever and those are both super important to me. I feel like I have the opportunity to give my children experiences that most kids will never have, and one of those is the chance to live abroad....at least for a few years.

At this point we are leaning heavily towards Panama. Some of the things that are important to us are:

Quality Private Schools
Affordable housing on the beach
Low Crime Rates
Decent Expat Community
Not too far from California
Ease of purchasing property
Spanish Speaking

Panama seems to check all these boxes so far. My wife and I are going to try to head down there early next year and do some scouting. We'll visit schools and spend some time with a realtor looking at what is available in terms of rental property. My wife is really gung-ho right now, but I think putting feet on the ground might slow her roll a little.. we'll see.

You can homeschool your kids and live abroad.

Both of my kids were homeschooled. My 18 year old is now in his last year and finishing high school Online with virtual learning. He is planning on going into the military.

My 15 year old has never seen the inside of a traditional school room.

Don't let any excuses stop you and your family from living a better lifestyle.

Traditional school is overrated.

My kids have lots of friends and my 18 year old is experiencing a lot of fun with girl friends. So homeschool is definitely an option.

I used to think that living the "digital nomad" lifestyle or living abroad with children was a really bad idea, but I'm starting to change my viewpoint on this.

Disclaimer: I'm a single American with no kids, currently living in Vietnam but traveling around a bit.

I thought that providing kids a "stable lifestyle" where they can make long-lasting friendships was the best option - probably because that was the way I was raised and I heard complaints and horror stories from those who traveled around a lot.

But - I grew up in the 80's. Things were MUCH different then and the rise of social media, Skype, Facebook, etc. makes things much different today than they were back then.

I've run across families that are living abroad, traveling the world, etc. and asked them about it. Sure, it's a bit harder and they have to do a bit more planning and take more stuff with them, but it really seems to be working out.

Their kids seem to be well adjusted, have lasting friendships/connections, and are exploring the world in amazing ways.

One of those couples is actually setting up a membership group/site to target that demographic and I'm guessing it will do well. As the digital nomads and expat entrepreneurs mature, many are finding a need to "settle down" and get married, have kids, etc. There's an opportunity to build a community in this niche, IMO.