Best Self Magazine

Togetherness Redefined: A Family’s Story of Life on The Road

Togetherness Redefined: A Familiy's Sstory of Life on the Road, by Celeste Orr. Photograph of Airstream c/o Airstream, Inc.
Photograph c/o Airstream, Inc.

The real story of fulltime travel, homeschooling and togetherness — debunking myths and doing life differently

Dear Readers:

There are many ways to educate and empower young people. Some are more conventional, some are more out-of-the-box. This issue of Best Self Youth focuses on one unconventional family and their decision to pack up and hit the road — not for a summer road trip or extended vacation, but for a life of full-time travel.

Whether or not you decide to embark on your own life-changing adventure, I hope you find some inspiration and guidance from the Orr family’s experiences as full-time travelers. Life on the road may not be a choice you ever imagined being possible for you or your family, but as this story reminds us, there are many ways to raise a family of best selfers.

So, go forth and tap into that inner wanderlust!

Joy McManigal,  Best Self Youth Editor

• • •

Photograph of hiking in mountains
The Orrs, enjoying a family outing in their ‘backyard’

Have you ever imagined what life would be like if you could scoop up your family, ditch the 9-5 grind, the carpool, PTA, and birthday party circuit — and ride off into the sunset to see the most beautiful places you have never seen before? Come on, admit it… who hasn’t?

Social media is chock-full of hashtags #travelingfamily #fulltimefamily #homeiswhereyouparkit and photographs documenting the lives of the lucky people who have done this. Some of them have small kids, some have older ones. Some of them live in tents, some in fancy motorhomes, and some in tiny Airstreams. Nonetheless, they are doing life differently. Though they post about how their life is far from perfect and how life on the road can have its difficulties, they’ve somehow got two things figured out: travel to breathtaking places and serious quality time with their families — and both for more than a few weeks a year.

How did they get

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