Why We’re Raising Global Citizens, Not Tourists

When we made the decision to leave behind our traditional life and travel full-time as a family, it wasn’t just about seeing the world. It was about becoming part of it.

We aren’t just visiting new countries to snap a few photos and check sights off a list. We’re intentionally raising our daughters to be global citizens — individuals who understand, respect, and contribute to the world in a meaningful way. Here’s what that means to us, and how you can start fostering global citizenship in your own family travels.

What It Means to Be a Global Citizen

A tourist often skims the surface of a destination — enjoying the beaches, museums, and restaurants without engaging much beyond the obvious. A global citizen dives deeper.

Global citizens:

• Learn the local language (even if it’s just the basics)
• Respect cultural differences without judgment
• Support local businesses and artisans
• Understand history from multiple perspectives
• Build genuine relationships with locals

We’re not aiming to “collect” countries. We’re aiming to build a tapestry of understanding, empathy, and curiosity that will shape our daughters into compassionate adults.

How We Foster Global Citizenship While Traveling

1. Slow Travel Over Fast Travel

Instead of rushing through ten countries in a month, we choose to spend weeks or months in each place. This gives us time to:

• Connect with the community
• Find local farmers’ markets and family-owned shops
• Attend cultural festivals and community events

When planning our stays, we love using Booking.com for family-friendly apartments. We have been using Booking as an alternative to Airbnb. Ideally we like to housesit in locations or book apartments with small local landlords, rather than large management companies. This helps us be more sustainable while traveling and helps us not contribute to gentrification as much.

2. Learning Languages Together

Even learning a few phrases can open doors to richer experiences. Before each move, we make it a family mission to learn key phrases using free apps and local classes. We use Rosetta Stone as a family, but I also love Jumpspeak.

3. Choosing Experiences That Matter

Rather than tourist traps, we seek out:

• Cooking classes
• Local art workshops
• Guided history tours led by residents (not huge companies)

4. Supporting Local Economies

We prioritize buying from local markets, artisans, and independent businesses over international chains.

5. Building Financial and Lifestyle Flexibility

Global citizenship isn’t just about travel — it’s also about how you live and work.

We support our travels through remote work, and we’ve created resources like our Remote Work Resource Guide to help other families do the same. Learning how to earn a living online has given us the ultimate freedom to explore deeply, not just vacation briefly.

Why It Matters

In a world that often feels divided, raising children who are curious, adaptable, and empathetic is one of the greatest contributions we can make. Global citizens aren’t just better travelers — they’re better neighbors, better leaders, and better human beings.

We don’t want our girls to grow up thinking the world is “foreign.” We want them to see it as home.

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Want to Start Your Own Family Adventure?

Check out our Remote Work Resource Guide to start building the location-independent lifestyle that lets you raise global citizens, too.

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Your journey to global citizenship starts with a single step — where will you go first?

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