A British couple who left their jobs and took their six-year-old daughter out of school for a year-long trip around the world say their multi-city itinerary is costing them less than life in the United Kingdom.
Hayley and Lewis Trow, both recruitment professionals, said they set a travel budget of £2,000 to £3,000 a month and have found their actual monthly outgoings while abroad average about £1,500 to £2,000 — roughly half the £4,000 to £5,000 they said they spent living in Cheshire.
The family began preparing for the trip with seven months of planning that included moving out of their rented home and living with Lewis's parents to save money. The couple celebrated their daughter Nyla's sixth birthday at Disneyland Paris before spending four weeks touring Italy. They later flew to Bali, where they have rented an apartment with a pool for about £500 a month, including bills.
Hayley, 37, and Lewis, 45, said the decision to pause their careers was driven by a desire for more family time and new experiences for Nyla. Both have taken a one-year sabbatical from their recruitment roles. They acknowledged concern from friends and family but described support from Nyla's school in the United Kingdom when they informed officials of the extended absence.
To keep Nyla on track academically, the family arranged online tutoring aligned with the UK curriculum and temporarily enrolled her in a multicultural school in Bali. Their planned route after Bali includes Australia, where they will travel by campervan, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The Trows said the move exposed the scale of their previous household spending: household bills in the UK approached £300 a month, weekly grocery shopping was about £200, and ordinary day trips could cost around £100. By contrast, they reported that in Bali they were paying about £500 monthly for accommodation that includes a pool.
"We'd both spent years climbing the ladder, working towards leadership roles, spending time in boardrooms and endless meetings — but it got to the point where we realised we were living for two holidays a year," Hayley said. "We wanted more time together, more adventure, and more freedom for our daughter. So we traded boardrooms for Bali beaches — and it's been the best decision we've ever made."
The family described everyday challenges of travel, including tantrums, heat and the adjustment to spending nearly all of their time together, but said those were outweighed by the opportunity to create memories now rather than later. "At six years old, Nyla still wants to spend every second with us, and we know that won't last forever," Hayley said.
The Trows' experience reflects broader comparisons some expatriates and long-term travellers make between living costs in Western Europe and in parts of southeast Asia and the Pacific. Their reported savings were achieved through a combination of reduced housing costs abroad, lower daily expenses, and pre-trip austerity measures, including temporarily returning to family housing to build savings before departing.
The couple said they would recommend similar travel to other families who can arrange time away and make educational provisions, urging prospective travellers not to postpone experiences while waiting for ideal conditions.
Their itinerary remains subject to change as they continue to move between countries, but the family has said they will remain in Bali through November before continuing their planned route to Australia and parts of Asia and the Indian Ocean.