When Rosie Beeson and husband Dan lost his parents and her dad in under a year, they decided to rethink their lives.
They gave up their £90,000 house and all their possessions and their jobs to travel the world with their children Monty, eight, and Winter.
They’d lost Dan’s mum Lulu, 76, in July 2015, his dad Roger, 75, in July 2016, and Rosie’s father Paul Hodgson, 65, who died after a seven month battle with liver cancer in December 2016, and they were sick of the daily grind.
Rosie, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, said: ‘We lost so many relatives, it felt like every few months there was another funeral to plan.
‘Dan’s mum left him some inheritance, so we bought our house – a three-bedroom terraced home – outright.
‘We thought the kids would have that as savings one day when we were no longer around.
‘I didn’t inherit anything when my dad died and Dan and I realised it wouldn’t have made the grief any easier. When you lose a parent, money isn’t a comfort. It’s the happy memories that get you through.’
Rosie quit her job as she wanted to homeschool her children after Monty was diagnosed with autism but she started to think of other things they could do to change their lifestyle.
She had swapped her job as an HR specialist for the British Army for more casual bar work about a year after having Monty, but when he was then diagnosed, she stopped work to educate him at home.
Rosie said: ‘We had tried to send him to nursery, but it just wasn’t working. We then found an independent school where he did reception and year one class, but they believed he needed one to one care, which they didn’t have the funding for.
‘We thought that starting year two at a mainstream school would be detrimental to him, so we were thrown in at the deep end of home-educating.
‘I never knew the community existed until I joined it, but everyone is so supportive and we decided to take the home education path with Winter too.’
She saw parents on Facebook talking about travelling the world in a motorhome while homeschooling their children and she decided it would be a good idea for them too.
Dan loved the idea and in February 2019, they sold their house to buy a £21,000 motorhome, travelling through France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, where they are today.
Rosie said: ‘We realised we didn’t want that 9 to 5 life, where we were all knackered with no energy for family time and no money for holidays.
‘Our losses made us both realise that life is short and anything can happen in an instant.
‘When we die money and material possessions won’t make our children’s grief go away. We’d far rather they were able to look back on their crazy childhood memories of travelling the world in a motorhome.’
On 1 February 2019, they completed the sale of their house, buying a motorhome the next day.
‘Our last day in the house was on 11 February,” Rosie said. ‘Loads of friends and family came over to help us set the van up and take the last few bits to the tip.
‘We all had a drink together and it was glorious weather.
‘When it was time to go, they all lined up down the road to wave us off. There were lots of tears, but the love and support we felt was incredible.’
Their motorhome has two beds for the children, a pull-down bed for the adults, a kitchen area, tables and chairs, and after some initial adjustment, it feels like home.
They have two suitcases at Rosie’s brother’s house but they managed to get the rest of their possessions into the motorhome.
Rosie adds: ‘The idea of being in a house just isn’t for us. The kids call the motorhome home, and we get that same lovely feeling of relief and familiarity when we see it parked up, as you do pulling into your driveway after a long day.’
Since leaving England again in September, the Beesons drove through Wales and Ireland, before exploring the Spanish desert, Gibraltar and Morocco, where they spent Christmas – keeping a Facebook blog, The Migratory Bees, about their travels, as they went.
Also writing a book about their adventures, they have made some incredible memories and been moved by the camaraderie amongst travellers.
‘There is a real feel that everybody helps each other,’ said Rosie. ‘Once Monty came to the rescue of a couple next to us who had locked themselves out, as he was small enough to climb through their motorhome’s skylight.
‘Another time we set up what we called the Beeson barbershop, cutting hair for anybody that wanted it on the campsite.’
Trip highlights for Rosie so far have included a Game of Thrones tour of Ireland and spending Winter’s fifth birthday in December riding camels in the Sahara Desert.
And she believes that seeing the world is providing a more valuable education for her children than they would ever receive in a classroom.
‘Of course, fitting a family of four and the contents of a three-bedroom house into a motorhome hasn’t been without its challenges,” she said.
‘As he has autism, Monty thrives on routine and structure, so there are days when he finds things difficult.
‘But we make sure he regularly FaceTimes our relatives, so he has that contact and he’s also keeping a journal of his adventures, which he loves doing.’
Rosie now estimates her family can survive without working until September, when they will need to take odd jobs as they travel to boost their funds.
She said: ‘We’ve tried to be as savvy as possible, money-wise, so we can keep going for as long as possible.
‘I don’t worry about the future, as I’ve had nothing and worked my way out of it before, so I can do it again.
‘People have said they wish they could afford to do what we’ve done, but we aren’t rich, by any means. We just decided to live differently and not worry about material things as much.
‘This past year has been amazing for our family. The children have seen incredible places and met people from all over the world. It’s really opened our eyes to what’s important in life.’
They don’t have a rigid plan but hope to explore Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, this year.
Have you completely transformed your lifestyle and gone travelling across the world? Let us know at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
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