Hi. We’re Ben, Kelly, Liesel and Mason. Thanks for stopping by!
Check out our lives in 40 seconds in the video below, or read on to learn more about us!
A few (or more) years ago, we were just a boy and a girl on our first days of work in the “real world” bonding over our exciting new careers, love of Will Ferrell movies, and passion for travel. We spent a decade together, just the two of us, building our careers, Vespa-ing around San Francisco, and traveling as much as we could.
We knew we wanted kids someday, but we also “knew” that once you have kids, you stop traveling.
When we found out we were going to become parents, we quickly broke the lease on our 1-bedroom apartment in the city and bought a house in the suburbs. We traded in our Vespa for an SUV. We bought a TON of baby stuff. Once Liesel arrived, we realized that the long commutes, corporate grind, and life in the burbs wasn’t for us. We wanted to make a change.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands on our initial gap year in 2018-2019
So we did. We sold the house. We quit our jobs. Over the next 12 months we traveled full time. Our lap around the world saw us visit 25 countries and 100 different towns. We spent our time exploring, building a new business, and making new friends in every country we visited.
We learned a lot about the world we live in, about traveling with kids, and about ourselves. We shared everything we learned to help others learn, too. But we also learned that it’s not just about selling all your stuff to travel for a year. It’s about finding what brings you joy, makes you feel fulfilled, and allows you to have fun. And it’s about making space for that in your life NOW! Not 20 years from now.
Welcoming Mason to our travel crew in Traverse City, Michigan in 2020
When our year of full-time travel came to an end, we chose to build a new home base in Northern Michigan surrounded by extended family. Then COVID happened and we were forced to settle in a BIT more than we expected. We kept ourselves busy continuing to build our business and we welcomed a new member to our crew! In March 2020, two weeks after initial lockdowns, we said hello to the smiley-est and most delightfully squishy baby ever, Mason.
After navigating the pandemic travel restrictions for 2 years, we eventually moved to South Lake Tahoe, California. We lived “in our happy place in the US”, full of outdoor adventures, beautiful landscapes and a laid back mountain town vibe for one year before the world began calling to us again. In March 2023, we packed up the rental house, threw everything in storage and once again became “home baseless”, or location independent, if you want to sound fancy. So, we’re currently traveling full time again as a family. We mix up our travel styles with a few months of slow travel where our kids are enrolled in a Boundless Life school, followed by a month or two of faster travel, rinse and repeat. So far in 2023 we’ve visited 12 countries with long stints in Italy and Indonesia.
We’re continuing this new career path we began plotting back in 2018. We are both self employed and really enjoy working for ourselves and creating our own schedules. Kelly is a financial consultant and I (Ben) am a photographer and video content creator for various brands and I manage our two Airbnb’s in downtown Traverse City, Michigan.
We’re so glad we took a risk and made a life change. But you might be reading this and thinking “ok cool, but now what?” or “is Boundless Life a long term school plan?” or “will you ever settle down again?”. One thing that has been a constant during our wild and unpredictable journey is that we’re constantly in communication on what’s next, what’s best for our family and how we can make that happen! So stay tuned. No matter which path we choose, we’re sure it’s going to be FUN.
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xoxo,
The FUNemployed Family
Komodo National Park, Indonesia in 2023
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