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🌎 Natalie and David reveal how they transitioned from being international school directors to building a global classroom called Harmony Alternative for worldschooling teens. They share how the project provides the community, consistency, and academic depth that families crave through 8-week immersive cohorts.

👍 Natalie and David discuss the clash of working in prestigious international schools while choosing to home-educate their own children, and why they eventually pivoted to inquiry-based and interest-led pedagogies.

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

• What is the Global Classroom model? Learn how they’ve structured cohorts for pre-teens and teens that focus on building professional portfolios and using the world as a textbook rather than following a rigid, top-down curriculum.
• Why is community impact central to their travel hubs? Natalie explains her process for vetting local partnerships, from flying in bamboo architects to build upcycling centers to working with organic farmers, to ensure their presence has a permanent positive impact on the host community.
• How do you navigate the emotions of traveling teens? Discover why Natalie incorporates daily yoga, meditation, and Shavasana to help students regulate emotions and find stillness.
• What is the Roots cohort and where is it headed next? The duo teases their upcoming Spanish immersion hubs in Peru, Argentina, and Chile, and how they are expanding their programs to include younger learners aged four to nine.
• How do you handle the logistics and finances of a family of five? David and Natalie get transparent about the costs of international travel, the challenges of "stuff," and why they choose to leave accommodation and visas to the families to maintain independence.

CONNECT WITH HARMONY ALTERNATIVE:

Website: www.harmonyalternatives.com

Email: hello@harmonyalternative.com

Instagram: @harmonyalternative
Website: www.harmonyalternative.com

YouTube: The Global Classroom Project

Upcoming Global Classrooms and Roots:

Global Classroom: April and May 2026 in Hoi An, Vietnam

Global Classroom South America Oct 2026 - June 2027 (Peru, Argentina, Chile)
Global Classroom Southeast Asia Oct 2026 - June 2027 (Thailand, Vietnam, Sr

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🌎 Maddy Novich share her secrets for summering abroad with three kids. A New York-based professor, Maddy explains how her family spends up to 9-11 weeks in Europe every year (and her database of over 400 international camps!).

👍 We cover the power of Home Exchange, where Maddy swaps her Manhattan duplex to unlock free housing across the globe and the power of family biking.

• How do you find high-quality summer camps in a foreign country? Maddy discusses her progression from discovery in Amsterdam to proactively researching international schools and bilingual academies that prioritize English-speaking staff and child-led fun.
• What is the Home Exchange mindset for managing your space? Learn why Maddy prefers having trusted families in her apartment rather than leaving it empty, and how she navigates the legalities of swapping as a renter in New York City.
• How do you handle the finances of an 11-week trip? Maddy gets transparent about her $15,000 summer budget, including how she leverages credit card points for flights and transfers her local grocery budget to European markets.
• Can you really learn a language as an adult? As a Mandarin-Chinese speaker, Maddy explains why it’s never too late to gain functional language skills and how she tackles Spanish alongside her kids.
• Why is cargo biking the ultimate travel tool? Maddy shares how the efficiency and freedom of biking radicalized her family’s lifestyle, offering tips on how to incorporate mobility and movement into your own life.

CONNECT WITH MADDY NOVICH: Follow her journey on Instagram at @CargoBikeMomma, sign up for her newsletter at cargobikemomma.com, and explore her extensive database of international summer camps.

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

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🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 Dara Epstein and Melpo Toundas dive into the magic of Basoa, a forest school-inspired summer day camp in San Sebastian, Spain. They share how a chance meeting sparked a mission to create a community hub for traveling families. This summer, they offer a six-week program that blends Basque culture and child-led exploration.

👍 We cover the Forest School approach, where kids will engage with nature as their third teacher using real tools, building bug hotels, and exploring the lush hills of Donostia.

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

• How does the Forest School philosophy differ from traditional education? Melpo explains child-led learning and how visits to natural spaces allows kids to take controlled risks, use real tools, and follow their own innate curiosity.
• What is the secret sauce for balancing remote work and family travel? Dara shares why the camp is from 2 PM to 8 PM (allows for work and morning family time!)
• How can families afford to maintain homes in multiple countries? Dara shares how she manages properties in Santa Monica and San Sebastian, using short-term rentals to make a multi-continental lifestyle financially sustainable.
• What does language acquisition look like? The guests discuss incorporating the local Basque language (Euskara) and Spanish through play, songs, and community interaction rather than formal classroom pressure.
• How do you build a local village in a brand-new city? Interviewing local sitters and checking references can lead to finding friends.

CONNECT WITH DARA AND MELPO:

Basoa Summer Camp details and interest form

Dara’s SmartSitting.com and LinkedIn

Melpo’s Athens Forest School, Greek language teaching and family restaurant on beautiful Alonissos Island!

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

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🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 Out today, I’m celebrating the launch of my new e-book about how to turn your home into a travel asset! I share the exact roadmap our family used to ensure our home base funds our global adventures rather than acting as a financial anchor.

👍 We cover the ‘rent vs. sell’ framework, the essential cash flow formula and the logistical aspects of remote property management. I get vulnerable about our two biggest rental horror stories and explain how we overcame those situations! Everything is figure-out-able!

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

• How can renting your home actually make travel cheaper than staying put? I break down our 2022 Canada road trip where our home rental income exceeded our travel lodging costs by $1,000, proving that geographic arbitrage works.
• What is the "Rent vs. Sell" decision matrix? From capital gains tax exclusions to the "emotional attachment test," we explore the questions you must ask your family before deciding to keep or list your property.
• How do you handle worst-case scenarios from another continent? Learn how we managed two difficult situations (and know you can handle anything too!)
• What is the difference between Short-Term (STR) and Mid-Term (MTR) rentals? I discuss the benefits of guests who stay 30+ days and how to properly vet them using professional and past-landlord verifications.
• How do you turn a home into a high-performing travel asset on day one? We walk through the 8 essential modules of my new 38-page e-book, covering everything from owner's closets to tax depreciation and smart-lock setups.

GET THE E-BOOK: Grab the How to Rent Out Your House While Traveling e-book for $37 (plus a limited-time bonus 30-minute 1-on-1 call!) here!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

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🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 Anthony and Jodie St. Clair and their kids aged 14 and 11 have been traveling full-time since August 2022, after a transformative exchange in Edinburgh and a life-changing Make-A-Wish trip to Hawaii. Now split between their home base condo in Japan and traveling, they share how they navigated the transition to a sustainable, open-ended global adventure.

👍 Jodie, a cancer survivor and above-the-knee amputee, provides vital insights into the reality of accessible travel and why she chose not to wait until retirement to see the world.

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

1. How did a Make-A-Wish trip kickstart a life of travel? Jodie shares how her teenage battle with cancer led to a wish trip to Kauai, Hawaii, which expanded her world and proved that her mobility limits didn't have to limit her horizons.
2. Why did they choose to buy a condo in Japan as a nomadic home base? The family explains the difficulty of finding family-sized rentals in Japan and how owning a vacation home provides their kids with the consistency they were craving.
3. How do they handle homeschooling for a teen and a tween on the move? From Beast Academy and Khan Academy to cooking classes in Taiwan, they break down how their educational approach has evolved to digital tools and life skills.
4. What does the financial reality of full-time family travel look like? As Coast FI fans, they get transparent about their $1,800/month accommodation target and how traveling full-time actually saves them money.
5. What is the "managed time vs. freedom time" balance? Jodie explains her secret for avoiding travel burnout with kids, one you can adopt too!

CONNECT WITH ANTHONY AND JODIE ST. CLAIR: Learners and Makers website, Youtube and Worldschooling in Osaka Facebook group.

INSPIRING EPISODES AT https://podcasthon.org!

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

Book a FREE 30 MIN DISCOVERY CALL!

🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 Elodie Ferchaud and her family of six are currently based in Japan and she shares how she transitioned to a nomadic lifestyle to prioritize deep cultural immersion and family connection without sacrificing professional growth or educational consistency.

👍 We cover the origin story of Boundless Life and the secret recipe for choosing global hubs that offer turnkey housing, education, and community for traveling families. Elodie provides a fascinating look at the emotional rhythms of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), the reality of raising trilingual children, and how she intentionally designs her work day to maximize the magical window with her kids.

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

• What is the Boundless Life approach to worldschooling? Elodie explains how consistent education programs across different global locations provide a stability cushion and experiential learning for kids.
• How do you manage the emotional waves of transition? Drawing on TCK research, Elodie reveals why parents and children often experience opposite peaks and valleys during a move and how to support kids.
• What does the "3 to 5 PM magic" mean for working parents? Elodie breaks down her daily routine, explaining why she carves out an afternoon window for total presence when her kids are highest in energy.
• How do you handle family judgment? Elodie gets vulnerable about the challenges and how she refocuses on her core values: raising curious, brave children who understand that a beautiful life can look different.
• What is the secret to making any new house feel like home? Elodie’s top hack for younger children is traveling with compact IKEA bed tents.

CONNECT WITH ELODIE FERCHAUD: Boundless Life (www.boundless.life) and Instagram (@boundlesslife). Sign up for Boundless Life here or with code: SUZYMAY

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

Preply connects you directly with tutors from around the world at all times + prices! Start speaking TODAY! Book a trial lesson!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

Book a FREE 30 MIN DISCOVERY CALL!

🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 Laurie Bevan-Jackson and her Leeds-based family of four are currently on a year-long sabbatical exploring Southeast Asia, Nepal and Japan. A decade of financial planning and a commitment to family attachment helped them take a sabbatical from their careers to prioritize worldschooling their twin daughters.

👍 We cover the intentionality behind their adoption journey and how they transitioned from classroom to traveling. Laurie shares her perspective as a primary school teacher on the benefits of "Magic School Bus" style learning. She gives an honest look at the realities of traveling as an LGBTQ+ family (and where they had challenges).

✨ 5 Questions Answered:

• What is adoption like in the UK? Laurie details their plan that led to adopting their twins at eight months old.
• How can a teacher's perspective reframe school on the road? Laurie explains why swimming with whale sharks or visiting ancient cities offers cognitive benefits and critical skills that can't be replicated in a classroom.
• What does a gap year budget actually look like? The family breaks down their £180 daily budget (approx. $246 USD) and how they funded the trip through a £50,000 savings goal and the rental income from two properties.
• What are the safety and comfort considerations for LGBTQ+ families abroad? Laurie contrasts their experiences from the private nature of Japan to intrusive questions in Sri Lanka and effortless acceptance in Nepal.
• What is the must-have gear? A pegless washing line for drying clothes!

CONNECT WITH LAURIE: Reality of Adventure blog and Instagram (@reality_of_adventure)

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

Preply connects you directly with tutors from around the world at all times + prices! Start speaking TODAY! Book a trial lesson!

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CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

Book a FREE 30 MIN DISCOVERY CALL!

🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

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🌎 In this short and sweet end of the month episode, I share our recent adventures, a sneak peek at my upcoming e-book and reveal the historic city behind this month’s opening trivia.

👍 We cover a recap of recent guest highlights—including navigating global careers in Norway and driving the Pan-American Highway—before diving into a comprehensive Summer 2026 travel planning guide!

✨ 4 Questions Answered:

• What is the significance of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in US history? Learn why this city (founded in 1521) is older than St. Augustine, the origin of its blue cobblestone streets, and the 1950s hotel where the piña colada was born.
• What major global events will impact travel in Summer 2026? From the World Cup across North America to a total solar eclipse visible from Spain and Iceland, I break down what to book now.
• How do you find the best flight redemptions for a family? I highlight flight booking tools while explaining the sweet spot timing for booking domestic vs. international travel.
• How do you budget for different tiers of worldschooling travel? We break down daily costs for lower-budget, middle-budget, and upper-budget options, including recommendations for Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and luxury rail in Japan. AND MORE!

RESOURCES:

• Flight booking: seats.aero, Google Flights, Chase Sapphire credit cards
• Logistics: ETIAS.com, TrustedHousesitters, sitting tips article
• Worldschooling: worldschoolhubs.com, LinkEase app, Naturally Richer, Better Together, Deliberate Detour, HeyCohli in Portugal July 2026
• Pop Up Hub Naples, Italy April 27-May 3, 2026 - join us!

Pop Up in Naples, Italy April 27-May 3! Join FB group or register here!

Support the show

CONNECT WITH SUZY: We live in Spain, CO and soon Japan. 🌞 I help families financially plan for slow + long term travel! Need help making a budget? Saving for a gap year? How to rent your home out?

Book a FREE 30 MIN DISCOVERY CALL!

🚀 The info provided is for general info purposes and not intended as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.

❤️ Follow + review!

📧 pod@suzymay.com

📲 All the links!