Episode 13 - Traveling and Working Abroad as a Family of Four

Single Travel

There I was, slowly sipping coffee on a Saturday morning, talking to my sister about her recent trip to Joshua Tree, when my mind drifted back to memories of my recent trips.  Italy, Greece, Bermuda, Barbados, there were so many things to think about. The warmth of the sun, the delicious foods, the changes in cultures.  It’s so easy to catch the travel bug, but things change once you have a family...

Or do they?

Family Travel

In this episode, we talked with Amon and Christina, husband and wife vloggers on the YouTube Channel Our Rich Journey.  The Our Rich Journey couple openly talks about their journey towards financial independence while living and working abroad.  Amon and Christina get into all the details from start to finish.

 

This story is different, and you need to hear the full details, House of Fi Family.  

 

Amon and Christina don’t share the normal story of a nomad family living in a sailboat, or slow traveling from airbnb to airbnb. The Browning family choose to move and work abroad, full-time and with full benefits!  This is the episode that re-ignited Wendy’s desire to move her family across the ocean.  

So, what exactly did we cover in our episode?

Who Are Amon and Christina Browning

Who doesn’t get the fuzzies when they talk to a funny, loving couple with a beautiful family?  Amon and Christina are that couple, making it easy to talk to them about the benefits of living abroad.  This vlogging couple has lived in Hayama Japan for the past two years, and they brought their two daughters (ages 10 and 11) along for their rich journey.  They are approximately three years away from financial independence and early retirement. Their vlog is their way to document their financial independence journey, and they share rich content about living abroad, travel hacks, and ways they make money, save money, and invest money.  

Who Teaches the Kids

We learned about some of the amazing educational options and benefits for the kids of families that live abroad.  Did you know that there are usually stipends for private school that can sometimes top $50,000 per year! There is a serious emphasis on education and children are given cognitively demanding work in their foreign schools!

Watch this money lesson taught by one of their cute daughters!

Finding The Courage to Leap?

This wasn’t the first time this couple made a trek across the water? When they were a new couple, they moved abroad to explore the travel - working life.  Living in Spain was awesome, and after spending some time, they came back to the states. Christina was able to pursue her law degree while back in the US, but traveling abroad and immersing themselves into a new culture was something she never forgot.  It was thrilling and memorable, and before long they knew they needed to move once again.

  

How to Find Jobs Abroad

Amon and Christina work as an Urban Planner and a Lawyer.  With these jobs, they were able to easily find jobs at the same company abroad.  In fact, the companies prefer couples or families that are on the same page. Having both spouses on board with the idea of moving abroad likely indicates that the transition will be much more seamless. Christina says you can find jobs at by searching in multiple places:

USA Jobs - You can search this platform by occupation or by city, state or country!  There are numerous jobs listed.  Check out this simple search we did for jobs in Japan.

Private Company Job Postings - You can search within a particular companies job board by location, and can often choose international locations within your search parameters.  Samsung, Uber, Netflix and Google are some companies to explore. 

 What About Health Care Abroad

If you are living abroad without an employer, things can be a little bit trickier to manage.  It is likely that you will have to choose to pay for your medical expenses out of pocket, or will need to buy a travel insurance* plan of some type that will cover you during your travels.  The thing that makes the payment out of pocket option a little less anxiety producing is that in many other countries health care only costs a fraction of the amount that it costs in the United States!

*We are not a sponsor of this company and have not used it personally.  Please thoroughly research plans and companies to find the insurance that fits your needs

 

How to Set a FI Number if You Live Abroad

Guess how many FI numbers Amon and Christina Browning have calculated for themselves?  Three! There are some interesting reasons why, listen to our episode to find those reasons out!  

Travel Hacking Tips

Amon is a whiz at travel hacking and he give a lot of tips on how he manages all of the cards he opened, and the accumulation of the best sign up bonuses.  He uses an 8 step process to get started. 

 Where is The Best Country to Move to in Retirement?

There is one place that is willing to pay you to retire in their country.  Listen to our episode to find out exactly where that is!

  Amon and Christina Browning on the Final Questions: Christina Browning - Our Rich Journey : You can’t just save, you must invest as well.  This gives you the rapid pace you need to grow your money quickly. Amon Browning - Our Rich Journey : We all have financial challenges and roadblocks.  There is always a way to go around, over and through these money challenges. Be UNORTHODOX and CREATIVE Life Hacks for a High Cost of Living Area : Amon and Christina downsized homes, rented out extra rooms and used AirBnb to rent the home out for short time frames.  They used AirBnB sporadically in order to supplement their Bay Area housing cost. Use Turo to rent our your car daily it is just sitting idle while you are away at work.  
Be Open to new ideas! Find Amon and Christina Browning on their YouTube Channel Our Rich Journey.  They release videos twice a week.  

 

Stay Tuned For Our Next Episode…

Join us in the next episode when we talk to the one and only Captain DIY, Tinian Crawford of the DIY2FI blog.  Tinian and his wife became more serious about their money when they decided it was almost time to have a child.  Growing your family can scare any budget conscious person into action, and in this case Tinian’s wife made $20,000 the nest egg goal for their new baby chick.  Listen in to find out the most financially savvy way to pursue a trade degree, and the reason Tinian chooses to stay at his day job even though he could easily make more by going into business on his own!   

  

What was one thing you learned by listening to Amon and Christina today? Let us know in the comment section below or continue the discussion in Our Facebook Group!

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