Heading: Raising My Kids in Rural Romania

If you want a simple life there can be few places better to move to than a village in Romania. For Alyson Long and her family of two young boys frustration with the education system led her to take her eldest out of school and, with the families new found freedom, they set about a world travel adventure using their savings of $20,000.

After the first year which saw them sidetracked to the United Kingdom for family reasons they eventually visited Romania, which they promptly fell in love with. They are using it as their new found base and are in the process of purchasing a property while Alyson’s husband tops up the coffers periodically with temporary chef work in London.

We caught up with Alyson where we discussed the benefits of living in a Romanian village and how she brings up her children in an unschooled environment

You can check out Alyson’s blog at http://worldtravelfamily.com

What I learned from this interview:

1. There is an increasing move by many parents towards using the unschooling approach to raising their children (see our interview with Talon Windwalker). Those that follow this path speak highly of the benefits of doing so and how their children are more responsive to their learning environment as a result.
2. Romania still offers an old style of living. Cities like Bucharest are modern large metropolis’s but you can still find shades of 19th century life in villages like the Long’s where horse and cart is not uncommon and basic utilities can’t be taken for granted

We’ve discovered yet another way to make money on the road – temping. Alyson’s husbands skills as a chef sees him as a man in demand and he can pick up some short term work pretty much as he likes. The Long family use this as a good reason to visit London and replenish the coffers before heading off on a trip. Living in rural Romania keeps the costs down and means he doesn’t need a fulltime job to sustain their lifestyle