{"id":872064,"date":"2026-08-29T00:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872064\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T00:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:40:19","slug":"why-aussie-parents-are-quitting-their-jobs-to-worldschool-their-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872064\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Aussie parents are quitting their jobs to \u2018worldschool\u2019 their kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many Aussie parents trapped in the relentless grind of mortgage payments, nine-to-five desk jobs, and the chaotic school run, the idea of packing up and taking off can seem like an impossible dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet a growing number of families are finding a new way to escape the burnout and fatigue.<\/p>\n

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The Mumford family have been worldschooling in southeast Asia.\u00a0Nicky Mumford<\/p>\n

Driven by the rising cost of living and the flexibility of remote work, they are swapping mainstream classrooms for airport terminals, and choosing to \u201cworldschool\u201d their children instead.<\/p>\n

Brad and Nicky Mumford, originally from Adelaide, made the leap more than two years ago and say they only rarely look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in 2024, Brad was exhausted from working long hours in a demanding executive role, while Nicky was managing a packed household of four young children, their youngest just a baby, alongside international homestay students to supplement their income.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants the best of you at work, and my family was getting the worst of me,\u201d Brad said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were becoming just unsatisfied with the normal grind of life. It was turning into a mundane routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the family took off for what was supposed to be a gap year in a caravan around Australia.<\/p>\n

The trip stretched into 18 months, before the Mumfords decided to try out \u201cworldschooling\u201d and moved overseas.<\/p>\n

Right now, the family is based in central Vietnam, and soon they will travel to South Korea and Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Mumford family in Vietnam.\u00a0Nicky Mumford<\/p>\n

The couple say they are using their travels to bring their children\u2019s education to life – from exploring the history of the Vietnam War on the ground to letting their nine-year-old daughter plan and facilitate a local mothers-and-bubs group in their village.<\/p>\n

Brad and Nicky have also started up their own travel business, offering group tours to worldschooling families in different destinations.<\/p>\n

Yet, despite the picturesque Instagram posts often associated with the digital nomad lifestyle, the Mumfords are quick to dispel the myth that worldschooling is a just one big holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo everyone who says we are living the dream: the dream is not what they think it is,\u201d Nicky said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re travelling, it\u2019s like a constant holiday.\u2019 But the dream is simply being able to spend time with your kids. It\u2019s not always roses by any means.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest drawback is missing my village – we don\u2019t get a break as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have a story?<\/p>\n

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at emcpherson@nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

Brad agrees that normal parenting stresses do not magically disappear overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exactly the same life as what it is back home, just in a different country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still have to negotiate rentals, buy your groceries, and earn an income. There are times when you question everything and ask, \u2018Should we just go back to Australia?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial reality back home, however, keeps them moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Australia, the family would not be able to survive on their current $60,000 income, but in Vietnam, they live comfortably in a three-storey home for a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re currently staying in a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom house in central Vietnam, and we\u2019re paying $250 a week Australian,\u201d Nicky said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIncluding electricity, all utilities, and someone coming over a few times a day to help clean, it comes to about $350 a week. And we can feed our whole family for less than $20 a meal. You can\u2019t even buy a block of cheese in Australia for less than $18,\u201d Brad said.<\/p>\n

The Mumford family\u2019s shift reflects a broader global trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Estimates suggest there are now around 40 million digital nomads worldwide. <\/p>\n

While the lifestyle was once the sole domain of solo freelancers, the post-pandemic era has seen thousands of families join the ranks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Social media has fuelled the movement, with Instagram tags like #worldschooling boasting hundreds of thousands of posts, and online communities providing a space for parents to swap tips on everything from global learning hubs to navigating local visa requirements.<\/p>\n

Many worldschooling families in Australia choose to enrol their children in homeschooling first, which requires parents to register with their state\u2019s Department of Education and submit a structured learning plan aligned with syllabus outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others, like the Mumfords, apply for yearly travel exemptions while their children remain enrolled in an Australian school.<\/p>\n

For Bethany Butler and her husband Rio, creative entrepreneurs from Queensland\u2019s Sunshine Coast, worldschooling was a natural extension of their desire for a location-independent lifestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Bethany and Rio Butler are worldschooling their two kids.\u00a0@nova.grove.creative<\/p>\n

Travelling through Europe for six months with their five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, they launched Nova Grove, a business hosting creative family retreats globally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I have loved most is our kids going out and meeting children of different cultures and experiencing how they can play and interact, even if they don\u2019t speak the same language,\u201d Bethany said of their worldschooling journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur son made a little friend in Europe who only spoke French. He said, \u2018I just say bonjour, and she says hello,\u2019 and then they\u2019d just go off and play together.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bethany admits that building a business on the move carries risks, she encourages curious parents to start small.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDip your toe in first,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChoose a location, stay for a month or two to really get a feel for it, and check out established worldschooling hubs before going completely off the beaten track.\u201d<\/p>\n

That step-by-step approach is precisely what mother Aileen Abbott, from Newcastle in NSW, is taking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A former marketing manager, Aileen quit her corporate job to work fully online, enrolling her two children, aged 9 and 10, in homeschooling just two months ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next week, the family is heading to Bali. While there, they plan to test out a three-month, nature-based learning program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the parent that would have never imagined homeschooling at all – I was the one waiting for school holidays to end,\u201d Aileen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my children were not thriving. My son was getting really depressed and bored, sitting in a classroom of 30 kids just waiting for 3 o\u2019clock. They were overstimulated, and we only got the tired, stressed version of each other at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in the eight weeks since withdrawing them from mainstream school, Aileen said she had noticed a remarkable shift in her children\u2019s wellbeing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Aileen Abbott began homeschooling her two children eight weeks ago.\u00a0Aileen Abbott<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are calmer, happier, and their sibling relationship has completely changed. Having more time together has allowed their nervous systems to settle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to their Bali trial, Aileen said she sees worldschooling as the best way to prepare her children for an unpredictable future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving into the future with AI, memorising facts in school is going to be irrelevant because information is available in a millisecond,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe skills our kids will need to thrive are communication, problem-solving, creativity, and leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChildhood goes so quickly. I don\u2019t want to spend these years constantly rushing from one thing to the next – I want to actually be present with them and experience the world together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aileen said she now plans to document their family\u2019s journey on Instagram<\/a> to help support and inspire other families.<\/p>\n