GirlGI | Girl Gone International Issue 9 | Page 85

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Most nomadic families start with a seemingly impossible dream: to start travelling and never stop. Some are made up of experienced travellers, while others may have never left their birth country until deciding to become nomads. The Benders, originally from Australia, have spent the last three years on the move, visiting over 60 countries with their two children in that time. Mom Erin had never considered it, but her husband’s idea of being a ‘perpetual traveller’ eventually grew on her. Once she and her husband decided to take the jump, everything fell into place: they found a tenant for their house, sold their cars, and ‘before I even knew it, we had a one-way ticket to Bali.’ The nomadic lifestyle allows Bender to not just visit new places, but to also experience the world through her children’s eyes: ‘We’ve had more fun at Disneyland with the kids than we did just the two of us.’ And her children have benefitted from the lifestyl e as well: ‘Our children are socially adaptable. They know how to play with a child whose only common language is a smile. They are educated in currency, languages, geography, and more. Theydon’t see borders as a hindrance, but something to be conquered.’