Suzy:

¡Hola! I’m Suzanne, a travel-loving money nerd, mom of two, and our family lives between Spain and Colorado. Here we discuss the stories, logistics, and finances of long-term traveling families and the many ways to learn along the way. Today we get to know Lauren and Tiago from Cohli.

They shared their journey from a whirlwind romance in Mexico to navigating the joys and challenges of slow, long-term family travel with two toddlers, and the reasons they formed Cohli in Costa Rica, Peru, Portugal, and more. Be sure to stick around to the end to hear their candid financial breakdown of worldschooling costs and their tips that help them maintain a minimalist, community-focused lifestyle on the road.

Welcome to the show. Please tell me more about you and your family.

Lauren:

Thanks, Suzy. We’re Lauren and Tiago. We have two children: Maya, who is four and a half, and Koa, who is two.

Tiago:

Yeah, I’m from Portugal, and we’ll get into all of the details after.

Suzy:

Because right now you are in Costa Rica. We’ll jump into that when we talk about your co-living opportunities. But I always like to backtrack and just understand: how did travel become a big part of your life?

Lauren:

Well, we have very different origin stories when it comes to our relationship with travel. So maybe you want to explain a little bit of yours, Tiago?

Tiago:

Sure. I was born when my parents were already on the move. All of my family is 100% Portuguese, actually. We’re from the Iberian Peninsula. I had all of the 23andMe tests done in the family, and so I thought we had way more Arab in us because they had been in the territory for more than 500 years, but we are pretty much Iberian. My parents had me in Portugal, and at four months old, they went to Cameroon.

We’re talking about the '80s in rural Cameroon, which means no hospitals, no nothing nearby. Nowadays my parents say, "We were crazy. We shouldn't have done that." I spent 13 years in Africa—in places like Congo, Gabon, Angola, Zaire, and so many other amazing places that forged my heart, my soul, and who I am. So basically, I'm literally just keeping going. That’s how I was brought up and I want a similar life for my kids. However, let’s turn to Lauren. What was your upbringing like, Lauren?

Lauren:

Imagine the complete opposite. I grew up as one of five in Vermont. I did not travel much. The most we traveled was once a year to my mom's family's side. We would hop in the car and drive eight hours for a weekend and then drive back. That was it. My first time out of the country was not until my early 20s.

Then, my first time leaving the country alone, I happened to meet Tiago. It was for a work event, and my business partner told me, "You’ve got to go to this. And by the way, I am not going." I was like, "I can’t go alone to Mexico!" I had the desire and the itch, but I was also scared. But I went, and that’s when we met and we fell in love very quickly. We decided to keep traveling together from that moment. I packed up my New York City apartment and met him in Argentina, and we’ve been traveling ever since.

Tiago:

Lauren was living in Manhattan. She had a terrace with a garden where she was planting tomatoes and other veggies. When I heard this while we were in Mexico, I immediately felt a strong gut feeling of, "Okay, this is it. She can't go very far, otherwise, we'll never meet again." So I asked her to marry me.

She said, "No, you're crazy. I bet... we just met five days ago." She said, "Maybe in the future." And so, three days later "in the future," I asked again and she said yes. So yeah, it is a fun story. It was one of the best decisions of my life, I can say, because look at where we are.

Suzy:

What a fun story. That is so cool. So you were able to leave New York City behind—which can be hard for people that have a passion for it—but it sounds like you had a wonderful partner to continue these travels on with. So what did travel look like when you were pre-kids?

Lauren:

As you can imagine, it was two people who had met each other having the time of their lives. With one being a very experienced traveler, we were just hopping around doing so many travels while also simultaneously working on our businesses. We were doing the Sacred Valley in Peru, Carnival in Rio, and just having a ton of fun.

Then we were in Mexico, and I think it was a day later when COVID was announced. We had a decision to make because we were not married; Tiago is from Europe with a Portuguese passport and I was from the U.S. with an American passport. We were not allowed to go to either of those countries with each other. So we said, "Listen, we're in Mexico where we met; let's stay in Mexico and ride this out." We were there for a while, and then we were brought to Europe because Tiago's sister was having a baby. We got married in the Portuguese embassy in Mexico City so I could get my ticket into Europe. We went to Europe and said, "Okay, we're going to chill here for a while and stop traveling around so much." That’s when we found out we were pregnant with our first.

Suzy:

And I can relate to having access to the EU passport. My husband has a German passport and my kids do now too. It is very nice. But okay, so now you're in Portugal and you're growing your family. When did you all start traveling again?

Tiago:

Indeed. I just want to give some additional context to what Lauren shared. The embassy wedding in Mexico City was our second marriage because our first marriage was actually with a shaman in the Sacred Valley in Peru. Then we had to get married again in the U.S. for paperwork, in Vermont. So I think what we're trying to do is get married again every year. Let's see if we can!

Suzy:

I love it! Some people have renewed their vows, but since you've already started down this path, just keep the marriage part going. So, now you have the two-year-old and the four-year-old. What does family travel look like with the four of you?

Lauren:

We didn't stay put for very long. Maya was born and I think she was maybe two months old when we said, "Okay, we gotta start going again." We were getting antsy. We didn't have a plan to stay in Portugal and plant ourselves there long-term anyway. So we bought an RV in Portugal and did some traveling for six months through Portugal and Spain. Then we sold that and said, "Okay, let's keep going internationally." We put a stop to it because of winter in Europe.

Tiago:

Maya was born at home in the south of Portugal. Koa, our second, was born in Barcelona in a very cool thing called Centros de Nacimiento, which is a birthing home—a hybrid between a hospital and a house. It’s basically a super homey, cozy room in a hospital. It's incredible to have this, and it's public.

Right now, what our travels look like with our four-year-old and two-year-old is super slow traveling. We do at least three months, and usually between three and six, because we don't want to exceed 183 days for tax purposes.

Suzy:

Yeah, lots to consider with residency or tax residency when you're bouncing around.

Tiago:

Right. We are perpetual travelers. That's the status we go for, which means we don't typically spend more than six months in one place. For everybody that might not know this, the default rule for many countries is that if you stay more than 183 days, they will consider you a tax resident.

Every time we move, it's purging time. We’re pretty minimalist, but even then, toys for the kids and stuff like that accumulate. So we purge. It's an opportunity to enlighten ourselves again. We’re pretty slow and fixed; we stay in a fixed spot and then we visit around. We try to do as much local stuff as possible.

Suzy:

And that makes total sense with the ages of your kids. For them, it maybe doesn't even matter what country you're in; they're just wondering where the cool playground is. But they are obviously soaking it in. So, what have they shared about traveling? This is all they've known, right? But I'm curious, do they realize that getting the opportunity to travel is unique, or is this just second nature to them?

Lauren:

I think a little bit of both with our daughter, Maya, because she has her response down now when someone asks her where she lives. She explains where she’s sleeping tonight. So it is second nature; wherever we are truly is her home.

She has moments lately, especially because she's getting to be this age, where depending on who she’s spending time with, she really wants to get that bike or accumulate things that are not easy to travel with. I explain how it’s not easy to travel with them, and that's when she has moments of, "Well, I just want to be in one place so that I can have the things that stay in one place." She’s starting to identify things that might be more of a challenge for her. But ultimately, for now at least, it’s in her nature to explore. She gets so much energy when we transition to a new place and are with new people. And Koa—I mean, he's two—so he's just kind of going with the flow for the most part right now.

Suzy:

Absolutely. Like you said, they are a little young, so the education and the learning piece is really just taking place with them experiencing what's around them. Have you considered what that might look like moving forward? Have you thought more about school later?

Tiago:

The beauty of it is that because you're changing the structure and the context around you, you get different options. In our case, it's been really nice to have multiple options for Maya. She’s gone through a Montessori school with a huge mango tree in the middle and nets and webs around it. It was the heart of the school, and everybody was barefoot. For a few months she was in Portugal in a very traditional setting—arrive, sit at the desk, even at this age.

We can get into what we do at Cohli in our program, which is a mix of everything: nature-based Montessori, Waldorf, and so on. Having all of these options is one of the biggest added values because she can navigate all of those different structures and formats. At the end of the day, talking about worldschooling—and I can relate to this growing up—one of the key components of living like this is creating adaptability and resiliency. You take this human, put them anywhere in the world with any sort of people around, and this person will thrive in a wholesome way. I think that's part of the beauty of our lifestyle.

Suzy:

It's such an important skill: flexibility and adaptability.

Lauren:

Yeah, we’ve seen it come a long way with her. I think this is one of the skills she has taken on the most from traveling. Up until age three, like a lot of toddlers, she was afraid of anybody other than Mom and Dad. It would take her a long time to warm up to anybody, even family. Then suddenly something switched. Now we arrive in a new setting and she's like, "See you guys!" She’s best friends with a parent she’s now calling "auntie" and a friend living next door. She is the most confident little kid I have met.

It’s also cool because when there’s a newcomer in the different school settings she's been a part of, she’s the first one to go up to them to help them adapt on that first day. We've gotten this feedback from teachers before. I think it's because she knows what it's like to be a new kid coming into an already established group. The beauty of what we're doing with Cohli is that everybody is the new kid when we arrive to a cohort, so everyone has this level playing field and they all come together and adapt much quicker for this reason.

It’s just been a universe of different learning formats that I never anticipated. I don't know where our journey will take us personally because we’re very much living in the present. We're constantly talking about how to evolve and following the lead of the children. We will see, but for now, we really like what we have going on with Cohli and the school program. In between cohorts, we tap into the educational resources around us while supplementing with whatever we come up with.

Suzy:

I can’t wait to hear more about Cohli. I’m curious what languages you're speaking to your children, maybe what they're picking up based on where you’ve traveled and what your intentions around language are.

Tiago:

I speak Portuguese with my children. I’ve spoken Portuguese with them from the get-go; that’s just what it’s been. People ask me, "Do you speak in Portuguese and then translate to English?" No, it's just been—I guess like you guys with German.

Suzy:

Yeah, my husband has spoken German from the get-go and it's amazing what they understand. They really only watch TV in German now. They’ve been to German school, but then Spanish was newer in the last two years and they’ve really taken to that as well. I think it's a really great age to get started with the language piece. They are going to pick it up and have such a strong foundation. Even if at some point you’re not always in a Portuguese-speaking community, they are going to have a foundation from you, which is so cool.

Tiago:

Right. It’s always nice to be in an airport or somewhere where we’re the only Portuguese-speaking people and we can say things to each other and nobody understands. Mama speaks English with them. We’ve been spending a decent amount of time now in Latin America and Central America, so they are Spanish-speaking. I mean, Koa speaks better Spanish than Portuguese or English right now! He says, "Papa, ven aquí, acá, acá."

His language exploded like a month or two ago while we were living in Colombia. It exploded with all three languages, but I wasn't expecting Spanish to be one of the strongest. I'm very grateful for it. Maya’s fluency also came by surprise. We were living in Panama and she was going to a bilingual school, so she caught on to Spanish there. In our programs for the last year, being in Spanish-speaking countries, they’re getting their Spanish there. Then they get English from Lauren and Portuguese from me.

In those African countries where I grew up, there were no Portuguese schools, so my sister and I went to French schools and always did the French system. I am considering that at some point it would be great to have them be a part of yet another language.

Suzy:

So would French be that possibly fourth language that might come into the mix at some point?

Tiago:

I would love that. I would love to go back to Africa, which has so many French-speaking countries, so it’s super useful. But then there’s also Mandarin, and you can keep going, right?

Suzy:

Absolutely. I actually follow a family that basically listed out a very reasonable pathway for a child to speak seven languages by age 21. If you think about it, two to three years of immersion at some of these key ages is maybe all you need to achieve at least B2 fluency. If you think of early childhood and young adulthood, you really could accomplish a lot. It got me thinking of a fourth language as well, and French would be a great one because it opens up a lot of doors.

We’re hoping to go to Japan next year, which I think could spur a language that would be much harder to learn, but would be really cool to hear as well. Well, thank you for sharing about that. It’s really cool to see how language is a big part of people's worldschooling journeys. As people are wanting to kick off on worldschooling or long-term travel, they're wondering: how do I make this work financially and logistically? What works for you all for funding your travels?

Tiago:

For us, we’ve had our own businesses. We then transitioned into being on one salary when Maya and Koa came along. I’m a partner at a Spanish tech company, and a lot of us work remotely, so that is one key component of our income. As we dive deeper into Cohli and make this venture slowly sustainable, that is another component. So right now, those are the two revenue streams.

We do like FIRE investing and so on, but we’re really far away—light years, it feels like. We have goals. Pretty much $1,200 for accommodation a month is what we aim for, though that doesn’t mean we always get it. Lauren’s a nutritionist, and now I have a bunch of allergies, so while we already ate really healthy, now it’s like ultra-extreme healthy. So it’s expensive—around $1,000 to $1,500 for groceries and food. Then we budget $400 for restaurants, but it’s typically higher. Education is around $800 for both kids. It varies a lot, but we have a clear picture.

For example, when we were in Colombia, the kids were going to a rural public school with only seven kids. By the end of the second day, our four-year-old was hugging all the other students. The teacher told us, "It’s a gift to have your kids here. It opens up so many possibilities and perspectives for the kids from this rural environment." We know how important it is for our kids to connect with people. The teacher told us, "Ethically speaking, I can’t receive funds or payments from you because I’m a public school and I have a salary from the government. But you can help us paint the school." So that’s what we did. We invited everybody for a big meal, we painted, and we had an awesome day. It’s amazing to connect like that with the local culture.

Suzy:

What a beautiful experience that you got to share with your family and the community there. I think this financial snapshot ties in closely when we're talking about co-living experiences because that brings a lot of these financial pieces together: the accommodations, how you spend your time, and the education piece. I’d love to hear more about Cohli—where it originated, what it looks like today, and what those opportunities are for families seeking that community piece. We talk about that a lot with worldschooling; we could spend all day traveling as a family, but at some point, everyone is going to want to connect with peers or other people doing this to know we’re not crazy. How does all that link up with your opportunities?

Lauren:

That year we were traveling with Maya when she was a baby, a lot of our stops were to see friends and family we hadn’t seen in a while. A lot of them were also having children and said, "Just come stay; we have a guest room." Without really intentionally doing it, we were cooking together in the kitchen and sharing meals while the babies played on the floor. Putting the kids to bed and then sitting around the table chatting felt really comforting, especially in that postpartum period for new parents.

We were having these co-living experiences without really trying. When we decided to do our own family travels after that—right after Koa was born—we were on a flight to Costa Rica. As soon as we arrived, I started getting that feeling of, "This is really nice, but we're alone." Tiago was working a ton, I wasn't working, and having two kids under the age of three was exhausting. I said, "We need to find our people quickly so that we have some community while we’re here."

I remember creating a Facebook post in one of the worldschooling communities saying, "We’ve just arrived in Costa Rica. We would love to see if there are any other families interested in sharing a house with us." Over 400 people responded! It was this moment of, "We’re not the only ones." We thought we were crazy for wanting to live with other families, but there are some other crazy families out there who want this too! It quickly became, "Let’s find some Airbnbs big enough for multiple families." Before we realized it, we were organizing these co-living experiences.

Of course, a lot happened between then and now to make this official. But some of those first people who wrote on that Facebook post are living with us right now or arriving in a couple of weeks. One of those families is here now and this is their third cohort and fourth time living with us. They were complete strangers who just really needed that missing ingredient of community built into parenthood while experiencing the world.

Tiago:

I think this is really about connection and community. We are building Cohli with this mindset and purpose. That is why people seek us. I think the country and the casitas matter, but they are small compared to the connection piece. Lauren and I still look at each other and think, "Wow, this is so marvelous." We’re able to learn and grow together as a group. It’s been really amazing, and we feel so grateful that this is actually happening.

Suzy:

I love it. It sounds very fulfilling. You're in Costa Rica now. From what I saw, the co-living opportunities are usually around one to three months. That really gives people time to get to know each other. What are some other locations you have coming up that you're excited about?

Tiago:

To be honest, it's really hard to find unique spaces and homes that are affordable and can host between 8 and 12 families, which is what we try to do. Costa Rica is definitely a hot spot, especially for North Americans. Then there's Portugal—what a surprise—and Spain, Italy, and Southeast Asia.

We are going to launch our second cohort very soon for our Colombian co-living residency at Casa Sumapaz. The hosts, Sebastian and Clara, are marvelous. That’s going to be in June and July. It will be six weeks. Last year it was one month and everybody said it was too short, but the hosts didn't want to extend to three months right away. Six weeks will be a really nice amount of time for families to drop in.

Suzy:

What does a typical day look like?

Lauren:

It’s at a retreat center, so every family gets two rooms. These are minimal, bright, spacious rooms. Typically, a family will sleep in one room and use the second as a living/working space. There are several communal areas on a huge property where you can explore the family’s coffee farm, walk where the horses graze, or go to the river. Each weekend we organize a cultural activity.

A regular day looks like waking up and having breakfast together in the huge comedor. We get meals three times a day—fresh, organic, and many ingredients are right from the food forest on the property. Lots of parents are working while the kids are in the "Life School." Then we have lunch and dinner together. Mixed in is a co-creation of different activities offered by members of the Cohli community.

Last year, we had a family from Denmark who runs a meditation center, so they gave workshops on emotional integration and meditation. Another family from a teaching background gave workshops on conscious discipline. Jana loves to host tea ceremonies at 7:00 AM. Part of what we do as the facilitating family is provide the structure to invite families to lead their own activities. One of the best activities was suggested by an eight-year-old named Jack—a talent show! He was the host and organized the sign-ups for adults and kids. The spirit is very open; people can step in to lead or step out to chill.

Tiago:

And for the "Life School," we find a lead teacher from around the world. We try to make it as local as possible. For example, here in Costa Rica, we have Gabi, who has experience in Forest School and Waldorf. We also have two educators from Costa Rica whose experience is Montessori. Together with the parents, we weave a program customized for the kids' ages and the context of the culture.

Suzy:

That sounds amazing. I love being able to incorporate where you are and have that built in. It sounds very magical.

Tiago:

I have to tell you that everything is not amazing! There are things that are really challenging and difficult. For example, we are in our second week here and we are still finding our flow. Koa, our two-year-old, is having a bunch of tantrums. We can only guess it's overstimulation or the transition. It’s been really draining and difficult. As the facilitating family, we are trying to hold the space and support everybody while also adapting ourselves.

Lauren:

But what’s beautiful is even just today, a family that gave up their entire life to travel for the first time arrived a week ago. They are going through their own transition, yet Angie walked up to me today and said, "How are you feeling today? What do you need?" I just wanted to start crying in her arms! It’s such a reminder that we are among our people. Anyone who takes the leap to join a co-living community is someone who will say, "I’m going through my own transition, but I want to be here for you." That just made the morning so much better.

Suzy:

It's so important to share the wins and the struggles. We're still parents and kids are still going to have their moments. It's important to keep it real.

Tiago:

Yeah, this family is amazing. They came from the "rat wheel" hustle and arrived in Costa Rica—and Costa Rica is raw! Now there are ants in the apartment, or no water or electricity for a meeting in half an hour. It’s part of the growth aspect of being in a community.

Suzy:

It takes bravery to step out into the unknown. I love that you can create a soft landing for these families. I can't wait to share those resources in the show notes. I would like to do a "Lightning Round" of quick hits on some of your favorite things. What is one item you cannot travel without?

Lauren:

Because we go back to the U.S. every year, I normally stock up on sunscreen for the kids because there’s a really clean, healthy brand that I absolutely love there.

Suzy:

What brand is that? I’m always looking for non-toxic recommendations.

Lauren:

Badger is the brand. They are really great and last a long time.

Suzy:

What is one piece of advice you have for a family just starting out?

Lauren:

Don't overthink it. I’m notorious for overthinking, and it has gotten in the way of a lot of experiences and growth.

Tiago:

Go with your gut feeling.

Suzy:

Intuition is huge. Last question: if you could teleport to one place right now, where would it be?

Lauren:

Oaxaca, Mexico.

Tiago:

I would go to Bocas del Toro, Panama. We really liked it there and the surf is great.

Suzy:

Panama is on our list for the near future! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Tiago:

No, but I have many questions for you! Where are you guys right now?

Suzy:

We’re in Denver right now and then we’ll be back in Sevilla, Spain, in January. I love the proximity to Portugal; we’ve bumped over there a few times but want to explore it more this year. When we're in Colorado, our kids are at a dual-language school for Spanish, and when we're in Spain, it's a German school. We're planning Japan for next fall and maybe a full gap year after that.

Tiago:

Yep.

Suzy:

It’s great to shine a light on these opportunities. We enjoy being able to spend time with Colorado family and keep our foot in the door here. But Spain is calling our name. The language piece has been great—the German came easily from my husband, but for Spanish, we needed more resources. Being in Spanish-speaking countries makes the combination of language and travel even easier.

Tiago:

Enough!

Lauren:

My sister is actually in Colorado Springs with her children.

Suzy:

That’s a really pretty area. I can’t be upset about spending time in Colorado.

Tiago:

How is the podcast going?

Suzy:

It’s been fun! It was an interest of mine for three years and I finally just started. You learn as you go. It’s been great to connect with people. If someone is looking for something that takes minimal effort and makes a lot of money, that is not podcasting! It takes effort and there’s really no money in it. But it is an important way to share stories. I love long-form content because you really get to deep dive into people's experiences.

Tiago:

That’s exactly why podcasting makes sense. We’ve recorded three or four episodes, but we still need to figure out how to edit and do all that stuff you know how to do. The pure joy is just learning from families and showing others that there are many different paths.

Suzy:

Exactly. People turn to podcasts to learn just as much as to be entertained. If you have an inclination, go for it. Someone might listen to an episode you put out three years later. Thank you for sharing your time and space with me. I'm excited to see where the next adventures take you.

Tiago:

Thank you so much, Susie. You have great energy for what you're doing. Keep it up!

Suzy:

The smiles are jumping off my face hearing these stories! Thank you for validating that. Have a great rest of your time in Costa Rica.

Tiago:

You enjoy Colorado!

Suzy:

Yes, thank you!