Suzy

Welcome to the Wander World School Podcast. I'm Susie, a travel-loving money nerd, mama of two, and our family lives between Spain, Colorado, and Japan. On this show, we discuss the stories, logistics, and finances of traveling families and the many ways to learn along the way.

Today, we get to know Dasha Emilanova. Please tell me more about you and your family.

Dasha

I am from Russia originally, and I actually moved to Denver at the age of 10 and spent most of my life in Colorado until about five and a half years ago, where we embarked on our worldschooling journey. We landed in Playa del Carmen, so that's essentially where we've been on and off.

That's kind of where Wild Roots, my worldschooling hub, started. And it really started because my son showed a deep interest in marine biology and I wanted to foster that interest and share the slice of paradise that we found in Playa with other children.

Suzy

Absolutely. And yeah, there's not as much marine life in Denver, Colorado. So I can see why you had to venture to Mexico to start to learn more about that.

Dasha

Exactly. Yeah, I mean the interest really came naturally to him. He could spend hours just looking under rocks and through coral and just really enjoys being in the water and looking at creatures, whether it's amphibians or reptiles, just kind of anything along the lines of creatures outdoors. So I thought, okay, well, how can we foster this? And I really

started to look around at the children that we're hanging out with in Playa del Carmen, and it seemed like they were all really like regulated and full of joy. And so I wondered, okay, well, is it the environment? And I think it is. That's kind of my hypothesis: is that the environment of being outdoors, and sometimes we like to joke and say, like being Tarzan kids, of just being without shoes and running around

in the sand and the jungle. That really brings out that true childhood of being uninhibited and just like worrying about the present moment.

Suzy

I love that you've created these opportunities in Playa del Carmen. We're going to learn more about Wild Roots and you also have opportunities in Mexico City. So we'll get into that shortly. But before we talk about that, I'd love to know a little bit more about where your love for travel started.

Dasha

It actually started in cruises. When my son Isaiah was a toddler, I was like, "Okay, I love traveling. We need to get out there." But I was a solo mom and it was a little nerve-wracking to be like, "Okay, where are we going to go? What if he runs away?" So we started with cruises, and that was a beautiful transition because I got to really see his personality as a traveler. Because I think we have like

our at-home personalities and then we have our traveler personalities, and his really fit into the lifestyle of like he's open-minded, he wasn't worried about like naps and all that, and that worked out really beautifully. So toddlerhood was spent going on cruises, and we got to experience a bunch of different places within a week.

And then when he was five, we actually went on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. So I bought an RV in 2020 and we left Colorado and just went east. We were looking for a new place to live, honestly. And

that was a really beautiful experience and he kind of like really grew up in that five-six age range of like transitioning into childhood. So then it got cold, and that's when I stumbled upon a Facebook group of like moms who travel.

There was a woman that recommended Playa del Carmen. I was like, "Well, we could definitely check it out." And so we did. We went, and right away I knew, like once I got there and I grounded within the first few days, I was like, "This is where we belong at this juncture and season of our life."

Suzy

What about Playa del Carmen really drew you to want to stick around after that first trip there?

Dasha

Yeah, so the first was really how much slower of a lifestyle the people there were living and it was more family-oriented. And even though I don't have family in Mexico, it felt like Mexicans as a whole are just very open to like children being children, you know, at a restaurant. And we never got any sort of side-eye looks or like, "They're not acting appropriately."

They're always so friendly and like will give things to your child, like "Here, have this candy, have this, come to this party." And so it felt like that environment of being around people that really appreciate family. And then also it's a nomadic kind of place, and so most people go there and they want to meet people.

Everyone was from a different place. They all had different perspectives, different upbringings, but they were all interested in making new friends. So I ended up growing a community, a playdates group rather quickly, and like I said, people were just

very open-minded. So I loved that about Playa. I imagine lots of different nomadic places like that are that way. But not all of them have the beauty and the ocean, which of course appealed to me. Like you said, in Colorado there's not much water at all. And so I missed being near water and just being like right on the beach. That's not something that I take for granted.

Suzy

And part of your worldschooling journey included a little detour in Oaxaca, is that correct? I see you shared that. And I spoke with Stephanie back in episode twenty-nine. But I'd love to hear a little more about your experience.

Dasha

Yes, yes. So that was our first worldschooling hub. We were part of that first initial group in Oaxaca and it was so fun. I mean, it was like such a beautiful group of

people. My favorite part was my son. I think he was the second youngest child in that particular group.

All the teenagers were like legitimately my son's friends, and they were like, "Isaiah, come do this, like let me in."

And they were like helping him make cacao. And it was just so sweet how quickly they were able to really get to know each other and like bond. So I really loved it. Oaxaca, I will say, wasn't my favorite place in the world, but that's just my personal preference.

I think it was partially my expectations of like the food being okay, and then just like not making the best choices. Sometimes you go somewhere and you're like, "I don't really need to go there again." But I definitely want to go to Peru. I'm super stoked to make that trip.

Suzy

You're right. Sometimes the experience we have there is great, but the location itself isn't lovely, or vice versa. And we hit the jackpot when we love the location and the worldschooling experience. I found with the

Dasha

Okay.

Suzy

pop-ups as well that the age range is really great to have older kids hanging out with younger kids. And I recognize that teens do enjoy spending time with other teens.

But if they have this opportunity to really become friends with other kids of different ages, I think that's a really beautiful part about some of these opportunities with the multi-age. So thank you for bringing up that experience from your aspect. I'd also like to understand a little more about the financial and logistical side. You and your son have been full-time traveling for a couple of years now and then also spending time in Playa del Carmen. You're working with the Wild Roots World School. But have there been other aspects to your financial and logistical journey?

Dasha

So when I started out, I was working remotely as a recruiter. I'd been recruiting for most of my career and most of that time was remote. And the company I worked for was wonderful. We had unlimited PTO, so I was able to take time off as I needed.

So that really worked out well with traveling and being a single mom and making my own schedule. I would also sign my son up for camps, and

we had a live-in nanny that was living with us, and so she would travel with us sometimes. So we were able to kind of find that balance of me working full-time in a corporate role and still having experiences.

And I was laid off a couple years ago, so I started

my entrepreneurial journey. I started building my coaching practice. So that's primarily what I'm working on in addition to growing Wild Roots World School.

Suzy

I think you bring up some great points that as a single parent, you know, sometimes you do have to find ways to still balance the travel, the work, the experiences with your family. And so bringing a nanny—I know some families bring au pairs—is one way to have someone that's part of our extended family also helping with the childcare aspect so that we can still do the work that we need to do to fund the lifestyle.

So thanks for bringing up how you as a single parent have navigated that. What has education looked like while traveling and also while in Mexico, in Playa del Carmen? I'd also love to know what languages look like because I'm guessing you speak some languages and I'm wondering how you've incorporated that with your child.

Dasha

I will say that I am from Russia and I do speak Russian, but I did not teach my son Russian, which in hindsight I do kind of regret.

But I just didn't have someone to really speak to, like another adult. And it was just kind of something on the back burner. And then now I'm starting to like teach him certain words and things. But that's why I'm grateful that we did land in Playa. He's been to a lot of a variety of different educational experiences. When we first landed, he was five, and so he went to this really tiny Mexican

like co-op, I wouldn't even call it a school. And it was all in Spanish. So he really got to have that full integration experience, especially at that important time where he was like learning how to read. So his Spanish is quite good.

And he definitely helps me with communicating.

He's been to a beach school, he's been to a Montessori school, and then we've done like part-time homeschooling, part-time alternative schooling. So we've done a combination of all of those. But really what I like to do is lean into his interests. It's animals, really, to be honest. So a lot of the time we

will go to the zoo. We've been to so many zoos and learned about so many animals. And then reading about like amphibians, reptiles, marine life, watching everything. Yeah, I mean Wild Kratts shout-out because that was just on repeat for so many years.

Suzy

Such a good show. I love those brothers.

Dasha

And it really segmented into the philosophy that I've created at Wild Roots because what we've been doing for our own education approach has been, I would say, alternative or different from the status quo.

Suzy

It sounds like your son has had some really cool opportunities. I have to ask about a beach school. What does a typical day look like at a beach school? Because that sounds fascinating.

Dasha

It was called Neek, and it was in this space, one of the only spaces that has been protected on the Playa del Carmen beaches. It was a dad and he was building up the school, and it was mixed-age. I think the youngest was around four or five, and then there were some like ten- and twelve-year-olds. And it's right

on the beach, and they would do so much. Like their arts and crafts would a lot of the time be picking up shells and like finding nature materials and then making artwork out of them. And they would do circle time and they would have instruments that they would play. I would say Waldorf slash Montessori combined with just the fact that they're on the beach. So when they would be walking from where we would drop off the kids onto the beach,

they would see wildlife and then they would stop and like talk about it and then do a project about it.

And the only thing was, during rainy season they would be constantly like in their ponchos, trying to escape the rain. But that was part of the experience, you know, like built character.

Suzy

So Playa del Carmen sounds like a wonderful, beautiful, magical place. I'd love to hear more about what a one-month spending snapshot could look like. Some typical expenses for longer-term living in Playa del Carmen. This is especially helpful if someone is interested in spending an extended period of time in one location like Playa. What are some expenses

that you know, expenses you've had or that a typical family may experience?

Dasha

Part of what we do at Wild Roots is actually Wild Roots Families Abroad. So we help families with structuring what that move would look like and also finding schools and doing like all of the logistics. So for me personally, I've really enjoyed living in a neighborhood called Playacar.

It's adjacent to the Centro location of Playa del Carmen, so it's walking distance to any aspect of Centro, and it's along the beach. It's super family-friendly. There's a golf course, and a lot of the all-inclusive hotels are also on that side of the beach. So it is more of, I would say, an upper-middle-class neighborhood, and a lot of

the homes are older, but they are like quite large in scale. They do have apartments as well. So because of the way that I've chosen to live and we have a live-in nanny, we needed a three-bedroom, so my personal rent per month was 1,800 USD.

And something to keep in mind as well is the conversion, the exchange rate. And so when I first came to Mexico, it was about twenty pesos for a dollar.

It's gone down quite a bit, which honestly makes a huge difference when you're paying rent in pesos. So I've negotiated rent prices in USD so that I can consistently understand how much my rent is going to be every month. And I also recommend negotiating like internet being included, or sometimes I'll have a cleaning,

like a cleaning lady included in my rent price as well. I would say you can find something as low as $600, $800 for maybe a one- or two-bedroom, but that will probably be on the other side of the highway. So you'll need a way to transport yourself or, you know, even if it's just a bicycle.

As far as groceries, I would say we spend quite a bit because I do like to eat very organic and well, and I also like to just kind of eat some of the things that we still eat back home in the US.

But I do go heavy on like fruits and vegetables, which are much cheaper than in the US, but we also have Costco and Sam's Club and all of those, so, you know, those kind of add up. I would say five hundred to seven hundred a month.

As far as school, so I would say it's around 600 to 800 for the annual enrollment fees every year, and then anywhere between 400 and 500 per month.

So that's for the private schools, and they are from about nine, sometimes 8 AM, till about 2 PM. So not a full-day program. But I also have school transportation that's included with the school that we were at, and now it's about a hundred and sixty dollars a month.

Honestly, it was the best thing since sliced bread. Just having my son get picked up and knowing that he's getting there on time, it's safe, and he's getting to hang out with his friends on the ride there. It was incredible.

So as far as utilities, a lot of the time those are included in your rent, except for electricity. Electricity is quite pricey in Playa.

We've adjusted. We definitely used our air conditioner frequently in the first couple of years, and now we've learned that during the cooler months, probably November, December through about February, March, we don't use AC as much. So I would say it's about a hundred dollars. You pay that expense every two months.

And then transportation. So it is a walkable city. So if you don't want to have a car, which I did not have a car for the first year, you totally can get away with it. It's simple, you can get taxis. Now they have InDrive, which is like their version of Uber. So you can order a car to come to your place. I did end up purchasing just a little, little tiny beater. Cars are more expensive. So

so I had like a 2011 and I spent about 5k on it. But it got us around. I did also have animals. I had two dogs that I came to Playa with, and so it was helpful to have a car to take them to appointments and things, and then also to take my son, and just to go on little road trips. So I did purchase a car, but you really don't have to, especially if you're not going to be there long term or if you're just not sure.

And then gas is relatively pricey. And then healthcare-wise, yeah, I do alternative like Chinese medicine, and so I always pay out of pocket for that. But we do carry some like emergency insurance.

Activities. I love to talk about this because there are so many things to get into. Like I think my son was doing like three or four things every week for a while, and then we kind of like took it down and were like, "Okay, like what do you really want to do? What are you passionate about?" But he was doing tennis, and I remember at one point we were actually living in a town nearby to Playa del Carmen called Puerto Aventuras, and he was going to tennis every

every day.

And everything's really honestly affordable, anything between like thirty to a hundred dollars per month for activities. So that could be swimming lessons, could be art classes. We have a mentor that he works with; she does art with him, but she's like a mindfulness coach. So there's lots of different options.

So we like to kind of double up on the activities when we can. And then of course going to the beach with friends, or they have like a circus without animals that comes every year. So we always like to go to the local activities as well.

As I mentioned, Costco and Sam's Club, all of those, good for household items and like doing some shopping, the brands that are recognizable. So that's between $100 and $200 a month. And of course every time we go back to the US, we love to stock up.

And then personally, I choose to keep my phone US-based. But I know a lot of people will switch over to a Mexican phone number, which is just like twenty dollars a month. But I like to keep my line. I've had the same phone number since I was twelve. So it's apparently very important to me.

So monthly typically spend about thirty-five hundred, give or take.

Suzy

And I know it's been a while since you've been in the US, but I'm guessing that is less than what you were spending in the US? Do you remember any comparison there?

Dasha

To be honest, I think the comparison—this is the way my brain works—is less quantifiable and more quality of life. I imagine that there are places in the US, probably not Denver, because it's just gotten egregious, that I could for sure live, especially as a one-adult, one-child family, for thirty-five hundred dollars.

But the quality of life is just so unique. Because like I said, I have a live-in nanny, I have the beach at my footstep.

I have someone drive my son to school and back. Like all of those things, they're life-giving. So I would say, yeah, from a quantity perspective, we could definitely be living for a lot less.

But this is how I'm choosing due to the quality of life. This is why I am choosing to live in Mexico: because of all of these things that do give me my time back, and then I can dedicate my time to building more connections and having more fun.

Suzy

That is a perfect way to summarize that of course the numbers matter, but also the quality matters. And what we're getting for our expenses is really important. So living somewhere where you can really get a high quality of life, that

then you can translate that to living the life that you want to live at a price point that works for you and your family. And you mentioned Wild Roots. Fill me in on everything to do with Wild Roots.

Dasha

We have our original drop-off hub. We like to call it a camp. And that's every winter break and spring break. And we try to incorporate multiple weeks so that all the different schools are available to join us. So of course we have homeschoolers joining us, but this is definitely a program for folks that are in regular school and maybe dipping their toe into transitioning into worldschooling,

or thinking about moving to Mexico.

So we're in Playa del Carmen for those camps, then in the summertime, I do choose to leave Playa, and that's the time I use to worldschool my own son, and then also I'm starting a family pop-up in Mexico City. And this time we're really considering this as a potential home base. It's such an incredible place to be. I mean, it's a huge metropolitan city.

But it's really amazing for children. There's so much to do, and again, with the Mexican culture, children are valued and they are important. It just feels like you land here, there's so much to do, and you're very welcomed. We have two family pop-ups, and then we have another one the week of Thanksgiving.

Then we come back to Playa for late December, early January. And that's where we have like our nature-based immersive experiences. And those are Monday through Friday, a drop-off nine to two, and we keep the ratios very small, so maximum of four children for each teacher.

That really is our goal: to get to know every child, what they're into, what their little quirks are, what they like to eat. We like to teach Spanish words, even though our programs are primarily in English; a lot of the teachers and children speak Spanish. We do also include lunches.

We always do a big fruit exploration day where we try rambutans and dragon fruit and all kinds of different fruit. And typically the kids try everything.

So we do a lot of marine biology education and exploration, but it's through play. Whenever I bring the books on the bus when we're on our way to our field trip, some of the kids like to look at them just to pass the time. And then we go and experience snorkeling with turtles, and they are literally fighting me for the books afterwards because they now experienced what they saw—turtles—and now they want to learn everything about them: What do they eat? How do they sleep? Where are the babies? So this is what we incorporate into our school: show it to them, have them experience it, and then they will ask us the questions and learn more.

Of course, we like to go to at least one cenote, check out some of the bats there, lots and lots of beach time, arts and crafts. We do some rock climbing, and we actually get to do something called silks off of a giant ceiba tree.

We serve children from ages five up to fourteen is the oldest we've had so far. We can support with finding accommodations and just like building community. We always like to do a cacao ceremony with all the families, and so they get to experience some of the Mayan culture and also just incorporate like singing together and being together on the beach.

The program is four hundred dollars per child, the one in Playa, and then our pop-ups are three hundred dollars for the whole family. And I'm really encouraging folks to bring grandparents and just anyone in the family, because I think that's such a fun way to travel is to go with multi-generational families.

Suzy

Two questions I have: Can you tell me a little more about what a cenote is? I've seen photos, but I'm not exactly sure. And then also I'd love to hear a little bit more about this silks.

Dasha

So a cenote is essentially a sinkhole. They have these natural sinkholes all over Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya, and the Yucatan. And they just naturally are created by like the sediment settling. So the water that's in the cenote is fresh water.

And there's really like this whole underground

ecosystem that's created. So it is from rain that flows from one cenote to another, and there are thousands of them that have not been discovered that are just

in the jungle. So some of the cenotes are open cenotes, so the sun shines on them, so the water is a little bit warmer. And some of them are in a cave.

The ones that we go to with our program, they're half-cave. So there are bats, and that's where they live, and we get to experience them and learn more about them, and then we can swim under the water and get to see further into the caves. But the cenotes are really, really fun. And your other question was about silks.

They are

these really long cloths, and they hang them on the tree so they protect the tree. And the branches are really, really thick because it's like a hundred-year-old ceiba tree. And so they wrap the silks in a way, and then the silks come down to the ground. And so it's essentially a mix of, I would say, gymnastics and dance, because you're using your hands to climb

up on this silk fabric, and then you're twisting the silk fabric around your arm or around your leg and pulling yourself up or doing like a flip. So you're doing these gymnastic maneuvers, and it just looks really beautiful, and you're doing it sometimes to music. But we have several teachers,

and they teach the kids different maneuvers. And then there's always like a big pad at the bottom, but I mean they don't really fall; they're connected to the silks. So it's a really cool experience.

Suzy

Wow, that sounds like such an adventure. Both of those. I'd love to hear more about how this exactly started. I know you mentioned how you got to Playa del Carmen, but really what prompted you to start Wild Roots?

Dasha

I created this for my son. So my son is neurodivergent and he's gifted, and so part of me learning about what that really means and following his interests, what does that mean? Like, how do I do that?

And I started learning about worldschooling many years ago and these hubs, and I was like, "Okay, so Playa del Carmen is a place I want to share." I have a background in being a nanny and I used to coach tennis. So being around children is something that I truly, deeply enjoy, sometimes even more than adults. So I knew that working with children was something that would eventually come

back into my life, especially after having my own son.

So it just kind of all came together. I had visited my first hub and we went to a Rachel's pop-up as well in Oaxaca, and I was like, "Okay, like this would be beautiful to do in Playa del Carmen." And we knew a marine biologist that was already doing kids' educational courses. So everything came together, and I thought, "This is a program that my son would enjoy."

I know that there are other kids out there that would geek out over this and truly get that once-in-a-lifetime experience of being that Tarzan kid, being on the beach, being carefree. And so I thought, "Okay, well, why not me?" And so that's really how the program started. And ever since then, I've been diving headfirst into

nervous system regulation and like how do our bodies come to homeostasis, and what does that mean for the children? And it's really much simpler than I think we try to make it out to be: it's being outside and being seen.

And that's what I try to do with my programs. For me, it's important to have folks on my team that know about these topics and are educated, you know, about the flora and about the marine life. But really, it's important for me to know that our teachers actually want to be around the students and they're taking the time to get to know them.

Suzy

At the end of the day, that's something that all parents can think about: like, how do I get my kid outside? And then, how do I give them the opportunities to be seen? So I love that your program does that.

I always like to talk about the challenges and the wins, because it sounds lovely to settle in Playa del Carmen, but I'm sure there's been some challenges. And then we'll also talk about the wins as well.

Dasha

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the challenges when we first decided to move to Playa was my son categorically said that, "I am not learning Spanish." And I was like, "Okay, no problem." And so I would say about six months into living in Playa, we were at the playground, and

he learned how to say, "Do you want to play?"—"¿Puedo jugar?" And he just kept coming up to the kids and being like, "¿Puedo jugar? ¿Puedo jugar?" Later I asked him, and he's like, "Yeah, Mom. I need to know how to say, 'Do you want to play?' so that I can play with the kids at the playground."

And I was like, "Well, you have a need, so you're going to find a way." And that's just what I like to tell parents: don't push it, you know? It will come, because they really want to communicate with their peers. So that was a challenge. I was like, "My gosh, my son is never going to learn the language. Like, what are we going to do?"

But it all worked out beautifully in his own timeline.

Suzy

And how have the wins unfolded for you?

Dasha

Yeah, I mean the wins, I think word of mouth is always so appreciated, and just hearing that, "Hey, so-and-so came to your camp and they really enjoyed it and they knew that our child would like love that experience too." So that always just fills my heart to hear that. And then spring break, we sold out the camp in Playa del Carmen, and then we actually

ended up having some volunteers that asked to join us. So I think that's always something that I appreciate and look at and like, "Wow, like people want this to exist and they want to offer their time," which I think is really the most valuable thing we can really give is our time. So I always appreciate that, and I think that's a huge win.

Suzy

Before we do our lightning round wrap-up, I'd love if you could share your resources about how people can connect.

Dasha

So I'm most active on Instagram. D_Emilanova is my handle, and Wild Roots World School is our handle—wild.roots.worldschool, and that's on Instagram and Facebook as well. And then we also have a website, wildrootsworldschool.com, where you can learn all about us.

Suzy

And for our wrap-up on the lightning round: You can only ever visit or live in three countries. What are they?

Dasha

Japan, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Suzy

I love that those are actually very different than Mexico. What

is the best or worst food that you've ever tried?

Dasha

Oh my gosh. This was very recent, so I'm very excited about it. But there's a taco place in Mexico City and it just blew my mind. Like it felt like I had never had a taco before.

Suzy

And last question: What is one piece of advice for a family just starting out?

Dasha

I think starting with a cruise.

It really goes back to what I said earlier about figuring out your travel personality and your kids' travel personality. And that's just like this safe space on a cruise to figure that out. There's enough of like the unexpected being thrown at you that you're still getting that travel experience. But there's also enough like safety, and the buffet. Like, let's be honest, kids love a buffet. That is what I

recommend if you're just starting out.

Suzy

Well, listener, thank you for tuning in. Please go check out the show notes so you can get all the links for the Wild Roots program. And I really appreciate you sharing your time and story with me today, Dasha.

Dasha

Thank you, Suzy, and thank you so much for creating this podcast.