4-Hour Workweek Family Travel Resources

The following are resources specific to families from the 4-Hour Workweek Extended Edition

Book by Ferriss, Timothy. The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded, and Updated

Family Travel Forum (www.familytravelforum.com) A comprehensive forum on, you guessed it, family travel. Want to sell your kids for top dollar in the Eastern Bloc? Or save a few dollars and cremate Grannie in Thailand? Then this isn’t the site. But if you have kids and are planning a big trip, this is the place.

Lonely Planet: The Thorn Tree (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com) Discussion forum for global travelers with threads separated by region.

U.S.-Sponsored Overseas Schools (www.state.gov/m/a/os) If the idea of pulling your children out of school for a year or two isn’t appealing, stick them in one of more than 190 elementary and secondary schools sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in 135 countries. Kids love homework.

Homeschooling 101 and Quickstart Guide (http://bit.ly/homeschooling101) This subsection of http://homeschooling.about.com/ provides a step-by-step process for considering homeschooling options that can be applied to education during extended travel. Children can often return to traditional public or private schools ahead of their classmates.

Home Education Magazine (www.homeedmag.com) Rich collection of resources for homeschoolers, traveling families, and unschoolers. Links include curriculum, virtual support groups, legal resources, and archives. Good reasons to learn the law: Some U.S. states offer up to $1,600 of funding per year for qualified homeschooling expenditures, as it saves the state money to not educate your child in the public school system.

Round-the-World FAQ (includes travel insurance) (www.perpetualtravel.com/rtw) This FAQ is a lifesaver. Originally written by Marc Brosius, it has been added to by newsgroup participants for years and now covers nuts and bolts from financial planning to return culture shock and all in between. How long can you afford to be away? Do you need travel insurance? Leave of absence or resignation? This is an around-the-world almanac.

Additional Resources

One-Bag: The Art and Science of Packing Light (www.onebag.com) One of PC magazine’s “Top 100 [Can’t Live Without] Sites.” Pack light and experience lightness of being.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/travel) Recommended vaccinations and health planning for every nation in the world. Certain countries require proof of inoculations to pass through customs. Get the shots well ahead of time, as some take weeks to order.

Removing Clutter: 1-800-GOT-JUNK (www.1800gotjunk.com), Freecycle (www.freecycle.org), and Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) I used Craigslist’s “Free” category to get rid of four years of accumulated possessions in less than three hours on a Saturday evening. There were some for-sale items that I also cleared out at 30–40% of original retail. I then hauled off the last remaining items using the überfast 1-800-GOT-JUNK paid service. Freecycle is comparable to Craigslist for giving away, and getting, things for free when you’re short on time. Get unattached and you’ll make it a habit. I purge every 6–9 months, often including donations to Goodwill (www.goodwill.org), which can do pickups for free with advanced notice.