Living in Portugal as a Boundless Life Family: How We Live & Travel Abroad Part Time
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How can I live in another country for a few months?
That’s the question I asked myself last year when we began our journey to living and traveling abroad part-time as a family. We knew we wanted a home base to come back to in the United States but also wanted the flexibility to slow travel in other countries. My husband and I had traveled before as a couple but now having a baby we wanted to travel as safely and comfortably as possible while connecting with other nomadic families who shared our passion for travel. But did such a thing actually exist? In fact, it does and it’s a company called Boundless Life.
What is Boundless Life?
Boundless Life is a company that allows families to live and travel abroad by offering a turnkey experience in each of their locations which are Sintra, Portugal, Syros,Greece, and Tuscany, Italy. When you purchase either a 3-month or 6-week package with Boundless life you get:
A furnished apartment fully stocked with everything you need to live comfortably as a family
When you arrive to your destination, you’ll be picked up by a private driver and whisked away to your new home away from home. Your furnished apartment will have all the comforts of home like dishes, utensils, cookware, towels, television, wifi, and upon request baby equipment such as toddler rails, cribs, and high chairs. We are currently living in Sintra, Portugal with Boundless Life and absolutely love our 2 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of this beautiful home. Below us there is a gelato shop owned and operated by the sweetest couple who have become stand in grandparents to our daughter. We love waking up each morning to the smell of fresh croissants from their shop. We also love that Boundless Life took the time to ask us what was important in a location before assigning us an apartment. Because we are a plant based family it was important to us to be next to organic shops and vegan friendly restaurants and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect location in this beautiful and magical town of Sintra!
Also, we love that our apartment comes with weekly housekeeping! This is seriously one of the best benefits to being a Boundless Life Family!
The ability to enroll your child into the Boundless Education Program
What is Boundless Education?
Boundless Life offers a Boundless Education program for children ages 1-12. It was important for us in our travels that we world school our daughter, meaning we want her to learn through travel and experience. The Boundless Education Program is truly an immersive experience for children with a hands-on approach to learning. Their education program offers children:
Connection Time: Each morning, the children have a moment to begin the day mindfully to center themselves.
Mastery Time: Children tackle core academics with innovative online tools to ensure each student masters a concept before moving on
Quest Time: Children work together in groups during Quest Time to apply their knowledge and skills to the world they experience every day. During our cohort, for example, the children participated in a recycling and composting activity where the children learned which waste items went into which bin and why.
Nature Time: Children have the ability to be immersed in the local natural surroundings. Our daughter loves going on Nature Walks with her teachers where she enjoys collecting different leaves to bring home with her.
Cultural Immersion: Children partake in various workshops and activities that expose them to the local culture. We recently had the chance to join our daughter on a field trip to see a children’s play in Portuguese that the children absolutely loved!
Endeavour Time: This is such a unique offering in the Boundless Education Center! Parents can come to teach a workshop to the children such as photography, jewelry making, and so much more. It allows parents to be an active participant in their child’s learning.
Boundless Time: One of the reasons I truly adore the Boundless Education program is because it gives children the agency to learn and pursue their own passions with Boundless Time.
In addition to a wonderful curricular program, each Boundless Education Center has a team of incredible educators that were thoughtfully curated and hand-picked among hundreds of talented teacher applicants from around the world. Our daughter absolutely loves her teachers at the Education Center. They are so patient, caring, and communicative about her progress. As a first-time mom who has never utilized daycare services in my home country, I was a bit nervous about sending her to the Education Program but once I met the educators, my worries were put immediately at ease. My daughter truly enjoys her time at the Education Center with her teachers and the other Boundless children.
Access to a Coworking Space to work remotely
As a parent working remotely, this is a huge benefit to traveling as a Boundless Life family. The co-working hub works just like a traditional co-working space with some extra perks and amenities like high speed internet, private phone booth rooms, stand up desks, a coffee maker for cappuccinos, espresso, and lattes as well as staff to prepare fresh meals for breakfast and lunch.
What else is included?
Community
One of the best reasons to become a Boundless Life Family is the connection you make with the other Boundless Life families. Each family is located either right next door or just a few minutes of a walk away. Boundless Life creates community within every cohort with Boundless Life sponsored events and tours for families to connect with each other. We already know we’ve made lifelong friends here and plan to continue to travel with families within our cohort. Being a nomadic family can get lonely but with Boundless Life, knowing that you have the support of the local concierge staff to help you with booking rental cars or finding babysitting services or just even knowing that if you want to grab lunch with the other parents or start a workout club is such a beautiful way to travel. For example, our family recently became sick with a cold at the beginning of our stay and all of the families chimed in on our group WhatsApp chat to bring us food and medicine. It was an amazing feeling knowing that we weren’t in a foreign country alone without any help or resources.
Concierge Services:
Boundless life also includes concierge services during your stay with them which has been so helpful. Anytime we have had a question no matter how big or small, the concierge team has been quick to answer. They’ve helped us set up services such as car rentals, helpful itineraries for weekend getaways, to arranging for babysitting services so parents can have a date night. The most helpful instance was when our daughter was running a high-grade fever and their concierge team replied right away with a private hospital nearby we could take her for a check-up. The staff has been so incredibly kind and attentive that it’s been such a joy to have them here on the ground as our local team for anything we need.
How Much Does it Cost?
This is a great question and depends on what you and your family need during your trip. Packages start at €2,100 per month for accommodations, €1,500 per month per child enrolled at the Education Center with a 10 - 15% sibling discount, and €425 per month per parent for Boundless Services such as access to the co-working hub, airport transfers, and community activities such as weekly yoga and so much more!
How do I sign up?
If you’re interested in signing up to become a Boundless Life Family like us, you can check them out at https://www.boundless.life/ to book a discovery call with one of their team members and use code CARA for €400 off your trip. It has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made to become a Boundless Life Family and to become a part of such a wonderful community. The memories we’ve made will last us a lifetime. As parents you quickly realize how fast time flies and how quickly your children grow. We are so grateful to have access to such a phenomenal program that allows us to cherish these precious moments as a family.
