‘We sold our home to travel the world

Chloe and Connor Ellis say they are ‘just winging it’ as they travel the world

A Brit family is travelling the world as nomads after finding it was cheaper than paying rent in the UK. Chloe and Connor Ellis, 27 and 29, planned to travel before having children but unexpectedly fell pregnant at 18 and 20.

They decided to settle and had son Harley, now eight, and later Hector, four, and bought a house in their hometown of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and got comfortable jobs. But as their sons grew up they decided last year that an international move would be great, and planned a move to Australia.

They put their home on the market in February this year after applying for their visas in December 2024, anticipating it would take months to sell. But when it sold in just three days, the couple learned it was cheaper to go travelling around the world rather than hire a rolling-monthly Airbnb in Barnsley £3-4k a month until their Aussie visas were approved.

The family sold all their possessions including their car, saving just two backpacks’ worth of clothes and toiletries, and flew out to Thailand on November 7, and say they only spent around £2k in their first month. They are “just winging it” – booking as they go – with a plan of exploring Southeast Asia for as long as it takes to get their visas approved.

The family – who are documenting their travels on socials @ellisfamily_adventures – are currently in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Chloe, who worked in HR, said: “We always wanted to travel but then we fell pregnant – we had our little boys, bought a home and got careers, but we still always had the travel itch.

“We put the house for sale as soon as we applied for our visas for Australia, because we didn’t want to risk the house not selling in time.

“Then it sold in three days – and when we realised how expensive renting would be, we made our decision to leave the UK. We flew out to Thailand on November 7 – we’re jumping in at the deep end as we have no timeframe for when we’ll get our visa.

“We’ve gone from a four-bed house to two backpacks and everyone is loving it – it’s just shown us that you don’t need material things. The kids are loving trying new foods, visiting attractions, and touring the country.”

Chloe and Connor, a telecommunications engineer, decided that when their youngest son turned four, they would do some travelling to make their children well-rounded individuals.

They started looking at monthly rental homes and Airbnbs in Barnsley after their house sold, but realised that would be a huge drain on their £50k savings allocated for their Australia move. Chloe said: “On a monthly basis, an Airbnb was £3,000 to £4,000 in Barnsley, and we realised it would be cheaper to travel.

“When the house sale went through, we decided to sell everything and go. We sold everything at car boots and on Facebook Marketplace – almost all of our clothes were sold, we even had someone buy our kitchen knives and forks.”

They decided to start with Southeast Asia, and after some planning, booked flights and began their journey in Thailand, in Bangkok. Chloe said: “We’re not going to need anywhere near £50k in Southeast Asia. Here, you don’t need much to travel – we went out to the market for tea and it cost £5 for all four of us!”

The couple plan to visit Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia – but are taking each day as it comes, in a laid-back way. Connor said: “We booked our flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on the day we flew.”

They have immersed themselves and their sons in as many enriching experiences as possible. They have done cooking classes, arts and crafts, the Mahanakhon SkyWalk, visited an elephant sanctuary, climbed waterfalls, visited temples and toured the areas on scooters.

And they have been able to do so without dipping much into their budget thanks to the low costs in Thailand. Chloe said: “When we got to Chiang Mai, we paid £1,000 for a two-bed condo, with an infinity pool and gym, for five weeks.

“We’re budgeting, but not like crazy, we’ve still been going to nice hotels, because you can at these prices. In the UK you’d probably pay £200 for one night in a place like where we’ve been staying.”

They plan to ‘world school’ their children and visit homeschooling hubs while they’re travelling, and before they re-enrol their sons in formal education when they move and settle in Perth, Australia.

Reflecting on the journey, the parents are surprised at how natural the travelling has come for them, as well as their sons. Chloe said: “Right now, we’re in a position where we have no jobs, or house, so we may as well do as much as we can while we’re flexible.

“We were working full-time in the UK, so it’s nice to be fully present. We were going to travel when our kids were older, as we’d only be early 40s then, but we thought – why not do it now?

“Covid was an eye-opener for us, we decided we want to do it now, while we can – and we want the kids to see it too, to open their eyes to what’s going on in the world.”