A family from south east Cornwall have been travelling around the world for three years after they sold everything they used to own.

In 2014, Joanna and Sean Bailey, from Torpoint, made the decision to leave their old life behind and travel the world. They haven't looked back since.

Read more: Police appeal for information as man seen masturbating in front of 12-year-old girl

Joanna said the couple were a bit fed up with life at the time.

She said: "We had one child in school who was not loving the experience and were living hand-to-mouth financially, feeling like life was one big hamster wheel of working, paying and never having time to enjoy things.

"I'd been writing online in a freelance capacity for a couple of years and we figured that actually a lower cost of living elsewhere in the world would allow us to spend more time with the kids and enjoy our life, rather than just slogging it out to meet the high cost of living in the UK."

The couple decided to embrace a nomadic lifestyle. When their son Jack reached eight years old they told his school they would be home-educating him from then on. Their daughter Charlotte was four.

The Baileys also gave notice on their rented house and spent the next four weeks selling and donating everything they owned.

Joanna said: "It was pretty scary, but actually quite cathartic to shed all the 'stuff' we'd been carting around.

Read more: Another dead dolphin reported at Rame Peninsula as number of casualties for 2017 rises to 19

"We moved in to my mother-in-law's once the contract was up on the house which was super cramped, but gave us the chance to sell the last few bits and prepare to leave the UK.

"We bought a motorhome and kitted it out with everything we thought we would need, and in September we set sail for Holland."

"We toured Europe for most of that year, although we did fly home for Christmas. Then we went back out in June having loved our experience and ready to go further afield.

"The weather in Europe was a little bit compromising, as it meant we spent a lot of time in Spain just to escape the cold and wet. We decided then to head east and flew out there after spending the summer with family."

Read more: Police want help identifying these men acting suspiciously on CCTV in Liskeard

From September 2015 to Christmas 2016 the family toured South East Asia; Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

"It was amazing," Joanna said. "That was when we discovered house-sitting.

"We sat at a lovely house (probably worth about a million pounds, so way nicer than anywhere we'd ever be able to afford ourselves) and wondered why we hadn't done it before."

The family signed up with TrustedHousesitters.com - a site where people can apply to house-sit for free in exchange for looking after a resident pet.

Joanna said: "We love animals, so it was fantastic to be able to look after the dogs and cat as well as enjoying the amazing home.

Read more: Looe Wild Futures sanctuary rescued these stolen marmoset monkeys and needs your help

"Since we got back to the UK, we've decided to do more house-sitting as it gives us more space. It means we can cook for ourselves and lets us enjoy a different take on the countries we visit. We house-sat in Honiton for a month in January, looking after two dogs, two cats, two pigs, four goats and a flock of chickens!

"It was awesome and close enough to Plymouth that we could visit friends and family and invite them up for meals etc.

"We left the UK again at the start of Feb and are just wrapping up a house-sit in France."

From there the family plan to go to Italy and then Switzerland.

Joanna said: "We are travelling with a 4x4 which has a roof tent fitted so when we aren't house-sitting we can camp.

"So far so good, its been a truly outstanding experience for all of us."

Read more: Torpoint football boss describes horrific moment his captain's leg broke in two

The family pay for travel with Joanna's writing work, house-sitting for free accommodation and always cooking their own meals.

"Life is quite cheap when you don't have council tax/utilities etc to pay for too," Joanna said.

The mum-of-two admitted it hasn't always been an easy journey, but she doesn't regret the decision to make the leap abroad and home school her children, Jack, now 10, and Charlotte, six.

"In Southeast Asia particularly we got sick occasionally and it's not fun being poorly when you're living in hostels etc.

"Money can be tight at times, but we tighten our belts when we need to. The kids really miss having children of their own age to play with and we miss our friends and family back home too.

"Home-schooling definitely has its up and downs. We only 'work' for about an hour to two hours a day, which is when we do workbooks or online learning appropriate to their ages. Mostly they're very good about this, but some days they can be a bit resistant.

"Our main focus though is on 'worldschooling' which is all about learning about other cultures, religions and societies and taking them to enriching places like museums, churches, animal sanctuaries etc.

"I think being accepting of other people is one of the most important lessons we can give them in our modern society. Showing them that things can be 'different' without being 'wrong'. I hope they are soaking it up like little sponges and will grow up to be kind adults as a result."

There are no plans to stop travelling any time soon - they still have America and Canada to experience. South America is also on the list and Sean has promised Joanna New Zealand for her 40th birthday.

Joanna had some words of advice for anyone considering the leap she and her family made.

She said: "Just do it. It's probably the scariest thing we've ever done, but it's also the best thing we've ever done. There's a really big supportive community of families from all over the world who are doing similar things, so it's not as terrifying or as lonely as you'd think.

"We've never looked back."

Read more: See all the latest news from around Cornwall.

Link:

Torpoint family sell everything they own to travel the world house-sitting - Cornwall Live