About

This is us. The family of 5 who sold everything and set out to explore the world for a year.

Our Story

Growing up, we both came from rural towns, one in northern Europe, the other in midwestern United States. We were happy and comfortable, but were limited in our view of the world. So when college presented us both with the opportunity to study abroad, we jumped at it. There, in the student flats of Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, our two worlds met and we fell in love. Since then, travel has been a cornerstone in our relationship; one, because we love it and two, because it is necessary. Our immediate families live on separate continents, so each year, our vacation destinations are not elected, but rather dictated. Not terrible, but again, limited. Hence the decision to take a year to explore the world, on our terms, to the destinations that evoke our deepest curiosities and interests, and with our 3 small kiddos in towe!

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Who We Are

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Megan Virtanen

Megan hails from Michigan [but does NOT ‘Hail, Michigan’], United States. Megan’s passions lie in travel, food, new cultures and family.

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Jani Virtanen

Jani was born and raised in Finland. He speaks a variety of languages, is naturally curious, passionate about travel and loves the outdoors.

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Holland Virtanen

When Holland doesn’t have her nose in a book, you can find her snapping pictures or getting creative with a pen and paper.

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Stellen Virtanen

Stellen is loaded with curiosity and will ask you just about anything. He’s definitely a go-with-the-flow kinda guy that’s up for any activity.

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Crew Virtanen

The goofball of the bunch, Crew keeps us laughing with his funny faces and funny quips. Also a foodie like his mama, he can and will eat almost anything!

SOME INSIGHTS

Our Mission

In 2022, we left almost everything behind and set out to explore the world. Our mission was simple: to use travel as a way to learn and grow together as family.

Evoke Curiosity

Kids are naturally curious as they navigate and try to understand the world around them. What better way to feed that curiosity than through travel? What’s more, their curiosity is contagious, so be careful, they might pass some of it on to you!

Foster Growth

Any life experience can help you grow. But we believe travel is essential to growth because it builds a lot of skills all at once. It helps hone those essential life skills like self-awareness, tolerance, creativity and communication. And provides some amazing memories to boot!

Develop Appreciation

Living in the ‘burbs of a major US city, life can get rather homogenous. So, exposure to and acceptance of different cultures, lifestyles and points of view is what we continue to seek. Learning about and supporting local businesses, communities and history is paramount to anywhere we visit.

Be Ever Evolving

You’ve likely heard of home schooling, but what about world schooling? Traveling – in more ways than one – is better than school for kids…and us adults. Through real-life experiences, travel adds tangibility to what we learn about in school or what we discuss in the board room. This helps us develop as tiny humans and big humans.