Slow Travel, New Horizons: Suzy May Teaches You to Worldschool Without Breaking the Bank

Slow Travel, New Horizons is sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions, keeping RV roofs protected on the road.

My Gut Answer Is Always Paris

Ask me where I’d go if I could leave tomorrow and the answer is out before I can think: Paris. I went once with a university class and a couple of professors who knew exactly what they were doing, and I’ve been hungry for that feeling ever since. But Rosewood would hijack the whole thing and redirect us to Tokyo — the art, the food, the street vendors, the museums. Tokyo is their Paris. So, I’d hand them the map and say, Let’s go.

The two of us have wanderlust so bad we could name a country and start packing tonight, but no real playbook for pulling it off. Maybe you’re the same. You know how to dump your tanks and boondock overnight at Walmart. But going overseas feels like a solving an obscure puzzle. Jennifer and I sat down with someone who’s already done the hard work.

What This Episode Is About

Suzy May of Wander WorldSchool has been basing her family out of Spain off and on for years, helping families plan and fund slow, long-term travel worldwide. We met at PodFest, and the second she said “I worldschool,” I knew our listeners needed to hear what she had to share.

This conversation is all about the mindset, the money, and the logistics of taking your travels global — without the seven-day-sprint price tag and hustle. We don’t hand you a rigid itinerary; we hand you the questions to ask and the confidence to start asking them.

Who This Episode Is For

This one’s for you if:

•        You travel with kids or teens and wonder whether worldschooling could actually work for your family

•        You’re a couple or solo traveler dreaming about a slower year somewhere far from home

•        You work remotely and keep hearing “digital nomad visa” without knowing what it means

•        You’re an empty-nester (or almost one) ready for a brand-new chapter

•        You’ve got the wanderlust but assume international travel is too expensive to touch

Spoiler: it applies to every one of you. This isn’t just a kids-in-the-rig conversation.

What You’ll Learn

Slow Travel Beats the Seven-Day Sprint

Here’s the reframe that runs through the whole episode: fast, jam-packed trips are usually the expensive ones. Eating out every meal, booking short stays at peak prices, coming home needing a vacation from your vacation. Slow travel is gentler on your wallet and your sanity. Suzy explains why burnout quietly ends most big trips and how slowing down keeps you out there longer.

The First Big Question: Bring the Rig or Take a Break From It?

Before anything else, Suzy says to answer one question: Do you want to recreate RV life abroad or take a break from the RV entirely? Your whole plan flows from there.

Neither one is “right.” Suzy walks through the trade-offs in the episode.

Visas Without the Panic

This is the part that scares people off, and it shouldn’t. Suzy breaks down the “Schengen shuffle,” the 90-days-in-180 rule for U.S. passport holders, and when a digital nomad visa is worth the paperwork versus when a plain tourist visa is plenty.

She’s quick to say she’s not a lawyer (and neither am I) but just knowing the vocabulary changes everything.

The Four Budget Buckets

When Suzy maps out money, it all comes down to four buckets:

1.     Accommodations

2.     Food

3.     Transportation

4.     Activities and schooling

Master those four and the “can we actually afford this?” question gets a lot less scary. She gets into real Spain numbers, including an amazingly affordable bus fare that makes daily travel super accessible.

Free or Nearly Free Places to Stay

One of the biggest levers is housing, and Suzy is a huge fan of Trusted House Sitters. She even shares how families can use it, which I did not know and Jennifer said may genuinely change her life. Want to rent out your own place while you’re gone? She’s got a resource for that, too.

Prepping Your People

Culture shock, jet lag, and food allergies are real. Between Jennifer’s family and mine, we’ve navigated the gluten thing across more menus than I can count. We swap our favorite tricks for landing in a new country and still being able to actually enjoy the local cuisine instead of melting down on day one. Rosewood’s culture-prep training before their TAP trip to Jamaica comes up, too.

Ready to Dive Deeper?

If this episode lit a little fire under you, good. Here’s where to go next:

•        Start with Suzy at suzymaywander.com and her podcast, Wander WorldSchool.

•        Grab her eBook on renting out your house, her monthly expense tracker, and more at beacons.ai/suzymaywander.

•        Don’t miss Suzy’s Tanzania episode to learn more about the global angle and Suzy’s top destination wish.

•        Curious about house sitting? Explore Trusted House Sitters.

•        Need to fund the dream? Read Make Money on the Road.

•        Join the free Roadschooling Facebook Group.

•        Jump into the Great American RV Scavenger Hunt for summer fun while you plan.

•        Follow Suzy on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Substack.

And for everything else RV, learntorv.com is your home base.

Where to Listen and How to Connect

Catch this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and everywhere else podcasts are streamed.

Dreaming about taking your travels global or have a tip we missed? Email us at learntorv@gmail.com. Join our free Learn To RV: The Community on Facebook, follow @LearnToRV on Instagram, and explore more at learntorvthepodcast.com.

And if you’re ready to go deeper into the community, the Campfire Crew is waiting for you on Patreon — early access, bonus content, and the first seven days are free. Or just drop us a tip at Buy Me a Coffee. ☕

Pick Your Point on the Map

Listen. Your dream isn’t as far away as it feels. You don’t have to ship a rig across an ocean or have it all figured out right now. You just have to pick a point on the map, slow down, and start asking better questions. Maybe your gut answer is Paris, like mine. Maybe it’s Tokyo, or Tanzania, or a tiny second-tier town nobody’s heard of yet. Wherever it is, it’s allowed to be real.

Share this one with the friend who keeps saying “someday.” Subscribe, share learntorvthepodcast.com, and leave a review. The road is better when we travel together — even when the road runs so far away from home.

This Episode Is Sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions

Before you park the rig and chase a new horizon, make sure it’s protected while you’re gone. RV Roofing Solutions is a nationwide mobile company with professional installers who come to you, fitting a maintenance-free roof system you simply wash twice a year. Give them a call at 888-847-7010 or visit rvroofingsolutions.com.

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