Category Travel guides

Blogs in this category relate to our travel and adventures as a family of five.

That encompasses our school bus conversion (“skoolie”) tour and travel in Europe. We started traveling in our skoolie, lovingly called the HildeBus, in May 2021 from Tampa, Florida. After 6 months on the road, we unexpectedly stopped full-time travel in October 2021 due to Eric’s surfing accident though we plan to continue travel recreationally soon.

During those 6 months of RVing in the United States, we drove from Florida roughly hugging the eastern coast. We traveled across 13 states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.

We discovered a love for slower pace (staying a few days to weeks in one location) and exploration, rather than long days of driving. We also grew closer as a family since we spent 100% of our days and nights together.

We knew we craved something different than what the traditional American dream had to offer, and we found it.

Is preschool in Sweden really cheaper than USA?

photo of a little girl playing on a Swedish playground. The sky is bright blue. There are pebbles in the play area. The playground has trees on the left.

In short, yes. We went from paying $1,200-$1,300 per month for 3 children in full time preschool in Tampa to 750 SEK (~$75) per month for 20 hours per week. In the USA, this did not include the additional costs of diapers, wipes, formula, meals or snacks. In Sweden, it does.