wow! 8 years and a family of 5 in a truck camper!

[gitpicker2009]

What an education it must have been, traveling around the country!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3797620/Never-ending-vacation-California-family-five-spends-eight-years-road-traveling.html

[Campfire_Time]

I don't think there is a pat answer to this. As suggested above, define normal. One of the biggest arguments against home schooling is the lack of social interaction with other kids. And yet of those people I know who were home schooled are far more socially adept than most people who were raised "normal".

And the advantage these kids in the story have is they will have seen more, and experience more, by the time they are adults than most people ever see or experience in their entire lives. I know lots of folks who were raised "normal" and have never been farther than the outskirts of their own city. The sad part about that is that they don't have a clue what's outside their own little world.

[azrving]

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[burningman]

I grew up moving all the time. It sucked. Every time I finally had friends and knew my way around a little, we moved, I lost all my friends and I had to be the new strange kid again.
I lived in Hawaii for a while as a little kid but don't even remember it.

[azrving]

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[Grit_dog]

jimh425 wrote:

MNGeeks61 wrote:
I'm guessing you are joking.

Quite a few military families (including my father's) moved around and didn't experience a "normal" life. Nor could I have consistent friends because we moved every 3 years.

Nope, not joking.

BTW, moving every 3 years is not the same as never staying in the same place for more than a few weeks in locations with almost no kids the same age as you. I do suppose the devil is in the details. I know a lot of military brats who enjoyed being in different parts of the country/world but felt that every 3 years was too often to move. I can't imagine moving every week or two to see the country.

Jim, you're spot on. Until recently, we've moved every 2-3 years. Now the kids are middle school age and their priorities begin to matter.....a little.
I can see the pluses of big family adventures and experiences, but that was over the top.
Sure there's worse ways to be raised, neglect, abuse, etc, but never being able to make any lasting connections except with your immediate family is more than a bit incestuous.
Think Alaskan bush people, but with a job. Those kids turned out alright.......not.
Looks like they're going back to normal now, which is good for the kids and will likely turn out to be good overall.

[jimh406]

MNGeeks61 wrote:
I'm guessing you are joking.

Quite a few military families (including my father's) moved around and didn't experience a "normal" life. Nor could I have consistent friends because we moved every 3 years.

Nope, not joking.

BTW, moving every 3 years is not the same as never staying in the same place for more than a few weeks in locations with almost no kids the same age as you. I do suppose the devil is in the details. I know a lot of military brats who enjoyed being in different parts of the country/world but felt that every 3 years was too often to move. I can't imagine moving every week or two to see the country.

[MNGeeks61]

jimh425 wrote:
I think it's horrible that the kids didn't get to experience a normal life and have consistent friends. At least, they were small kids and only recently switched to a popup. If you read the article their primary rv until recently was an Airstream trailer.

I'm guessing you are joking.

Quite a few military families (including my father's) moved around and didn't experience a "normal" life. Nor could I have consistent friends because we moved every 3 years.

Frankly, I wouldn't change a thing. Living on an island? Check. Visiting various places like Alaska or Hawaii? Check. Now I can go back to these places as an adult and see what's changed. But having that experience in the first place was awesome.

It's actually one of the things that encouraged my wife and I to camp and RV 🙂

[jimh406]

I think it's horrible that the kids didn't get to experience a normal life and have consistent friends. At least, they were small kids and only recently switched to a popup. If you read the article their primary rv until recently was an Airstream trailer.

[d3500ram]

That's awesome! Memories the kids will have for the rest of their lives. I am thankful I was able traverse the country a few times when I was a kid but that is nothing compared to those adventures!