A globe-trotting couple who quit their jobs to travel the world with their young child met just five years ago on Tinder.
Ex-doctor Jenna Carr, 33, and Joao Paias, 34, met on the dating app in 2017 while she was on holiday in his native Portugal and fell in love over their shared passion for travel.
Before the birth of their son Leo, aged three, the couple had travelled across Portugal and the UK, as well as France and Switzerland before jetting over to Asia and visiting the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bali.
Fast forward a few years and they now travel across the world with their three-year-old son Leo Carr-Paia, born on March 15, 2019.
Since being a family of three, the couple realised that they could do everything they did before - just with a baby along for the journey too.
Over the years the family have travelled to, Portugal, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, USA and the Bahamas.
Jenna said: "Our intention was to have a happier life and spend more time together, we were doing what everyone does and spending our life working.
"We thought this is not how we would envision our life going - now we are winging it and are happy with how things are going at the moment.
"There is no guidebook or something to look to for advice."
They have been travelling around the world as a family since visiting the USA. Bahamas, Paris and Italy.
Jenna and Joao launched their website thetravelmum in February 2022 and are now focused on growing the site and ensuring its success.
Jenna said: "Our focus has been on increasing our income and continuing with this lifestyle.
"I quit my job in February 2022 and Joao continued to work and we got to the point where he could quit his job too.
"Since May we have both been unemployed and trying to make money through social media, a lot of our focus has been on that.
"Every month we need to make sure we have a brand deal in place or make sure the website memberships are sustainable.
"It is fun, we don't know how long it is going to last but we can make it our full-time thing, we are just going with the flow."
For now, Jenna, Joao and Luca are back in the UK, before jetting off to Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Luca has just started nursery and Jenna and Joao are starting IVF next month to grow their family.
Jenna said that Luca loves travelling but it settling into life at nursery.
She added: "We have been travelling with him since he was a baby, he loves travelling, he is much more content travelling.
"He is a lot easier when we are travelling and we are busy doing things. He is not used to being somewhere for a certain time or getting up at a certain time so we have had some nightmares.
"We are possibly considering home education, there are a lot of pros and cons to doing it.
"Ultimately we want to do what is right for him, he is currently at nursery three days a week, we are trying to have the balance between stability and travel."
While Jenna starts her IVF treatment, instead of travelling for months at a time, the family will be going on mini adventures with the first on to Milan.
Her top five tips for travelling on a budget include;
- Pack light by using a rucksack as your free personal item so you don't have to pay extra for checked-in luggage.
- Travel mid-week when flights are less in demand and therefore cheaper.
- Travel off-season - April to May and September to October usually still have great weather with massively reduced prices compared to summer months.
- Use flight and hotel comparison sites to look for the best deals - package deals are often more expensive than doing it yourself.
- Look for rooms with a kitchenette and a nearby supermarket - a bit of effort making a meal or two can save you a lot of money.
