While most people settle down after having children, one couple has gone the other way and uprooted their little ones for a life on the road. Mum-of-six Heather Tranello, 34, and her husband Jonathan, 34, from Maryland, America, realised in 2019 they'd never travelled out of state - and wanted to change that before it was too late.
They bought a $50,000 (£40,365) RV and have been travelling non-stop for two years - with their kids Hazel, 13, Rosalie, 12, Sylvia, seven, Nora, six, Eli, five, and four-year-old Vera. Since starting out on their adventure, the family-of-eight have visited 43 out of 50 states and 40 out of 63 national parks. Heather home schools their six children on the road - and she says they can’t imagine ever settling down in a brick house again.
She said: "Jonathan and I started dating when we were young teens and always knew we wanted a big family when we got older.
"In 2019, we started thinking about buying a bigger house for our family but since we hadn’t really travelled much out of our state and area, we wanted to see what else was out there.
"We dreamed about life on the road and thought it would be a great way to experience travel as a family. We knew it could work and decided to take the plunge instead of buying a bigger house.
"When we set out on the road, my main goal was to see as many states and national parks as possible while hopefully stumbling on a place that felt like home.
"So far we haven’t found that place but truly love the travel life."
"At this point we can’t really imagine settling down anywhere, but we’re always open to any possibility in the future."
Heather and Jonathan sold their house in Maryland for around $224,000 in July 2020.
Then going out on a whim, the couple purchased a 12-person passenger van in 2019 to drive around in as a family and then, their RV on New Year’s Day 2020 for $50,000.
They officially set off on the road in August 2020.
They'd previously owned and renovated a travel trailer which they’d bought for $20,000 (£16,238) before selling for $27,000 (£21,921) and going on to purchase the RV.
Inside their RV home, the large living area is the biggest space in the house with a TV media wall and sofas to lounge on.
In the kitchen, there’s a double fridge, a central island and cupboard space as well as all the typical amenities including microwave, fridge, freezer, working sink and an oven.
The eldest two daughters turn the living room into their bedroom, while the rest of the kids are separated into pairs, with one room having space for a double bunk bed.
There’s also a dining area for the family to enjoy meals, a master bedroom with a double bed and a small bathroom with a fully working sink, toilet and shower.
Heather said: "The first few months were tough. It was difficult to transition from a big space to a small space and we hadn’t gotten rid of enough of our stuff. We still had too much stuff for the space but by the third month, we had the hang of things."
In January 2022, the family headed to Blue Springs State Park in Florida to see the manatees, then in February spent time in Louisiana before celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Then they visited Nebraska, California, the Channel Islands and Yosemite, as well as Waterton Lakes in Alberta Canada before feeding sea lions in Alaska.
Heather, who used to be a librarian, home schools all six of her children who are in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd grade, 6th grade, and 8th grade. While Jonathan, a data analyst, works remotely.
She explained: "We have a formal curriculum and learn on the road and by visiting national parks.
"The younger ones are learning their basics and the older ones are diving deeper. I keep them up to public school standards with maths, reading and English, the other subjects are at will.
"My kids ask questions so we’re always learning. They’ve recently been interested in tornadoes, waterspouts, and whirlpools, so we follow that until they want to learn something else. I have a feeling clouds and the weather are next.
"My oldest kids have a curriculum and workbooks to follow. We learn in nature and do the Junior ranger programs at National Parks.
"Heather says RV life isn’t a cheaper way of living and 2022 was their most expensive year yet as they travelled more than 20,000 miles."
The biggest factor in their cost of living is fuel and their next big expense is campground fees. They try to stay within their Thousand Trails membership. If they pay to stay somewhere else, it is around $50 to $90 (£40 to £73) a night.
But the mum-of-six says it isn’t about saving money or living cheaper for them, it’s more about the experiences their children will have.
Heather said: "This year was our most expensive year yet and totally worth it since we drove up to Alaska and flew our family to Hawaii for a month.
"It cost around $1,358 (£1,104) a month which is more than what our mortgage was for our house. Our cheapest month was $86 (£69) and mostly thousand trails. It is what you make of it.
"Some people change to this lifestyle to try to save money and sometimes it works, other times people end up spending even more than in a sticks and bricks home.
"For us it was never about saving money or living cheaper.
"As for other bills, they no longer pay electricity, water, property taxes or a mortgage. But they have their RV loan payment, phones, internet, car insurance as well as Netflix and Spotify."
Heather admits they did get some negative feedback when they first announced their decision to try life on the road.
A lot of friends told them they were crazy especially as no one in their families had ever been in an RV before. But criticism mostly stopped once friends saw their RV.
Heather said: “We did get some negative feedback. A lot of, ‘you’re crazy’, though some were more lighthearted than others.
"Mostly it was a lot of questions because we don’t know anyone who has ever done this before. In fact, no one in our family had ever even been in an RV before including us.
"Once we explained it all and people got a chance to see it some of the criticisms stopped.
"Other people just weren’t happy for us and made that clear. Some people still haven’t cared to see our RV and don’t seem interested when we share places or what we’re doing.
"That’s totally fine though. We’ve been so happy and it’s truly the best decision we've ever made so at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter.
"As a couple, Heather and Jonathan are less stressed and they are always together. They make time for each other after bedtime and often have 'date nights'."
The kids are separated into pairs and have a steady routine of getting into pyjamas, brushing teeth, reading a book, then bed.
Their days are usually filled with school work, playtime and exploring. Sometimes they have beach days and even see dolphins.
Once they’ve finished seeing all the states, the family wants to start travelling the world.
Heather said: "Jonathan and I are always together which might stress some couples out but it’s how we do best.
"We make time for ourselves and we don’t have to try to figure out how to juggle work schedules, babysitters, and busy schedules.
"The kids have a regular routine. Having them split into different sleeping spots seems to have helped a lot.
"Once we finish seeing all of the states we’d love to travel internationally. I haven’t started planning that dream yet but it’s one I’d love to see become reality for us in the future."
They share their travels as a family of eight on their Instagram page The Wandering Eight.
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
