Couple gave up corporate rat race to travel the world with their kids

Many people dream of traveling the world but the Gee family — better known as the Bucket List Family — is actually doing it, and with three young kids in tow, no less.

Their journey started in August 2015 after Garrett Gee sold an app he’d co-created to Snapchat (earning the founders a reported $54 million dollars, according to CNBC).

He and wife Jessica thought about what they wanted to do next. The answer was to travel.

But rather than go on luxury trips, they decided to sell all of their belongings for around $50,000, according to Forbes, and used that income to fund their travels, while investing the money they’d earned in the app sale.

They decided to embark on a six-month trip around the world, with their two young children at the time, Dorothy and Manilla.

That turned into years of traveling — and a third baby, Calihan — with their popular blog, Instagram (which has 1.7 million followers), and YouTube channel earning them enough to continue to support their globetrotting.

“Our families were treating us like it was some crazy idea to sell our house, all of our belongings, put everything we own into two pieces of luggage and then just leave home for a trip around the world,” Garrett tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

But that didn’t stop them. “From the beginning, [travel] was my passion in life,” Garrett says. “And by the time I was 15, I had probably traveled to maybe 16 countries, and I just loved the influence it’s had on my life. And so it became something I always wanted for my own children someday.”

Now the Gee family has traveled to more than 70 countries with their three young children, documenting their journeys with beautiful photographs from all over the world.

In their travels, they’ve also learned that “bucket list” is mainly an American term.

“But it’s cool because we’ve also been able to educate and teach different cultures around the world what is a bucket list about and what that means as far as motivation and inspiration to live life to the fullest.”

Even though the family is often in different places around the world each week, they are “together as a family 24/7,” Garrett says.

“And as a father, that’s honestly one of the things I’m just most grateful for.”

“We’re watching our kids grow up and hit these milestones in the most epic places. And I was super proud of us for doing something so unique,” Jessica added.

The experience has been invaluable for their children, filling their days with “adventure” and doing “amazing things,” notes Jessica. Garrett says it’s all played out almost like a children’s book: “Each night we tell them a story, like, ‘We’re going on an airplane, we’re going to get to this new country, there’s going to be these cool animals.”

While the Gee family realises they initially captured media attention for being millionaires who sold all of their belongings, the family, who does charity work all over the world, believes people have continued to follow them “to see good and spread good throughout the world.”

Although traveling has been life-changing for the Bucket List Family, they don’t tell people to sell everything and travel the world like they did, noting that you can still gain great experiences with your family even if you stick close to home.

“Get out of your comfort zone and go do really cool things together with your family,” Garrett said.

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