The Family Sabbatical Handbook - can it be done?

When I first flipped through The Family Sabbatical Handbook: the budget guide to living abroad with your family by Elisa Bernick (The Intrepid Traveler; 2007), I immediately thought of Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud.


This book, The Family Sabbatical, would have been a real help to the mother in Hideous Kinky, who left her husband and took her two young children all over creation. I wonder how many families actually do what Bernick has done, besides Bradgelina of course. They have nannies. Is it actually possible to live abroad with children without scarring them for life?

From what I gather from Bernick's book, the key to successfully living abroad with your family is to put the family unit first. If the goal of your sabbatical is to forge stronger family bonds and create lasting memories and instill appreciation for other cultures, then that's gravy. I doubt this is the goal of most family vacations people have - usually the kids come with b/c the parents can't find or afford a babysitter for a week or two, and the end result is what usually happens when you are under pressure to have a 'perfect' family vacation.

B/c this book is so dedicated to strengthening the family unit, the practical advice on how to actually accomplish the family sabbatical has more credit in my books. Bernick explores all of the questions that would run through any parent's mind, all the worst-case scenarios, all the 'but what about fluffy?' obstacles and how you might approach them.

Equally important are her tips on how to deal with the people you will encounter who think that their way is the right way, and not only do they have opinions about you taking your family to say Mexico for a year, but they most likely have opinions about everything you do. In short, expect ignorance and platitudes and accusations of selfishness. Bernick offers some great suggestions for handling these sort of people.

I was impressed with the thorough nature of her 'countdown to departure' and checklists. There is so much to consider when planning to live abroad such as visas, vaccinations, health insurance, first aid kits, what to carry on the plane vs what to check. She covers all these details and more, including a whole chapter on how to finance your sabbatical and what the average household epenses would be in say, Mexico.

This book is what it claims to be - a handbook - and it is full of useful information. One thing it is lacking is more close-up vignettes of how living abroad affectd the family, but perhaps if it had more of these it would not be such a great handbook.