A family from Oklahoma decided to pack up and relocate abroad with their four children, feeling that the moment was right to make a change.
Rachel, 29, and Ethan Edwards, 33, were living in a four-bedroom house in Tulsa, managing daily responsibilities like bill payments and school runs for their kids until recently.
The idea of traveling had always been on their minds, but the demands of family life had previously taken precedence. However, recent developments led them to reconsider their circumstances.
Rachel, who worked in mortgage and loan services, cited several reasons for their decision to move, including the re-election of President Donald Trump and increasing living expenses.
She mentioned the division within their community, stating: “If you are walking around with a red hat on, you get people being mean to you; if you have a Kamala ticket on your car you get it keyed. You are targeted on your beliefs, everyone is so stressed out because we are all living through the same crisis.
“Everyone is suffering from the cost of living.”
The escalation in property taxes and insurance had significantly increased the couple’s expenses, resulting in them spending ‘$3k a month on basic housing costs’.
“It was one of those situations, where after everything was paid, we didn’t have much money left – we weren’t saving a thing,” Rachel shared.
“We felt like we were working ourselves to death and having nothing to show for it. We were afraid we were one problem away from going bankrupt, or not being able to pay for the house – it was terrifying.”
While financial pressures were a primary motivator, Rachel also expressed concerns about the education system in Oklahoma, where new social studies guidelines might prompt high schoolers to discuss ‘discrepancies’ in the 2020 election.
Rachel elaborated: “Oklahoma schools [are] to teach pupils that the 2020 election was stolen and Trump won. I don’t say this lightly, but we did not want to raise white supremacists; we wanted our children to see the world.”
She continued, “We didn’t want them to think that just because they are born with that privilege, they are better than everyone else,” adding that the mindset of entitlement based on race was not what she wanted for her children.
With aspirations for a fulfilling life, Rachel and Ethan decided to sell their home, pack their things, and head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 7.
Their itinerary includes staying in Malaysia through September, followed by a move to Thailand, with the ultimate goal of establishing residency in a place quite unlike the US.
“There have definitely been some recent political events that led us to feel there was no better time to leave than now,” Rachel remarked.
Presently, the family is spending $700 on housing and $200 on international health insurance.
“We have loved every minute of being here, we feel comfortable raising our kids here,” Rachel concluded.