A family that sold almost everything they owned the world said they were “tired of the work life of Western society.”
Emma, 34, and Joe, 33, gave up their house and property in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and flew to Central and South America with their 12-year-old daughter, Tilly.
After they quit Tilly, they began their adventures in January and planned to find a new country to settle.
Joe, who works as a mechanical engineer and technician in renewable energy, said: “We want Tilly to have relevant life skills and we think the world will teach her.
“Turning Tilly out of school was a logistical hurdle, but it was easy.
“The school has no arguments, they actually pushed this out and said, ‘We don’t blame you for doing what you are doing’.”
When she was used to using differential currencies, the family had learned Spanish and Tilly's math. Her parents said her confidence and cooking skills have also improved.
Joe added: “We’re traveling around the world and she’s involved in the logistics side – how we’re going to get from this country.”
Her mother, Emma, a former occupational therapist and assistant coach, added: “We don’t care much about her GCSES.
“A lot of people know that people who are not performing well with GCSE do well in their later lives. I haven't worked much.”
Joe added that the “life experience” would make Tilly more reliable, although she could “catch” the GCSES if she wanted to take the exam.
Two days after arriving in the country, Emma, Tilly and Joe [BBC]
After the start of their trip to Mexico, they moved to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, and then to Thailand.
At each location, they live in a hybrid of hotel and Airbnb accommodation, often negotiating cheaper prices in exchange for promotions on social media channels.
Emma said the family “studied the long-term rent of the base” which would be cheaper, but the visa had “complications”.
Joe added: “Tilly has started missing out on having a house, a routine road and friends, but we also think we don't know exactly to call home and the only way we're going to find is to keep traveling.”
Now, the family has made friends in the foreign community in Chiang Mai.
Emma said: “For me, travel is to get rid of the Western consumerist society, constantly working and grinding.
“I want to be with someone who just took root, too.
Joe added: “I want to get rid of ‘We need to make more money to buy bigger houses, we need to make more money to buy better cars, we need to buy more money to buy better clothes.”
Emma said Tilly's confidence has improved through interacting with locals in different countries [Smiths On Tour]
However, the trip was not smooth as they left Colombia for Thailand after witnessing a young girl being kidnapped at the gun.
They felt “non-secure in general” in South America and changed their plans to visit the mainland for about a year.
Joe said they visited Southeast Asia “quickly” and now “didn't know” when they will return to the UK to visit their oldest daughter and other family members.
Family wants a better work-life balance [Smiths On Tour]
Their 16-year-old moved in with her grandmother, “understanding” that her parents wanted to explore and travel as a teenager when she was born.
Joe and Emma resigned from work, resettled the family dog before leaving, and said some of their relatives worked hard to understand their decision.
“The older generations see it as 'you need to work on porting', and they don't really understand the technology and the different ways they work now,” Emma said.
The couple posted on social media about travel under the “Smith on the Tour” account.
“We're just a regular family from the UK and they're completely out of our comfort zone,” Joe said.
Listen to the highlights of highlights North Yorkshire BBC Soundcatch up with the latest Look North’s plot.
