'We quit our jobs and sold our house to travel the world with the kids'

The Hutchinson family left the UK in May 2023 and say they have never looked back

A couple who "risked it all" by quitting their jobs and selling their home to travel the world with their three children said the adventure had saved them as a family.

Chris and Tamira Hutchinson were "living from pay cheque to pay cheque" and barely spent any time together at home in Corby, Northamptonshire.

They sold their three-bedroom house almost two years ago and drove straight to the airport to start their new life with their three daughters, Olivia, 10, Scarlett, eight, and Bella, four.

"As a family, we were pretty much broken. But now we are living our dream," Chris says.

The Hutchinsons say they never had quality time together in the UK because the parents had to work so many hours to pay the bills

Despite working "every hour under the sun" – Chris as a personal trainer and Tamira as a swimming teacher - they could not keep up with the cost of living in the UK.

"We went down to one car, we got rid of Sky TV, we didn't go on holiday but the bills kept going up and up," says Tamira.

"We only ate together as a family once a month because we didn't get time. We were just working to make ends meet."

It was during Covid that they first talked about selling up and travelling the world.

"We had a chance to breathe and we realised we didn't want to go back to the life we were living," Chris says.

The couple put their house up for sale in 2022 but it took longer to sell than they anticipated and they nearly backed out of the plan. When it finally sold in May 2023, they drove straight to Heathrow.

"Our last night in the house, we were all on the floor because we had sold all our furniture," says Chris.

"We didn't have the money to book our flights until we got the cash from the house, so we went to a hotel near Heathrow and booked flights to Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia].

"It was a huge risk. We thought it might not work and we might want to go home, but we've never looked back."

'We accidentally became famous in China'

The family became famous in China after posting about their travels in the country on social media

Chris taught himself videography before they left so he could document their travels on social media, which has turned into their biggest source of income.

"We were already making videos about family life, but we didn't have a huge amount of followers," the 36-year-old explains. "We had 7,000 subscribers on YouTube but now we have 100,000, and we had about 12,000 on TikTok whereas now we have 250,000."

After exploring Malaysia, they went to Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar.

The Hutchinsons say they dreamed of one day seeing the Great Wall of China

It was during their trip to China that their social media "blew up" and the family "accidentally became famous" in the country.

One video they made about their drinks being dropped off by a drone received eight million views on TikTok.

They also saw a huge growth on Chinese social media platforms, where they have over one million followers and their videos reach tens of millions of views.

'It hasn't all been plain sailing'

The family say they have no plans to return to the UK - unless their daughters ask about it

The couple say the trip has been "incredible", but there have inevitably been tough times.

Tamira got dengue fever in Thailand, their family credit card got swallowed by a machine in Vietnam and all five of them got a sickness bug while staying in a hostel in the Philippines.

"Another difficult time was when we got lost in China. We were walking round with all our possessions in the early hours of the morning and our phone maps didn't work. But we eventually found our hotel and we can laugh about it now," Tamira says.

They have based themselves on the Malaysian island of Penang for the last few months, where their daughters, who are home schooled by Tamira, are "thriving".

"They are learning about different cultures, currencies, languages and how to get around," Chris says.

"All three of them have always been 110% on board with this idea, but if they ever changed their minds and wanted to go home, we would listen to them.

"They have grown in confidence so much and they make friends wherever they go. There are a lot of digital nomad families travelling round, who are working remotely."

'I can't see that we will ever go home'

The family say they have loved every moment and rise to the challenges

The Hutchinsons say they have got the next five years planned out, with trips to Dubai, Australia, India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia on the cards this year.

They might also go back to the UK briefly, but they have no plans at the moment to return permanently, because their "quality of life is so much better now".

The couple receive lots of messages asking for advice and say they hope to inspire other parents.

"It's not flowers all the time but if you're a person who enjoys a challenge and enjoys spending time with your family, go for it. You will never know until you try," Tamira says.

"It was a dream and we made it happen," Chris adds. "As a family we have loved every moment and we have risen to the challenges."

The family say they want to inspire others to go for it and travel