The Bucket List Family: A Life Spent in Wonder
Everyday explorers sharing their story of trading stability for experience, and transforming a young family into global storytellers.
Since August 2015, the Gee family have shared their journey with openness and a sense of purpose. What began as a one-way ticket out of routine became a nomadic life marked by oceans, cities, and wildlife encounters, all documented for millions of viewers. This is a story of a family that chose the world as their home, with no roadmap except curiosity and commitment.
At-a-Glance:
Web Name: The Bucket List Family
Name: Garrett & Jessica Gee, Dorothy, Manilla & Calihan
Generation: Millennials
FI status: Publicly identified as financially independent
Travel type: Flights, vehicles, boats, remote stays
Travel Regions: Global: 90+ countries across all continents
Media Platforms: Website, YouTube, Instagram, Podcast
Backstory:
Before embarking on their nomadic lifestyle, Garrett and Jessica Gee led what might seem like a textbook young professional life. Garrett, having co-founded and sold a mobile scanning app to a major tech company, found himself with the resources to pause and reflect on what truly mattered. Jessica, equally driven and curious, balanced practicality with an eye for storytelling. Their early days were filled with intense discussions around priorities and possibilities. They sold most of their belongings and began their journey with just a few suitcases and open minds. What made their story compelling from the outset was their choice to go public: not to build a brand, initially, but to create a digital family diary. That instinct would become the foundation of something larger than they imagined. This was not about escaping life, but rather leaning into it more fully, with children in tow and the world as a classroom.
The Shift:
The Gee family’s pivot was grounded in purpose rather than spontaneity. For Garrett and Jessica, financial independence meant time: time to be present with their children, time to learn together, time to rewrite what their days looked like. Their shift came from questioning a conventional timeline. What if education wasn’t bound to a classroom? What if work didn’t require an office? What if memories were the actual return on investment? Their first few months on the road were experimental, testing how they’d adapt to unfamiliar places, how their children would respond to constant change, and how their roles within the family would evolve. Slowly, these travels became a way of life. As their digital presence grew, they were conscious of keeping it authentic: the joy and the messiness, the connection and the fatigue. They began to craft a new rhythm, rooted in values, shaped by movement.
How They Made It Work:
Early resources allowed the Gees to begin without immediate financial pressure, but what followed was far from leisurely. They structured their travel around a media workflow. Garrett leaned into his skills in photography and video editing, transforming raw experience into visual narratives. Jessica anchored the planning: destinations, partnerships, brand alignment, and the family’s travel pace. They didn’t chase growth for its own sake. Instead, they built deliberately: launching a podcast, offering exclusive travel content via memberships, and publishing a family travel guidebook with National Geographic. Each venture echoed their ethos: to educate, inspire, and share without glamourising or distorting the reality of travelling with kids. Their model grew organically, shaped by trust and feedback from a large, loyal following. It’s not just income they’ve created, but a platform that continues to evolve as their family does.
Where They Travel & Why:
The Bucket List Family’s travels have taken them across continents, but the thread running through their choices is clear: experiences that invite learning, connection, and wonder. They’ve snorkelled with whales in Tonga, explored desert landscapes in the Middle East, and gone on wildlife safaris in Africa. Each destination is chosen with care, often to coincide with key developmental moments for their children or family-wide goals such as environmental awareness or cultural appreciation. The family prioritises locations that encourage them to slow down, engage deeply, and step outside predictable paths. They seek authenticity rather than perfection, often staying in places where they can contribute to or learn from the local community. This kind of intentional travel requires flexibility and research, which Jessica manages with precision. Their geography is broad, but their motivations are focused: to nurture curiosity and strengthen their family bond.
Challenges & Real Talk:
Travelling full-time with three young children is not without friction. The Gees have spoken candidly about moments of burnout, particularly when balancing content creation with parenting and logistics. Homeschooling on the move presents both opportunity and complexity: access to materials, internet connection, and the emotional demands of switching between teacher and parent. Packing light requires thoughtfulness, and the emotional toll of constant movement means that not every destination is easy to leave or enter. They’ve taken pauses, especially during seasons of transition such as adding another child or navigating global restrictions. The purchase and renovation of a home in Hawaii signalled their desire for a home base: not to stop travelling, but to travel differently. It gave them space to reflect and recalibrate, proving that adventure and stability can coexist.
What Keeps Them Going:
At the heart of their continued journey is a belief that the world has more to teach than any one institution or schedule. Their children are not only students but participants, helping to plan routes, carry gear, and choose activities. There are small, unplanned moments that the family values most: watching sea turtles hatch, cooking with locals, or simply being present without screens. Garrett and Jessica are guided by a sense of stewardship: over their children’s upbringing, over their audience’s trust, and over the opportunities they’ve been afforded. They’re aware that their story is both unique and instructive. They’re motivated not by novelty but by meaning: can this next place deepen our connection to each other and the planet?
Advice to Readers:
Jessica often shares that involving children in the process makes travel more meaningful. Let them pack their bags, select destinations, or plan parts of the itinerary. She advises families to manage expectations: not every moment will be magical, but many will be memorable. The family recommends starting small with weekend trips, national parks, or nearby cities, before taking on longer journeys. Their focus isn’t on ticking off countries, but on noticing moments. (Bucket list ‘not equal’ ticking off). They also stress the importance of planning downtime, not just activities. And when travel feels hard, they remind readers that challenge is part of the reward: resilience is built, not found.
Links to More:
Website: https://www.thebucketlistfamily.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebucketlistfamily
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebucketlistfamily
Disclaimer: Income, income streams and financial independence details & status are drawn exclusively from publicly available sources. No inference, harm, or misrepresentation is intended toward any individual or entity.
