Summer used to mean camp spreadsheets, childcare patchwork, and parents squeezing in work whenever possible. It rarely felt like summer, more like survival.
In this Toolkit Series episode of the New Modern Mom Podcast, host Barbara Mighdoll returns to one of the most popular topics, how to plan a working family summer abroad. This time, she’s joined by Maddy Novich (@CargoBikeMomma), professor and NYC mom of three, whose family has spent six summers in Europe with their kids enrolled in local camps.
Together, Barbara and Maddy break down the real playbook for making a European summer possible with kids, work, and a realistic budget. From choosing the right destination to vetting camps, navigating true costs, and using home exchanges to save thousands, they share the systems and shortcuts that make it doable, not just dreamy.
If you’ve ever wondered how to trade the summer scramble for a season that feels lighter, fuller, and actually fun, this episode will show you how to make it happen.
🌍 Destination vs. Camp First
Do you pick your European destination first, or lock in the camp before anything else? Maddy and Barbara explain why both approaches work and how your priorities, whether cultural immersion, convenience, or housing availability, can help guide the decision.
“I have let the camps dictate where we go for the summer, and I’ve also picked where we want to be, like Barcelona or Amsterdam, and then found camps locally. There is no wrong answer.” – Maddy Novich
📋 Non-Negotiables Checklist
Every family has a different must-have list, but Barbara and Maddy break down the essentials that can make or break your summer abroad. Think walkability or bikeability, healthcare access, coworking spaces, playgrounds, and proximity to groceries and public transit.
“The destination has to be accessible. I have to be able to get around on foot, by bike, or public transit. It also has to have basic things like convenient groceries and near-by hospitals, because I have three kids.” – Maddy Novich
🔍 Research Shortcuts
Don’t waste hours scrolling. Use proven shortcuts to find the right destinations and camps faster. From YouTube videos and Instagram reels to expat Facebook groups and international schools, these hacks give you reliable, on-the-ground insights.
“Google Maps is my secret weapon. I’ll check for coworking spaces, grocery stores, and especially playgrounds — because if it’s just one playground with a sad slide instead of a real full playground, I know it’s not going to be the right spot for us.” – Barbara Mighdoll
💶 Camp Costs Made Simple
How much do European summer camps actually cost? Barbara and Maddy share the real numbers and comparisons to U.S. camps. Spoiler: the savings are significant!
“In Krakow, camp was something like $240 for full-time care including three catered meals. In the U.S., I just paid $100 a day per kid for two weeks of camp. The difference is wild.” – Maddy Novich
🏠 The Housing Hack
The secret to making an extended stay affordable? Home exchanges. Maddy reveals how swapping homes with other families saves thousands, puts you in kid-friendly houses, and even gives you built-in local tips on babysitters and activities.
“The housing we would’ve spent over nine weeks in Europe was about $30,000. Instead, we spent $235 on a HomeExchange membership. That’s the budget.” – Maddy Novich
This episode is perfect for moms searching for:
→ How to plan a European summer abroad with kids while working remote
→ Choosing the right destination and camp for your family
→ What to expect with European kids’ camp costs vs. U.S. camps
→ Research shortcuts for finding safe, English-speaking camps abroad
→ Home exchange tips for affordable, family-friendly housing in Europe
→ Vetting camps with confidence: safety, communication, and reviews
Listen now and walk away with a clear roadmap for planning a European summer abroad with kids that actually works.
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[00:00:00] Hi everyone. Welcome to the toolkit series from the new Modern Mom podcast. I'm thrilled to bring you this bonus series in between seasons. Each episode will be a quick, actionable deep dive into some of the most important themes from season one, plus some new topics that I know are very top of mind. For all of us busy, ambitious moms, my goal is to help you build the tools you need so they're ready and waiting in your toolkit, the ones you're going to reach for to calm the chaos of career and motherhood. Today's conversation is a continuation of a topic that quickly became one of my most listened to episodes on how to send your kids to summer camp in Europe while continuing to work remote. If you haven't listened yet, it was released back in May and is a great intro to how to make this happen for your family. On today's episode, we're equipping you with the insights to confidently vet destinations and camps in Europe. I was originally going to record this on my own, but then I met Maddie Novi over the summer. [00:01:00] Maddie is known for being a big cargo bike, New York City mom for sending her kids to summer camp in Europe, and overall having an adventurous but very thoughtful style of living her life. We originally connected on Instagram when we realized we both had chosen to spend our summers in the same way and quickly had a lot of back and forth dms sharing our experiences, Welcome, Maddie. I am so excited to have you here today. Thank you, Barbara. I am so excited to be here. I cannot wait to share my experiences. Amazing. So I'm bringing you on to the toolkit series as what I would consider a summer camp abroad expert. And for the sake of time, we are going to jump right in. So today, Maddie and I are going to cover three important topics that answer the question. How do I even begin planning for a trip like this? We're going to discuss destination selection, camp selection, housing, and of course we're also going to touch on budget, which is very important. [00:02:00] So Maddie, let's start with the biggest question when it comes to where to begin, kind of a chicken or the egg scenario, do you think about deciding on your destination first or your summer camp first? Great question. I have done both. So I have let the camps, dictate where we go for the summer. And I've also picked where we wanna be, like say Barcelona or Amsterdam, and then found camps locally. There is no wrong answer. I think it really just depends on what you want from your vacation. Do you want an urban vacation? Do you want a beach vacation? Because a lot of these. bigger cities or even, smaller cities will have camp options. And so when you think about that first inkling of your destination list, do you just have like a big spreadsheet of like, here's my bucket list of places I wanna go. Do you have like a saved folder in like reels or TikTok? how do you build that list? So that's a another really good question. I actually now started an Excel spreadsheet of camps that I have come across. [00:03:00] It's great to then reference, right. And the way that we travel, which I know we'll touch on budget, is we do these home exchanges. So a lot of the way that our camp selection is guided is actually where we can get free housing through the home swaps, And then once we find our house, then we will deep dive for camps. and oftentimes we're in big places like Barcelona or Amsterdam or Valencia, and there's camps already running. So that's kind of how I've done it. I have this long spreadsheet that is continuing to be built and added to. and I'll kind of look from there and see where I wanna go. I love that we're having this conversation because we have such different approaches to how we do this. Because for me, I feel like my husband and I constantly are getting targeted. our feeds on Instagram are just like all of these fun places in Europe to go. And so we were like, oh, we wanna go to Sardinia, we wanna go to Croatia, we wanna go here, we wanna go there. And that's kind of how we start building our destination list. And then we kind of go a level lower, which are like, okay, do these destinations have our non-negotiables? And so I'm curious, what are your three non-negotiables when it comes to choosing a destination for your family? So I have very minimal non-negotiables.[00:04:00] The destination has to be accessible. I have to be able to get around the destination on foot by bike or public transit. We are a non-driving family and we prefer not to take cars. So It has to be easy to get around. Number two is it has to have the basic things that I need, right? It has to have groceries that are open frequently. It has to have hospitals. We ended up in the ER this summer, which is a whole other story. So it's sort of basic caretaking because I have three kids . And then the last one is I need to be able to get there fairly easily . So that's it, right? Those are our non-negotiables. And so the rest of it is, I'm very open-minded and totally excited to have different ideas of where, people suggest for us to go. Well, I think that first one being. A walkable city or a bikeable city it is Europe, so a lot of places do kind of qualify for that, but that probably removes maybe more rural areas that don't have public transportation for us I would say we have a bit more specific non-negotiables, and I think maybe it goes back to how we're letting like the destination almost.
[00:05:00] Dictate our summer, we're really looking for a little bit of a different lifestyle than what we currently have, and also a lot of the same things that like are the comforts of home. So we definitely prefer like a medium sized city. nothing super, super tiny. We also would love, walkability, public transportation, but we're not anti-car. Even this past summer when we were in Nice, we had a car because the camp our kids were going to, would've taken like 45 minutes on public transportation. So we're like, that's okay, we'll have a car. We also look for like coworking spaces. We want cities that have playgrounds and we really like being by body of water. So like Sea, ocean, river Lake. We don't just wanna pool. And then, I don't know even how you characterize this, and I'm sure you're looking for the same thing, but there's like. A vibe check, right? Like I want there to be that European charm. I want it to be culturally rich. I want that foodie scene. The trendy cafes like the Picturesque Europe summer. [00:06:00] Yes, I totally agree. For sure. Now our summers are a little bit different, right where we are gone for nine, 10 weeks and we are changing destination location every two weeks. So that's why I say we cast a really wide net because if we're like, okay, this isn't a great fit. we're up and gone in two weeks anyway, so, maybe did not come back. Like we actually had an interesting experience where last summer we were in Ibiza and people were like, you gotta go to Ibiza. It's super kid friendly and it was beautiful. Not one of my favorite destinations. It was really hard to get around without a car. We were sort of not interested in renting a car, and so we just sort of hung out at our home exchanges pool for like two weeks and so. Not my favorite destination, And that's kind of, you live, you learn, right? but even just like double clicking into that, right? Like I think it's so cool how, we really like to go and like post up for 5, 6, 7 weeks. We did nine weeks in Portugal our first summer and did not move. And I love how you kind of around and I wanna also go into. [00:07:00] This reference of Ibiza, because I do think it's a great example. We were heavily considering Albania for next summer, and after going really deep into research, we realized maybe similarly, right? Like it's beautiful, culturally rich, like lot of really cool things, but like infrastructure specifically for kids was not there. And. I think that's a good example of like, something may sound great, but like you have to go back to that non-negotiables list and really make sure that like the vibe of the place also meets the practical needs you're looking for. Absolutely. I totally agree. And we actually have had amazing luck in many different towns of France. France has become one of my favorite places to go every summer. It has the quaint walkability, it has, the kid infrastructure, amazing food, amazing butter. Right? And then you can. do a lot of the, the things that you wanna do. There's art museums. And so it really is very culturally rich, and I found it incredibly accommodating to children. Lots of playgrounds. Like we were in antsy this summer and this was a recommendation from an account that I follow. And I was like, great, let's just add it to the list. Let's see if we can get a home there. I'm not sure about summer camps. Don't worry about it. Like, let's just go. And so we just went and it ended up being like a. Fantastic location That is on our list, so I love hearing that.[00:08:00] how else do you kind of validate that a space or a place is good for kids? So we do a lot of YouTube. We do see people who have been there. My husband loves to watch YouTube videos of like, hot things to do. So he'll do that kind of research. I like to look at Instagram and connect with other seasoned travelers. So I have a friend who's literally a global nomad. And so I'll check in with her and say, Hey, what's the vibe? Check on this place, what do you think about this? And she's really, really knowledgeable. And then of course I'll join expat groups. So when I'm looking at a destination for La Rochelle this summer for example, or Bordeaux last summer, I'll join expat groups and ask like, what is there to do for kids? What are there camps? Right? And that's a really great resource of information. And I find that those, combined with Instagram, accounts of different locations has been really, really valuable for getting a sense of one, if there's camps, how could friendly the places and who I can connect with when I'm there.
[00:09:00] I love the idea of the expat groups that is so smart One other thing I do on top of some of those examples that you do is I actually go to Google Maps and I plot out how many playgrounds there are, and then I go and actually look at the playgrounds to see if they're like one dingy little slide or if it's like a really robust playground because my kids after camp in the mornings, on the weekends, we revolve our life around playgrounds. We live in a city. I know you do too, so you probably relate. One of the biggest ahas I've seen. For parents is this idea that you can send your kids to summer camp in Europe while continuing to work remote and take advantage of the time difference to live your dream European summer fantasy versus that more typical US summer where you do day camps for your kids. You continue to live your normal working life. It doesn't really feel like summer at all for you as a parent And so I do wanna get in. To the summer camp portion a little bit because I do think that's the unlock for, most people.Yeah. So you mentioned you have this spreadsheet of summer camps, but like where [00:10:00] are you finding them? A lot of Google searches, expat groups, I think Facebook groups are really great resource because those families are locked into. What offerings there are. And for me, where my kids speak English, I think I prefer to put them into English speaking camps at this stage because I want them to be able to communicate with friends. communicate if there's an emergency So those local expat Facebook groups really are looped into those options . I also find that international schools are a really great resource because a lot of them host camps. I just did a search for international schools and the first one that popped up was this SD school, and they had a summer camp, which my kids freaking loved. It was like their favorite. And it took all three of my kids Marlo, starting age three to Jack, who's now 11, and they had great programming for all of them. [00:11:00] So I think, Google searches, I think Instagram, I think Facebook, those are all really great resources. Obviously people can sign up for my newsletter. I send out camps as often as I can and by location, and it's free, just trying to help people unlock this way of traveling because childcare abroad is literally life changing. It allows for multiple people to have vacations. The kids are having a great time, the adults are having a great time. You are working right? My husband is also working remotely, And so he can get work done and I can go do my own thing for a little while 'cause I don't work over the summer. So I just think that, it's really been an eye-opening experience and enrollment is easy. You just connect with them. some of them have requirements of passports, but you pay and you send your kids and It's just like enrolling here minus the like, stress and the cost. Absolutely. I'm, I'm laughing because. Enrollment is like too easy, right? Like this past summer we enrolled in a Montessori international school and yes to the international school databases. [00:12:00] There's a couple websites that just have like these massive databases of international schools and I definitely recommend starting there. And I will add onto that like. The term Montessori often in Europe is not just what we consider Montessori, which is like daycare. It actually carries all the way through elementary school. But I'm laughing because when we enrolled it was just like, okay, like pay the deposit. Great. And we were like. Do we need to fill out any forms? Like do we need to do anything? And like it was like a week before school and we're like, Hey, I just wanna make sure like our kids are still enrolled because this just seems so informal. I don't know if that's been your experience with a lot of these camps, but I'm just like, are we just insane in America where like there's forms, there's this, there's that, In order just to go to like a one week camp. Totally. I feel like there's a whole different mentality, right? a lot of the local kids are not necessarily going, right? They're traveling with their family or they do other things over the summer. It's really for kind of expats, which is what we are when we're visiting these countries, right? [00:13:00] So it really is easy. You don't have sort of the signup stress, like in New York, it's insane . And also it's really expensive. So for example, we came back, I had to put my kids into local camp because I went back to work. before school started, it was about a hundred dollars a day I have three kids and I had two weeks of work basically. I mean, my oldest is now more independent, but. It's really expensive, but the Crackow Camp, for example, was something like 240 US dollars for full-time care, including three catered meals, and you could opt out of those meals. So it would've been about $200 per kid for the full week. So I think it's just easy and there's need. Right. They want these spots built because it helps support these local businesses. Absolutely. So since we're on the topic of cost compared to US summer camps, I agree. The camp we went to in Nice was also two 40 euro a week. For. 9:00 AM till 4:30 PM a full day camps in SF end at three, maybe three 30 if you're lucky. And definitely are not 240 euro. So since you're going to so many camps in one summer, I'm curious what is the range somebody should expect for a camp in Europe? [00:14:00] That's a great question. So the range usually is between 200 to maybe upwards of 500 euro. So my oldest went to Minecraft coding camp in Vienna last summer, and that I think was like 450 euro for the week . So that was definitely on the upper end. And then my girls went to another camp that I think was something like 300 Euros. For the week. So you'll definitely see the range. I have seen more expensive camps. You can get more expensive camps if they're being run out of international schools where you can go up higher to 700 or 800 euro a week. There's also sleepaway camps, so. For the first time ever, I think two of my kids are going to be doing sleepaway camp, one in Valencia and one in Switzerland. And so those are of course more expensive. It's room and board. I don't know the exact cost, but they're, they're higher still less than what you would expect in America, but definitely on the higher end. I also came across a Ley Boy camp in Croatia. I need to send you, because I was like, I wanna go to this but it looked amazing. [00:15:00] So let's talk a little bit more about what we should be vetting for when it comes to looking at camps. you mentioned You found a Minecraft camp like there's all of these different types of camps out there. So can you talk a little bit about what you are looking What ages have you found camps for? Absolutely. So I have found camps from everything from three years to teens, and I have found camps that have done language immersion, sports surfing, cooking, like you name it. There's a camp somewhere in Europe that doesn't farming, organic farming. Right. That one I found in Italy. Squash tennis I've seen the gamut of different options. What I think I can talk about a little bit is, the due diligence, right? How am I confident in sending my kids to these camps? And so I think I do a couple of things. One is, of course I vet and make sure that they speak English. You do your Google search, you do your Google Review. It's also perfectly acceptable to ask the camp to speak with alumni family , and you should absolutely talk with families. Like if you're feeling unsure whether it's gonna be a fit, then ask to speak with People who have been there before. And I think that's a really good way to see whether it's gonna be a fit. [00:16:00] And you can ask to speak with as many families as you want putting it out there to the Facebook group saying, Hey, has anyone heard of this camp? Like, tell me what you know about it. And usually you'll get very quickly a sense between talking to the camp, reading the reviews, and asking families And I have found the way that the camp communicates with you. Is a good indicator of how responsive they are, how you can reach them? I've never really had a bad experience with any camps. Most of the camps are incredibly responsive. They all have WhatsApp groups. They'll send you messages throughout the day with photos of your kids, so you know your kid is safe. I was running a study abroad program for some college students in Amsterdam. And Little Makers is a camp there, and they hosted Marlow. And so all day long I'm getting WhatsApp updates about what she's doing, what she's eating, all of her friends. And so those are the kinds of things I look for is how do they communicate daily with the families? How do they communicate with you in general? How is the primary language spoken? And here's another thing that I get a lot of, is do your kids feel comfortable like fitting in, right? Your kid speaks English. Some of the practitioners speak English, but do the other children speak English? [00:17:00] And my response to that is it really doesn't matter because kids have this universal language of play that even if they can't communicate they're gonna communicate through play. And so we've been doing this for six years. We've been to a dozen camps and. Making friends has never been an issue, even if they don't speak the same language. So I think those are the sort of ways in which you can do your due diligence and some confidence you can feel about sending your kid, even if they don'tspeak English. I think about doing this and the benefits. It has for my husband and I on so many different levels, but there's so many things that your kids get out of this as well from the cultural exchange. But also I think this feeling that you can make home anywhere and you can make friends anywhere and you can be comfortable anywhere, and that's such an important life skill that you really can't get unless you're doing something like this as a family. [00:18:00] I totally agree. My kids are really adaptable. Now they walk into new social settings and one of my kids is neurodivergent. Right. So like you kind of don't know how that plays into it, but that child I mean, they look forward to camp every year. They look forward to meeting new friends that they haven't made yet. Right. And sharing all of their hobbies and interests and things along those lines. Because they're so used to it, all three of them are used to it. And so they start school, they go to afterschool programs, any of these different spaces outside of the camps, I have learned that my children are able to adapt to these different settings 'cause they're used to it. And I think that's just been a really surprising and very enriching. Confirmation that I'm doing the right thing for them and they love it, right? And we've offered to put one of our kids in sleepaway camp here in America, and he's like, no, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna miss Europe. And I'm like. I don't blame you. I wouldn't wanna miss your up either, And so they really do get it. And then you have these conversations with your kids, and I know your kids are a little bit younger, but I'm having conversations, I'm listening to my kids talk to that to each other. They were in Scotland this summer and they did Scottish Outdoors Camp, and they're like talking about it together and like comparing it to France and comparing it to Germany. [00:19:00] These kids are really globally minded citizens, and I feel like it's such a gift to be able to give that to them. But I know that this generation or my generation of kids are gonna grow up being like, there's a whole world out there, My son, I mean, we were in Portugal when he was, four and he still talks about that trip And the fact that he feels so proud and excited to talk about, remember when we went to this one beach in Portugal, or his favorite foods in Portugal? it's such a cool gift. to give to our kids . I do wanna pivot though to talking a little bit about how you and your husband are handling living abroad, essentially. Right? Especially because you mentioned he's working. It sounds like you may have been working when you were running this program abroad as well for the university that you're at. So how do you balance working hours? so it depends on where we are sort of in the trip. So I was alone in Amsterdam and that was actually really hard because I was by myself.[00:20:00] luckily, I had a cargo bike. Amsterdam's great for biking. I was biking her to and from camp and then coming back and doing what I needed to do with my students and then picking her up. But it was a hustle as a single parent, it was really a hustle. And luckily I have friends and a network in. The Netherlands and they were able to help me pick up Marlo on the days that I couldn't get back from, our day trips. With that aside, I do wanna also mention that we hire a nanny. because of the home exchange. The home exchange is where you're swapping houses with real families. They were able to gimme recommendations of babysitters. I've gotten many recommendations of local nannies and babysitters through these other families that we're swapping homes with. In fact, one of them we loved so much. For the last two summers, we have flown her from Barcelona. To where we are in France and she lives with us because we get these houses on home exchange that are like four bedrooms. She gets her own bedroom, she gets her own bathroom. And so she will help me with a lot of the day to day So that's one part. It's just hiring local babysitters on site. The other part is that my husband and I now have this routine when our babysitter or our nanny is gone, the kids are in camp. Him and I spend time together.
[00:21:00] We come back, I take the kids, and then I am running evening shift. And it's definitely tiring. I mean, it's totally worth it, but it's definitely tiring. So I'll take them out to the playground so that he has quiet space to work at home. And then we'll get together for dinner. and then I'll do bedtime. And then he picks up as much as he can within his work, and then he works until about 11:00 PM and then we do it all over again. So it's definitely a little bit exhausting but we know what we're getting into 'cause we've been doing it for so long. Yeah, I think for us We have an au pair and we do bring her because the camps that we're enrolling the kids in to date have been normal camp hours. nine to four, let's call it. And we work. West coast ish hours, east coast hours, like we start work around one, so we can't pick up the kids and, do that long stretch of playground, dinner, bath, bed. So our au pair helps us there, but. To your point, it's very exhausting, I think, whether you have help or not. that's an entire second day that you're living after you've lived a very full day in the morning. [00:22:00] But it is so worth it and it's temporary. Like I tell people when we get back, they're like, are you happy to be home? I'm like, well, no. I would love to be living my summer, European life, but it is not sustainable to live like that, for more than a couple months at a time. And you get back and you're excited to be back home and into the routines with the school and all the things. Totally agree. so let's talk a little bit about the nuances of home exchange, because we've never done one for that period of time. we were able to go to Hawaii for 10 days and do a home exchange that way. And it was. Amazing. But there are some different elements when it comes to home exchange, when it comes to like logistics and how that works. And so first and foremost, is a home exchange free? Like let's start with the budget conversation. [00:23:00] For sure. So I use a service called home exchange.com, and there is an annual membership of I think it's $235, and it allows you to do unlimited swaps. So for me, I did the calculations this summer. The housing that we would've spent over our nine weeks in Europe would've been about $30,000. So instead of spending that. We spent 235 , so that's the budget for us. And so it really does allow for us to subsidize our summers. Like I don't know that we would be able to do 10 weeks if we didn't have this low. Cost, housing option. And really like the whole mindset. It is a mindset shift , right? And so I think that there are tons of benefits to it. one of the main benefits to home exchanges besides the cost is that you're meeting real people and those real people are giving you. Tips on childcare. They're giving you local advice, but if you're traveling with kids, you are walking into a home that is kid friendly. So I can't tell you how amazing it is to not have to baby proof, to not have to move little like statues from getting broken to going into playrooms with. Tie chairs and kid cups we travel with one suitcase, one medium suitcase for all five of us because I don't have to carry rain clothes. I know I can borrow it. we have access to a washing machine, so we'll just do the laundry. And so it just has shaped all of the way that we have traveled with kids and I, I can't recommend it enough. [00:24:00] So you mentioned the rain clothes. I, I think that's maybe one of the hesitations when it comes to home exchange. 'cause it's not just like you going there, right? It's also them coming to your space. And so how do you prep your space? How do you like, create those boundaries of like, yeah, you can or can't go into this closet. what does that look like? I literally just put a zip tie on the closet that I don't want people to go into. again, it's like a mindset you've bought into. And because you can vet these families, you meet them over FaceTime, right? they're less like strangers and more like friends by the time they're coming to your house. And here's another thing that I think is really interesting is that. in severe weather, this has happened twice. We've had flooding, right? And now with global warming, we've had major, major flash floods. There were families here that took care of everything. Within hours. We had no damage. We had nothing wrong because we had basically really responsible house sitters. And so, it's totally built on trust and I,trust the people coming into my home as much as they trust me going into theirs. [00:25:00] I think there's kinda like that community aspect. So we used a platform called Kindred. And we had a similar experience like, you got to FaceTime beforehand. You gotta explain like why you're going there, what you should be doing in your destination. We got photos while they were staying, like doing the things that we had recommended, which was super fun. And you kind of create this community vibe by doing it. And so I do think that there's so many benefits outside of just the cost. But I think the logistics of it, like being able to line up your housing exactly how you need, I mean, that's a whole other level than just being like, Hey, let's swap for 10 days, Yes, so now the calendar components make it really easy on the platforms. I think part of this is you don't really have to do too much to prep your home, except for put away the things you don't want touch, People are very respectful. Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. We've covered a lot of those absolute essential things to figure out when it comes to planning a summer abroad with your family. what is a one sentence tip for any mom or family planning a summer abroad with your kids? [00:26:00] My one tip is be flexible. Be flexible. And what I mean by that is it's okay if the day doesn't work out. It's okay if you are having challenges. Be flexible with yourself, be flexible with your schedule, and be flexible with your family and you'll really have an amazing trip Maybe we all should just take that tip and apply it to everyday life. It really makes a huge difference. It does. Maddie, how can listeners connect with you after this episode? You can connect with me on Instagram. I'm at Cargo Bike Mama MOMA. You can email me at maddie@cargobikemama.com and I'd love to hear from you. We will drop your newsletter, subscribe, link in the show notes so that people can start getting these amazing, curated lists of camps from you. Maddie, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much for the invitation to be here, Barbara. It was a blast chatting with you.[00:27:00] Okay, we just heard a lot of information, so now let's turn it into an action plan to hone in on the right destination for your family. You are going to ask yourself these six questions to identify your ideal destination profile. This will give you the parameters to then narrow down your search to your top three to five cities, and then you can begin your camp research there or help you narrow down the location options for a more organized trip, like Boundless. Question one, what time zone do I need to be working in? Question two, do I prefer city or rural? Also a quick note. It doesn't need to be one or the other. Think through if there is a very large city that you're interested in being nearby and then looking at nearby towns or villages that have a quick train ride over to that bigger city. Things to think about are transportation options, restaurant options, things to do for both you and your kids . Question three. What are your weather preferences? I have a friend who lives in Austin who wants nothing to do with very hot temperatures and rather go to Northern Europe for the summer, whereas I would rather have warmer temperatures because San Francisco is freezing in the summer.
[00:28:00] The next question is around cost of living. What is your budget for the summer? You need to align on that and then find a destination that can meet those standards from a cost of living perspective. Next is language immersion. Are you wanting in only English? Option when it comes to schooling and camp, or do you send your kids to a French immersion school already? And so looking for a camp that is French speaking only in France may be a perfect option. And then finally, think about infrastructure. And what I mean here is what are your infrastructure requirements? Do you need strong wifi? Do you need a coworking space? Do you wanna have a gym or studio classes available? Are the roads. Easily drivable or bikeable. What's your accessibility to doctors or hospitals? You heard Maddie mention that she had to go to the ER last summer. Is the water drinkable? What's the cleanliness like? Once you have all of these written down, this becomes your prompt for chat, GPT. You can actually use this tool to help narrow it down for you. Give it these preferences in a prompt. Ask for it to recommend the top 10 cities and destinations in Europe that meet your standards.[00:29:00] All right. Thanks for tuning into this toolkit series on the new Modern Mom podcast. I hope today's tips help simplify the chaos of career and motherhood one tool at a time. If you found this episode helpful, don't forget to subscribe. Give a five star rating and leave a review. My dms are open. Are you interested in doing this next summer? What destinations are you considering? Please follow me at New Modern Mom on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter on Substack. Your support means so much as I continue my mission to help more moms find work life fulfillment. Until next time.
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