Leaving behind the heat of Kuwait in search of something more fulfilling, Chantal and Darius Pérez-McGhee chose a radically different approach to life. Together, they set out to build a life of meaningful travel with their young daughter. But with Darius often staying in Kuwait for work, Chantal frequently navigates new countries without her husband by her side.
In this inspiring Q&A, Chantal from @mylifeincolores, shares what it’s really like to embrace a nomadic lifestyle as a solo parent, how Boundless Life gave her daughter the freedom to thrive, and why Bali, a place she almost skipped, became exactly where they were meant to be.
What encouraged you to choose Boundless Life, and how did it align with your family's goals and values?
I moved from Japan to Kuwait with my family, but my daughter and I were struggling to adapt. Then during a summer break in Barcelona, I saw her thrive in ways I hadn't seen before, which made me wonder how I could continue to travel and maybe even homeschool her. Travel has always been a huge part of who I am, but I wasn't sure how to do it with a family until that trip showed me it was possible for us.
My husband and I started discussing how we could make a lifestyle of longer trips work long-term, especially for our daughter’s education. Right then – in what felt like divine timing – my sister sent me an Instagram video about Boundless Life. That video showed exactly what we needed: a community, education and the chance to keep traveling as a family. It truly felt like divine intervention, the perfect solution aligning with all our values.
Which Boundless Life locations has your family traveled to so far?
We’ve done three Boundless Life cohorts, Pistoia - Italy, Syros - Greece and now we’re here in Bali - Indonesia. And we have plans for more! We’re already mapping out next year – I’m thinking Uruguay in January, Montenegro in April, and hopefully Spain in September. We really love the program and want to continue planning our future with Boundless Life.
Interestingly, I almost didn’t choose Bali at first. When we were enrolling for a cohort, Boundless offered us either Montenegro or Bali, but I had my heart set on Spain. Honestly, I’d heard that Bali has a lot of bugs, and my daughter is really scared of bugs – so I thought, “Definitely not Bali!” I even told them to keep me on the Spain waitlist. But as time went on, I decided to take a leap and accept Bali.
I came here with zero expectations, never having been to Indonesia before. And the moment we landed in Bali, I felt this incredible sense of - we were exactly where we were supposed to be. I just felt grounded, like a pull to be here, followed by a lot of deja vu feelings, and I knew that we were meant to be here at this moment. It was like another instance of divine intervention, telling me that maybe I wasn’t meant to go to Spain yet because Bali was where we needed to be right now.
How has Boundless Life positively impacted your daughter, academically, socially, or emotionally?
Imani was always a bright and friendly kid, but being an only child meant she didn't have a lot of regular peer interaction back home. Boundless gave her a safe space to make friends and at the same time really expand and build upon her existing knowledge.
In the beginning, she was a bit shy since this was her first time ever in a classroom. Fast forward to now, and she’s become a little leader! After a few cohorts, she knows the dynamic of the class and loves helping new kids understand how things work. One of her educators told us that they asked Imani who her best friend was, and she replied, “I don’t have a best friend – everybody’s my best friend!” Which shows how confident she’s become and I've loved seeing her blossom like that.
She’s also learning so fast. Imani comes home excited to show me her projects or tell me about a new discovery she made that day. We’ve watched her transform into this bubbly, curious, optimistic little person. As a mom, it makes me happy and proud to see her flourishing. Honestly, I don’t think we would have seen this kind of growth in her if we had stuck with a traditional school at home.
What lifestyle changes has your family experienced compared to life before joining Boundless Life? Has it affected your family bond or dynamic?
For us, one of the biggest lifestyle changes has been spending extended time apart from my husband, Darius. Before Boundless, when we lived in Japan, we were together as a family literally 24/7. Once we moved to Kuwait and then started our Boundless Life travels, his job kept him mostly in one place, so I had to adjust to essentially solo-parenting during our 3-month cohort stays. That was a big transition for all of us. I went from having my partner around to handle everything together, to figuring things out on my own with our daughter in new countries.
When Darius is able to join us for a couple of weeks during a cohort, we value that time so much more deeply. We’re all excited to see him, and we make the most of every moment when he’s here, just really soaking up the quality time. And when he’s away, we’ve found creative ways to stay connected. We FaceTime every single day. We’ve even done virtual family game nights and “watch parties” for movies so we can still have those shared experiences. The great thing is that I never feel truly alone because of the community around us – there’s always another parent to talk to or help out if I need anything.
What is your favorite thing about the Boundless Life experience?
I’d say the cultural immersion and global learning opportunities are my absolute favorite aspects. Traveling has always been essential to my life, and Boundless Life enables us to keep that adventure going while still providing a stable, enriching academic structured setting for Imani.
I also love the connections we make with people from all over the world. I’m a big people-person, and through Boundless we’ve become friends with families from so many different backgrounds. Here in Bali, for example, our cohort has families from Australia, from Wales, from England, from Chile… from everywhere! We swap stories, learn each other’s traditions, and support each other. That sense of global community and learning through cultural immersion is honestly priceless to me.
What is Imani’s favorite part of this journey?
Friends. She is all about the friends she’s made. Like me she’s also a people-person, and Boundless Life has given her a whole world of new friends to play and learn with.
She also gets such a kick out of knowing she has friends literally all over the world now. She’ll proudly say things like, “I have friends in Italy, I have friends in Greece, I have friends in Japan, I have friends in Bali.” For a five-year-old, that’s a pretty cool concept! It makes her feel connected and confident wherever we go, because she knows she’s part of this big Boundless community.
Aside from the friendships, she does enjoy the other parts of the journey too – for instance, she’s really embraced the local cultures. She’ll try new foods, learn local songs, and happily join the cultural workshops. But if I were to ask what she loves the most, her answer would probably be “my friends.”
How has the Boundless Life community supported your family’s sense of belonging and connection?
I feel like because of this community here in Bali, it hasn't made me feel nearly as lonely. The people here all have a shared desire to explore the world and be a part of this experience. So it bonds people differently, and I really appreciate that.
In Italy, I stayed in the shared Leonardo building and I felt really bonded with the families there because we lived right next door to each other. Which helped me out a lot when my husband was away, knowing we had a community of families ready to help at any time.
If I had something scheduled, somebody was always willing to pick up my daughter from school. They’d say, “We’ll bring her back to the building, just meet us when you can.” That felt really nice. And outside the program in the ‘real world’ that kind of community is really hard to find.
How do you pack for a boundless lifestyle? Have you become minimalist travelers, or do you bring the comforts of home?
Definitely not minimalist - I try, but I’m not there yet! We always bring our comforts from home. One side of the suitcase is for spices I cook with, like Mexican chiles, and Imani’s favorite snacks, like chocolate-covered raisins, which can be hard to find.
I even pack cleaning supplies and sprays so our place smells the way we like... like home. Imani gets to bring one toy, and sometimes wall stickers to decorate her space, just something to help her feel at home. We also make room for her hair products, which aren’t always easy to find. It’s not exactly light packing, but we use everything, and it leaves space later for things we pick up along the way.
What would you say to a parent who’s hesitant to travel solo with their child?
For my first two cohorts, my mom came with me, which helped a lot. If you can bring a grandparent or have friends and family visit during your stay, it really breaks up the feeling of being alone.
But even without that, I’d say, put yourself out there. The community is so supportive, and it’s not scary once you see how much your kids are flourishing.
Here in Bali, there are a few single moms and they’re amazing. We always tell them they’re courageous because they didn’t let being solo stop them. They’re out here, traveling and watching their kids thrive.
So my advice? Just do it. Don’t be scared. Take the leap.
Would you recommend Boundless Life to other families? Why?
Yes, absolutely! I would highly recommend Boundless Life to other families. In fact, I do whenever I get the chance. I sometimes joke that I need to carry Boundless Life business cards with me because I end up promoting it so often. But that’s just how strongly I feel about what this journey has done for us.
There’s really no experience like it. It gives you the opportunity to actually see and learn from the world and not just live in it. You'd be a part of a community that's just as eager to experience different cultures by traveling to different parts of the world without sacrificing your children's education. In fact, I would argue that Boundless Life is an improvement to the existing educational system. It truly is an invaluable experience.
So if another family is considering it, my advice is simple: just do it. Take the leap. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you, because what you gain is so worth it.
Ready to take the leap?
Chantal’s story is one of many examples within the Boundless Life community. Read the Gauthiers interview for example, if you want to know how one Los Angeles family are traveling with their three children.
If you’re SUPER curious about life abroad, place-based learning, and finding community in beautiful corners of the world, explore our upcoming cohorts and start your own boundless chapter.
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