preplanning

THE REAL TAKE

I’m a kickass traveler. My kids? Kickass travelers. My husband… meh. He’s learning. (I love you, honey. Truly.)

When we decided to take this leap, I knew it wasn’t enough to just get us to Kotor. I wanted the first part of this adventure to carry the same soul and rhythm I hope to create for our family long-term. That meant being intentional from the very beginning.

Room with a view.

I approach most things with the mindset: “I don’t know what I don’t know.” I never assume I’ve got it perfected, and even now—after weeks of planning and a safe landing in Montenegro—I can already see what I’d tweak for the next chapter.

And let me tell you—there were so many YouTube videos. So. Many. Most of them gave me a gut check that sounded like: Yeah, no. I’m not doing half that stuff. But sometimes knowing what you don’t want to do is the clearest way to figure out what you do want.

Take flights, for example. I knew one thing: I did not want to hate my husband at the end of our travel day. I said it—yes, out loud—to his face. He laughed and agreed. Because here’s the deal: my husband can sleep on planes like nobody’s business. Meanwhile, if we booked a row of three with him across the aisle, that would’ve left me trapped with two nine-year-olds—asking for snacks, dropping things, falling asleep on top of me. NOOOOOO. Hard pass.

So we decided to save ourselves (and our marriage) and splurged on business class. Not because we’re fancy, but because I needed us to land in Europe feeling like humans, not zombies. Plus, this being the kids’ first time crossing the Atlantic, I wanted to test it out: give us space this round so I’d know exactly what we could handle if next time we had to fly tighter.

PACKING

Packing? I won’t bore you. Pack how you want. Bring what brings you joy. The moment your suitcase volume starts stressing you out? You’ve gone too far. Voilà.

TICKETING & FLIGHTS

I knew there was no backing out for us, so I didn’t bother with fully refundable tickets. What I did do was prioritize more direct flights that got us close to our final destination—even if it meant finishing the journey by car. My gut told me too many connections would tank the vibe before we even arrived. And I was right.

Here’s the lesson: from Dubrovnik, Croatia, to Kotor, Montenegro, there’s basically one lane of traffic in and out. One. Lane. High season meant that what should have been a quick drive turned into a snail’s pace crawl—two to three times longer than expected.

But here’s the thing: it didn’t matter. Everyone was too excited to be there for it to register as a pain point. Compared to the chaos of multiple airports and connections, this was still the better choice. We had gorgeous views, a single (if slow) stretch of road, and two brilliant drivers set up through the Boundless community who made the whole trip feel easy.

We couldn’t have been more pleased. They were amazing. Period.

ACCOMODATIONS & HOMEBASE

We decided to go a little off-script from what’s typical with Boundless and didn’t book through them. Instead, we wanted more cultural immersion. For me, that’s always been about finding a place that feels like home before you even step foot in it.

When I scroll through listings, I’ll sometimes get a physical reaction—a little spark in my body—like I can already see myself sitting there. That’s how I know. And honestly, I’ve never been wrong… except once. (That one time, Harlen and I walked in, stayed for 30 seconds, looked at each other, and immediately walked out. Lovely place on paper, but the vibe was off—dark in a way we just couldn’t shake. That’s a story for another time.)

Sis wondering through the age-old streets — Awesomeness.

This time, I wasn’t wrong. We were greeted by the most wonderful host—part of a management team—who has been absolutely glorious. Our apartment sits right on the main square, surrounded by mountainous views. We can step outside our front door and be anywhere in minutes.

I also made sure the daily walk to the Education Center would be doable—even in the heat, with crowds, and all the real-life logistics. It’s about six minutes for us, sometimes a little longer when it’s busy. But as the weeks have gone by and the crowds thinned out, that walk has turned into something I’ve grown to love. It gives us family time in the morning to connect, and then a shared window in the afternoons to catch up on all the goodness of the day.

Are we above the EC like some families? Nope. Are there drawbacks to being a little farther away? Sure. But I wouldn’t trade it. For us, it feels like the right balance—close enough to connect, but with enough breathing space to come back, exhale, and be home.

This was the right place for us.

ENTER BOUNDLESS

If you’ve made it this far, you know we didn’t just land in Montenegro by chance. We came here with Boundless Education, a program that gives families like ours the structure, community, and spark to take learning beyond the classroom walls.

For us, Boundless wasn’t about signing up for someone else’s version of education. It was about finding scaffolding that could hold our values—freedom, curiosity, connection—while still giving us the courage to leap. That’s why we started with a four-week cohort. Long enough to push past “vacation mode,” short enough to see how it actually fit before committing bigger.

So here we are, in Kotor. Our mornings begin differently. Our kids are learning differently. We’re living differently. And while it’s not perfect (nothing ever is—especially with real kids, real work, and yes, real sick days), it’s already clear this is the right experiment for us.

This is where the story of Boundless really begins for our family—at the intersection of what we brought with us from MCS, what we dreamed of in Lelo, and what we’re now building in real time.

Croatia is up next. But for now, Kotor is where the heartbeat is.