Businesswoman traveled the world for less than the rent in Dublin

Getting lost in the daily grind and the repetitive cycle of school runs, chores and miserable commutes to travel the world and live in the sun is the ultimate rainy day fantasy for most of us. While it may feel like an impossible daydream, a life on the road is an achievable goal, even with the whole family in tow, says Sara Banks – and it can cost less than renting a family home in Dublin.

Sara is the founder of the luxury brand Steamline Luggage, which has proven to be a great success at home and abroad. It was recently used by Margot Robbie during her promotional Barbie movie tour and during a photo shoot for Vogue, the latter of which caused such a surge in demand that her website crashed.

Oddly enough, Sara has found herself in the spotlight after making the decision to uproot her family to travel the world, and she would urge any parents considering a trip to go for it.

Originally from the United States, Sara was first introduced to travel at a young age when her father’s job led to the family moving abroad for a year.

‘It made me realize how much bigger the world was… and we came back after a year or two and went to primary school there, and I remember really clearly how small my previous world was, and I remember that as a special time. of being bitten by the travel bug,” she recalls.

Fast forward, about ten years and a year of studying abroad, inspired in part by her uncle’s love of Irish playwrights, took her to Trinity College, Dublin, where she met her future husband Mark Duckenfield.

She said, “You know how sometimes opportunities trip you up? Is it that fork in the road that only takes your life in one direction? I actually joined the Players Theater when I got there because as an Erasmus exchange student you could join the first year group and he was the only one of our friends who wasn’t involved in the theater but was there to pick up girls to fetch!’

“After that we courted all over the world for a long time,” she says. They then met properly again in India while Mark was on a trip around the world and eventually decided to settle in Ireland in 2005.

Six years later they married and have since welcomed four boys: Milo, Reuben, Benji and Felix.

While still grappling with the effects of COVID on her travel theme business, Sara made the brave decision to take her family on the road in 2021. It’s a decision partly driven by soaring rents in Dublin, which saw them challenge themselves to live abroad for less than what they were paying in rent in Ireland.

Just over two years later, and now back on Irish soil, Sara and Mark have not only achieved their goal, but have also managed to explore the four corners of the world, from Bali to Australia and Columbia, and they think that you can do that too.

“We did really well, traveling slowly and going to places to stay longer, which was part of our travel ethos anyway,” she tells EVOKE. ‘For my husband and me, something we appreciate is not just going to a place and ticking a box and saying, “Oh, we saw the Eiffel Tower or went to Ankor Wat”, you go to places and you absorb the culture by being there to be for just a little bit longer

‘We contacted a bunch of places on Air BnB (and this is my husband’s tactic) and then offered to stay for a month or two at a time and with that they offered discounts and whatever it was, we didn’t want to overstay or rent in Dublin for a family of six so we could just say we’re staying for a month or two and most places, seven out of ten, would respond to us with, “Yes, that’s no problem” .’

Sara explains that it’s a win-win for travelers and homeowners who prefer longer stays because of the security of the booking, but also because they don’t have to arrange maintenance staff as often.

‘We could stay longer and take our time to take in a town or village and then they have a longer booking for consistency so that has worked in our favor all the way and then a year becomes very quickly two because you don’t move around and we just had a great life. ‘

The family also saved money by cooking at home and educating their children from their rental home, which doubled as an office. Sara said: ‘You’re doing all these things in a very nice but homely environment, so that helped keep costs down.’

It also helped that they were flexible not only with their time, but also with their choice of destination, which was often determined by the beautiful rental properties they managed to secure. One of their homes away from home was the Earl of Warwick’s home in Bali, complete with art and a 50-metre swimming pool – a far cry from touring hostels.

Having taken a few dry run trips to Sri Lanka and China when their children were babies, Sara and Mark knew their boys would love being away, but admit they were concerned about being dragged out of their routine and away from their friends.

“It was a little bit hard at the time, just that, I mean that’s really the hardest part, getting ready to go, because you really feel like you’re doing something that’s against the grain and you’re like, ‘oh is this this?’ the right thing to do.” We packed up our house and put everything in storage and I remember still being very nervous about our decision and when we finally got the kids out of school they were off to the first half of September. I remember I thought all the teachers came out afterwards to say goodbye and each one of them stood next to me to say you’re doing the right thing and it was like “Okay, I’m fine, let’s go”.’

Sara continued, “They (their sons) had grown up traveling and they loved it, I mean kids are really adaptable. I always recommend that people considering traveling do it when their children are young because it’s not so much about them, it’s about you, it’s your comfort level with going off the beaten path, it’s your comfort level with everyone on the plane and they’ll just follow your lead, so whatever you feel comfortable with, they’ll feel comfortable with.

“As far as the cultural immersion, they just loved it: being in Columbia, none of the kids spoke English and my kids didn’t speak Spanish, and yet in the town square right away on the first day you have kids running up to them throwing a soccer ball who says: ‘Do you want to play?’.’

It’s the friendships and bonds they build with the people they meet along the way that are Sara’s favorite memory of their travels.

‘I think some of the time we spent with the Masai in Kenya was some of our favorite memories, especially just because of the huge cultural differences that we have, but yes, the camaraderie, friendships and relationships that you build… the children built with it individually, I think that was an overall highlight.

To anyone considering following in her footsteps, she says, “Just go, that’s my advice.”