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HOUSE ABOUT THAT
I’m a single mum and sold my £160k home to whisk my kids away on an adventure – people judge me for home-schooling them
She only kept one sentimental piece of furniture and gave away the rest of her belongings
A SINGLE mum sold her £160,000 home and gave away all of her belongings before taking her kids on an epic adventure - and she has zero regrets.
Karen Leigh, from Anniesland, Glasgow, put her house on the market in January and chucked in most of her furniture with the sale.
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She then booked one-way tickets to Texas, USA, for herself, daughter Katie, 10, and son Reece, 11.
In between homeschooling, the family have been enjoying living out of suitcases and exploring their exciting new surroundings.
Karen, a mindset coach and hypnotherapist, said: "We came to visit my brother here [in Texas] last year and the kids thrived.
"After the holiday I basically went home and put my house on the market and now we’re here. We’re just travelling and exploring Texas.
"Who knows what we’ll end up doing. We have no plan and I’m totally fine with that."
Karen admits the seed to relocate was planted during lockdown, when she considered a move to Spain.
But the mum tucked away her plans for four years and is now enjoying morning swims in the pool at her Texan lake house.
Not wanting to be bogged down by too many belongings for the move, she decided to give away most of her things before relocating.
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Only a special piece of furniture that has sentimental value and boxes of toys and belongings that the kids wanted to keep survived the purge.
"I was looking through things and I still had Valentines cards from a boyfriend from 25 years ago", Karen laughed.
I’m a mum-of-nine and have spent the past 17 years homeschooling my kids – sometimes we start at 3pm it depends on the day
"I now just saw it all as junk so it all went. It’s almost like it leaves your body as well, it’s very cathartic to just let go of it all.
"The kids picked things they wanted to keep and that’s all in storage.
"Apart from that, I kept a unit from my great-grandmother and that’s it."
She continued: "I sold my house and said have whatever furniture you want. I left my couch, dining room table, everything. I wasn’t interested in keeping it. I just wanted it gone.
"I would not have done this 10 years ago. I used to suffer with low self-worth and confidence issues.
"But now I think I’m rebelling a little bit, I held myself back for too long.
"I’m very aware that being in a position to sell my house has helped.
"I have a lump sum there that I know I can fall back on. It feels like starting again.
"Wherever we put our roots down it will be a new life, new house, furniture, everything."
Who knows what we’ll end up doing. We have no plan and I’m totally fine with that.
Karen Leigh
But Karen admits that her decision to move 4,600 miles away with her kids has faced some backlash.
She's been accused of wrecking Katie and Reece's futures by taking them out of school and told that having no set plans is irresponsible.
The devoted mum, however, knows that the experience she's giving them is more valuable than time in the classroom.
She said: "They were in school before so they have the foundations of being in school. I have no worries about their education.
"We do their maths and English, we keep up with that.
"But honestly I just feel like they’re at a time where I want to let them play, be kids and explore.
"They do want to go to high school though, they have made that choice. And I’m more than happy for them to do that.
"But they’re only 10 and 11 just now. So we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, we have a couple of years."
She added: "Homeschooling is hard. I don’t want to paint this pretty picture.
"I run my own business as well, so it’s really, really challenging.
"And when you do something outside the norm, people can’t quite comprehend it and that’s where the judgement comes from.
"I’ve had comments like what planet are you living on, you’re messing up your kids’ education by doing this. I’ve had all those comments from some people.
"I don’t find it hurtful though. All I’d say is we all have different views and opinions of the world, and what’s possible. Just let people be, let them be happy and live their life."
And it could be a Scottish classroom the kids find themselves in when they return, as Karen revealed the family may head back to Glasgow at some point to be closer to Katie and Reece's dad.
But for now, they are just living in the moment and enjoying their spontaneous adventure.
Speaking from the desert where they're spending a few nights, Karen told us: "I’m lucky we have my brother here and we have made new friends as well. We have a little community here.
"But we may end up back in Scotland. We have family there, and the kids’ dad’s there.
"We have no immediate plans though. We are very much living in the moment, in the present.
"I feel like a lot of people don’t get it. I actually feel judgement from that. But my kids are happy, and that’s the most important thing.
"Who else can say they’ve done this? Who just takes off, sells their home, and takes their children on an adventure with no long term plan."
I sold my house and said have whatever furniture you want. I just wanted it gone.
Karen Leigh
She added: "It took me a long time to get here though. It took a long time to feel confident enough and find that self-belief that it was possible while bypassing people’s judgement.
"I always say that if you feel the pull, just do it. So many of us have this little niggle that they would love to go and do something. It doesn’t have to be a big location change, just anything.
"I would say just go and do it. You live once, so make the most of that. Go and do that thing that you can’t stop thinking about.
"There’s nothing special about me and my situation, I just made it work.
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"You just have to believe that it’s going to work out. Let go of expectations.
"Not having a plan relieves a lot of the stress, because then you’re not disappointed if things don’t go your way."
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