Living the dream above the clouds

Tara and John Newby are a happy couple who have decided to be brave, to think big, and to explore. This motto is also their way of thinking and has led them to live a life different from the conventional one, where they have already visited several countries together with their children. Now they live in Portugal, where they bought a beautiful farm near Amarante and want to share their happiness and maybe inspire more people to live their dreams to the fullest.

On their YouTube channel, TheNewbys, this family inspires their more than 77,000 subscribers. They began traveling together in 2019 and their family suddenly grew to four with their two children under the age of two, Crusoe and Sawyer. The older brother, Crusoe, has been to more than 20 countries on four continents.

From the UK to the world

They first met in 2012 at a holiday company where they both worked selling safaris, but it was only a few years later in Spain that their paths crossed again, and they have never left each other since. As John said, it may not seem like a long time, but “if you compare a person who has been married for 20 years but goes to their job and comes home and spends just a couple of hours with their partner, then I think we've probably been married a lot longer," John said.

In addition, they also have the opportunity of spending all day with their children and watching them grow up. "One of the reasons we chose the lifestyle we did with the van and now with the farm in Portugal is that we can really spend this time together with our children as a family," he added.

At first it was not easy to start the journey. When they decided to quit their jobs, sell their house and buy a van, they heard from many people that "they were crazy to quit their jobs." "But I remember John said one morning: if we don't do this, then every day we know it will be the same, we wake up in the morning, we go to work and it will be the same. But if we do this every day will be different and every day can be a surprise," Tara shared.

According to John: “Everything is possible, but if you go and do the same thing as you do today and tomorrow there’s a strong likeliness that the next day will end the same way it ended today, but if you chose not to go to do that, your day can end infinitely different”.

When I asked them how they pay for this lifestyle, they told me that they started with some savings, but ended up doing very well on Youtube, which allows them to follow their dreams. "When we set off we had some savings and we said that when those savings ran out we would have to get another job, as simple as that, but what is remarkable is that if you really like your life, you find a way to make it carry on, it doesn’t matter because you just find a way”, that’s exactly what they have done during these last few years.

On Youtube, under the name TheNewbys, this family shares all their adventures in a very professional and entertaining way. Now they have bought an abandoned farmhouse in northern Portugal and share the whole remodeling process and everything on their channel. "We give a little bit of ourselves every week and the people who watch our Youtube pay us so we can continue to be together all the time," stated John.

From the world to Portugal

"Portugal was the best accident that ever happened to us. We came on holiday and after two weeks we loved it so much. The Portuguese people are amazing, they are the friendliest people," John said.

They came here during the pandemic and circumstances forced them to stay longer than planned. "It was when the UK had that travel license and when we came was green but the day we landed it was orange. Instead of going back and being quarantined we decided to spend a month in Portugal. Crusoe, at that point, was a five-month-old boy," Tara said.

They decided to move here after all. "I don't think there is a better place for children to grow up. We have land where the children can run around, get dirty, grow up freely. In the UK it would be a million euro property, but here in Portugal it's affordable," they said.

When I asked them why they didn't choose the Algarve like many people do, they said they love the climate of Portugal, but they like a little bit of rain and the North as the best of both worlds. "Where we are in Amarante, when we wake up in the morning our farm is right above the clouds, the mountains are beautiful, we have these huge trees, this greenness, the water, the rain," they added.

For people who might feel inspired by this lovely family, they suggest: "Don't overthink, go ahead and buy the property it can be a great adventure, sometimes people think too much. Go ahead and if it doesn't work get your old job back, but at least you tried," they stated.

If you would like to follow their adventures and their lifestyle in Portugal, please watch their YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/thenewbys or find them on Instagram @TheNewbys

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins