No, We Won't Buy You a... and an Underground, Secret River in Mexico

Our main goal as parents was to end up with happy, healthy, self-sufficient adults.

We can't tell anyone how to do this -- everyone's different and Lord knows we made our share of mistakes along the way -- but we can offer an insight that we've gained through our own offspring's transitions from childhood to adulthood.

Don't give kids everything they want, just everything they need.

 A whole lot of what they want is stupid crap and... CONTINUE READING >>




Floating Down a Secret River in Mexico

So... a guy was chasing an iguana, and discovered this... 

The Yucatan Peninsula is hiding miles and miles of secret rivers.

This was revealed to us just outside the Riviera Maya town of Playa del Carmen, Mexico when we descended beneath the surface and into Rio Secreto.

By into, we really mean in to... CONTINUE READING >>

The "Cottages" of Newport, Rhode Island

It was called the Gilded Age, a time when robber barons built excessive tributes to their self-proclaimed awesomeness.

Newport was the epitome of this unbelievable excess, aptly dubbed Conspicuous Consumption.

In an effort to one-up each other with their “summer cottages” iconic American families of railroad, mining and steel fortunes, threw lavish parties for their pets, had notorious... CONTINUE READING >>



Will YOU be at Women At Woodstock?

Veronica is excited to be attending Women At Woodstock on October 13-15. Come join her!
Use this code - WAW300VIP - to get a special $300 GypsyNester discount
Click here: womenatwoodstock.com/register

Follow us here too!: Facebook - Twitter - YouTube - Google+ - Pinterest - Instagram - GoodReads - StumbleUpon - RSS Going Gypsy One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All (find out more) Coming in February 2015 from Skyhorse Publishing! Pre-Order Now - Wherever Books Are Sold!

Am I a Snow Plow Parent? ...and Big Sur, California!

Am I a Snow Plow Parent? 7 Modern Parenting Terms

This glossary of modern parenting terms from around the world provides a cautionary tale through definitions. Could a Snow Plow Parent accidentally raise a Kidult in a perpetual state of Adultescence?

Snow Plow Parents Like the snow removal apparatus, a Snow Plow Parent will be sure to... CONTINUE READING >>




Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

Sir, Yes Sur! Driving the California Coast

The images look unbelievable, but they are real and they are spectacular. This is Big Sur. 

Waves crashing against the craggy coast, mist drifting up mountains that rise abruptly from the sea, bridges impossibly clinging to cliffs...

A perfect day trip ending with elephant seals... CONTINUE READING >> 

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The Old College Pry and Ancient Mayan Ruins in Mexico

How do we know when we've become too involved in our offspring's college education?

 Is it okay to call a professor to dispute a test score? Should we proofread papers? Should we have access to grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm the Dean's office?

 This recovering helicopter mom got the straight dope from college professors - and you won't believe their stories... CONTINUE READING >>


Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

The Ancient Mayan Ruins at Tulum, Mexico

Tulum is not the kind of place that even the most wandering GypsyNesting-type will stumble upon by accident.

It's not on the way to anywhere. But since we found ourselves on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, what's known as the Riviera Maya, we hopped on a bus to the ancient Mayan site.

We wanted to enjoy both a ... CONTINUE READING >>

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Using our Empty Nest Egg - and the Mecca of Fiberglass Ginormous Stuff!

Where did you live when you were first starting out? I'll bet it wasn't quite the Taj Mahal.
Our first place was a one bedroom, former screened-in porch that had all the weather proofing of the average wiffle ball. It was a veritable private zoo of insect vermin -- and we were glad to have it. We were proud and happy to be on our own.

 Who are we to deny our offspring those same pleasures?... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

A Fiberglass Menagerie - the Mecca of Roadside Ginormous Stuff

Ever wonder where they came from? So did we!

Nothing lifts the spirits while traveling through America quite like the sight of a fiberglass colossus looming in the distance. On a summertime roadtrip, through the shimmering heat from the highway, a form begins to take shape...

 A sky-scraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner -- all have great power to inspire, or at least attract... CONTINUE READING >>

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THE Talk

"I'm eighteen now, I can do what I want."

The dreaded time when the spawn are technically adults but still in high school. At that age, it would seem that "adult" means the freedom to head out and start being stupid at top speed.

The standard "Not in my house" or "As long as you live under my roof, you'll abide by my rules" replies didn't seem to sink in with our young 'uns. In fact, I could almost see the heels digging in to the floor.

One day while driving our oldest to school, I got fed up and burst out with what became known in our family as "THE Talk." No, not THAT "the talk", this one:... CONTINUE READING >>

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What if My Adult Child is Addicted to Online Gaming?

One of our readers sent me an email that really touched me:

I am not completely an empty nester unfortunately. My 20 year old son was not able to return to college this fall because of the lack of loans and grants available to him. So now he is doing nothing except for playing the computer game WoW (World of Warcraft) most of his waking hours. He did just purchase a small business that will make him a small living, but I pray he goes back to college. He is very bright and it would be such a waste if he didn't. --Hannah

Hannah, my heart... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade

Where in the world is the most fun in the shortest distance on St. Patrick's Day?


In a clever ploy to get us to visit, Veronica's dad dropped a little “have you ever heard of The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade” on us early in... CONTINUE READING >>

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The Shocking Male/Female Divide of Boomerang Kids and some big news!

Men bounce back home at a rate of 40 percent, compared to just 32 percent for women. 

As our offspring have grown older and more secure in their adult lives the idea of them returning to the nest as boomerang kids has become much less of an issue for us.

But a recent article in The Tribune, "How to deal with adult children who move back home," reminded us that for many would be, no should be, empty nesters it is still an ongoing fact of life.

The first thing that struck us from the article were these statistics... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

We Won a Prestigious 2014 Viator Travel Award!

We're starting 2014 with a bang! So proud to be among all these great honorees! See them all here!

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Who's Kidding Who?

The last task of raising a child is letting them go.

Allowing them to flap their cute little wings and fly... giving them a gentle nudge out of the nest to get them airborne.

OK, sometimes it's more like a hard shove off a cliff... but then the harder transition from the parent-child to an adult-to-adult relationship must be made.

This process doesn't happen overnight. The ritual sounds easy in theory, but it can be a bit sticky in practice. It's difficult not to... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

Vibrant, colorful Buenos Aires - a city alive with music, dance, history and culture. It was so easy to immerse ourselves; to breathe it in.

Find out our favorite spots… CONTINUE READING > >

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Top Ten Ways You Know Your Kid is Grown Up

10. You have Thanksgiving dinner at her home. You sneak the inedible parts to her dog.


9. He drops the F-bomb right in front of you. With no fear of an Ivory Soap sandwich.

8. You realize that you are sitting in the back seat. Of her car.

7. He cleans up after himself. While visiting your house!

6. She absentmindedly... CONTINUE READING >>

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Boomerang Brats

The author of "The Benefits Of Being A Boomerang Kid" lists three reasons that full grown adults should continue to force their parents to support them and, consequently, avoid contributing to the economy and society at large.

On the top of his list, spending Mom and Pop's money instead of his own.

"Saving Up- With no rent or utilities, you can build up your nest egg as long as you're disciplined."

Gee that's right Kid, no worries. Has it occurred to you that while you're "building up your nest egg" that you're depleting your parents'... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Why Do People Like Us Even Have Kids?

@DianaHayes "Tell me why when a person says they enjoy the empty nest another person counters with - Oh, but I am close to my kids. ARGH"

Receiving this sort of frustrated Tweet is not uncommon for us, this one came while sitting with our morning coffee in a hotel cafe. I had just returned from using the lobby bathroom where I overheard a cell phone conversation in the stall next to me.

Yes, I admit I was eavesdropping - but I have two lame excuses.

1) We had just... CONTINUE READING >>

Top 10 Ways to Scare Your Boomerang Kid Out of the House

10. Greet him at the door naked with a bottle of Viagra and a can of whipped cream and shout "Honey, I guess we can't use the kitchen, our baby's home."

9. Set his computer so all his porn and poker sites go to GoArmy.com.

8. Invite your friends over to have a party in his room, trash it and smoke all of his... CONTINUE READING >>

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Ouch. Too Harsh or Just Plain Hilarious?

Bloomberg Businessweek has just launched a new ad campaign designed to give the loved ones of boomerang kids a tongue-in-cheek edge via e-card.

The idea is to send a less-than-subtle greeting to an adult kid overstaying his or her welcome with a ... See more e-cards >>

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What Do the Experts Say About Boomerang Kids? It's NOT what you think

Full-grown, twenty-something college graduates are returning home to have their parents continue supporting them due to "immaturity" or because "they just prefer the comforts of home?" And the expert's take is that there is nothing wrong with that picture?

Jaw, meet floor. Maybe there was some mistake. Maybe the expert, wasn't clear on her meaning. We should give her the benefit of the doubt and look at the answers she and her fellow expert gave to some other pertinent questions. After all, they are on the staff at... CONTINUE READING >> 

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The Yin and Yang of Parasite "Kids"

Mine! Mine! Mine!

David explores two UNBELIEVABLE stories of greed and selfishness!

Is there a special place in hell for offspring who steal from their elderly parents? Should offspring be required to take care of elderly parents no matter the circumstances? What steps can be taken to ensure that our families don't end up like this?... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Our Philosophy - Celebrating Life After Kids

When Veronica and I began to think about our life after raising kids one of the first things we did was Google "empty nesters."

We wanted to see if anyone else was looking at this the same way that we were. With a feeling of “isn’t it great that the kids have moved out, and we'll have life to ourselves again?" To be untethered and free. To wander the globe. To be GypsyNesters instead of empty-nesters.

But no, just about everything we could find was lamenting how terrible it is that the kids aren't around anymore. Even worse, the biggest item on the first page we clicked into was an enormous ad for an... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Mom, Stop Coddling Me and Let Me Grow!

We have discussions about the parent / adult "kid" relationship quite frequently here at GypsyNester.com, but it's quite rare that we get to hear the young adult point of view on our site, other than a few cherished comments in our discussion section.

We don't kid ourselves, we are aware that there aren't a lot a twenty-something people who get up in the morning and think, hey, let's see what the geezer set is up to this days. 

So we felt pretty good when we came across "The Drawbacks of Being A Boomerang Kid" at YPULSE. In this story a recent college graduate  affirms our position on adult offspring returning to the nest.

"Could it be that some ... CONTINUE READING >> 

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You Brought Your MOM to Your Job Interview?

Okay, it’s rave time. Just a warning.

I sympathize with helicopter parents, I really do. I was one. I reluctantly stopped hovering once my kids left the nest. I knew that the sovereignty of the Spawns was more important than my own desire to continue colonial rule. Trust me, we’ve ALL benefited from my abdication.

Did I hound my offspring to do their homework when they were kids? You Betcha. Did I have meetings with their high school guidance counselors to voice concerns without the Spawn present? Guilty... CONTINUE READING >>

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Adult "Kids" Say the Darndest Things (on Twitter)

A treasury of tweets that every parent of an adult kid will love! These guys are SO funny!

On Being Replaced

... SEE MORE GREAT TWEETS! >>

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Bounce That Boomerang

The subject of Boomerang "Kids" has been in the news a lot lately, and the story we're being sold is that poor, brave youngsters with new diplomas in hand have no choice but to move back into their old bedrooms at Mom and Dad's house.

All sorts of numbers have been bandied about, some say a quarter of recent grads are unemployed or underemployed, others say half, and one completely unscientific study proclaiming the preposterous idea that 85 percent... CONTINUE READING  >>

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