Who are we?

G’Day, we are a family of 4 and go by the names, Tia, Miguel, Riley, and Sophie, thanks for stopping by to read our travel blog.

We live in Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, we have three fur babies at home with us, two Pomeranians (Poppy and Bo) and one cat (Chrissy), I, Tia have been traveling the world since 2003, solo then started traveling as a family, Miguel isn’t as much a lover of traveling abroad as I am, but I am working on it, I wish and inspire that our kids have a love of travel like I do, the world has so much to offer. Beyond traveling abroad, we also love camping and cruising.

We are hitting the road in our new Off-Road Wonderland Caravan at the end of 2021 full time and will be home-schooling our 2 kids, I am switching from nursing to working online with high ticket affiliate marketing.

Our Mission:

To inspire people to take a leap of faith, life is a journey, create forever lasting memories through exploring the world one destination at a time.

 Having no idea how to set up a website, I wanted to give myself a new challenge and I decided to start Suitcases And Serenity travel blog and work online in high ticket affiliate marketing, our dream goal is to escape the chaos and pack up our home and travel Australia in a caravan with no end date and let our adventures lead the way and for our kids to experience what life has to offer with so many extraordinary places after all the world is our greatest teacher.

I always hear people say, “when you have kids, you won’t do that anymore”. I disagree, I believe you can still achieve your dreams with kids, maybe a little different to those without kids but exploring and enjoying adventurous activities can be done as a family.

Our Mission is to help others escape working the normal 9-5 jobs and help you create a life of true happiness, joy, and love for life all while being able to work online as you explore the world with travel!

A little about each of us.

Hi, I am Tia, I am an Aussie, some would say I am a tidy freak and very organized, I am always pottering around to find things to keep me busy. I have always had a love for travel ever since I can remember and love trying new foods.

Growing up my parents had timeshare and we frequently enjoyed holidays in Australia and New Zealand and camping. I grew up in a country border town Wodonga (VIC), I then spent time living in Brisbane (QLD).

In 2003, I packed my bag and took a chance and traveled solo to the UK to work, live and travel in Europe, In 2005 I returned to Australia and lived in Melbourne (VIC), not long in 2006 my bags were packed to venture to Calgary,(Alberta) CANADA, In 2009, I moved back to Melbourne (VIC) Australia to study.

I completed my degree in Youth Work and AOD (alcohol & other drugs) not long after, I then studied to be an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse (EEN). Remaining in Melbourne I work as a District and practice nurse.  While studying I had both kids Riley (11) and Sophie (6).

Miguel and I married in 2013, Miguel is originally from Portugal, he does not have an obsession like me for international travel, but I am working on it. Our life changed in 2016 when Miguel sustained a head injury at work, so life has been a little slow the past few years, but we are starting to get back to travel abroad and Australia but then Covid arrived.

Over the years I have done different forms of traveling from backpacking, staying in hostels, cruising, and generally now with the kids, rent apartments, hotels, use car hire, and our suitcases. I love searching for a good deal and think of myself as a budget traveler with some luxury thrown in.

Meet Miguel, he was born and grew up in Porto, Portugal, he lived in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain for 10 years, before moving to Melbourne, Australia to start a new life, with excitement he received his Australian citizenship in 2018, he still has a thick accent where people find it hard to understand him.

He has a great sense of humor, loves eating seafood and he loves camping, fishing, hunting, and 4×4 and would choose to do this every day if life permitted.

Miguel worked as a concreter but in 2016 life throws a spanner in the works and Miguel sustained a head injury at work, so the past 4 years has been surrounded by medical appointments and endless medications, it has been a long process but life is slowly getting back to our new normal. On the upside, he still has his great sense of humor.

Meet Riley (11) he couldn’t wait to see the world that he arrived early, born at 30 weeks weighing only 1.2kg (2.6lb pound), he has made leaps and bounds jumped hurdles of many surgeries from being born prematurely.

He is resilient, wise, and such a thoughtful kid, at times shy, his full of questions and enjoys history, he loves playing soccer, seeing new places and loves meeting new friends, he fears heights and he is fussy eater, give him soup or pasta every meal and he will be happy.

Meet Sophie (6), miss princess, sassy and stubborn, her wittiness fills everyone with laughter and radiates happiness everywhere she goes, she loves to chat, share and play outside, she’s fearless and is ready for any adventure, she is always asking ‘where we will go next’.

She started school this year 2020 (prep), unfortunately, due to Covid we have been in lockdown home-schooling for the majority of her first year, she was extremely excited to return to school for her last term.

She never runs out of energy, she is an animal lover and loves trying new things especially food, generally, she eats Miguel’s seafood, so if you have food missing, she most likely ate it.