Last year, Peter and Mary Rowan found the perfect home to provide more space for their family of five. Just as they were ready to put in an offer, they got cold feet: Did they really need the mortgage? Or the extra space? And what about that dream of living abroad?

They decided not to make an offer, fix their current home to fit their needs and follow their dream of living in Europe.

By the fall of 2010, Peter had quit his corporate job- after “18 years as a corporate weenie”-, they’d sold a car and gotten rid of enough stuff to rent out their home for the year.

With just a suitcase per person, they took off for Barcelona where they’d decided to base themselves so Peter could homeschool the two older children.

In this video, Peter and Mary talk about leaving behind one kind of American Dream- one that comes with an easy set of rules, but little personal freedom- in exchange for their own American Dream with less stuff, but more experiences.

Their kids talk about spending a year where family becomes paramount and dad is around all the time.